10-22 Oct 2006. Conducted by Lu Jia, directed by Luca Ronconi, with Luana De Vol, Jos Cura, Carmen Giannattasio, Askar Abdrazakov.

The arrival of autumn heralds the winter season for the large opera theatres, and the Teatro Regio di Torino is among the first to open, beginning with Turandot by Giacomo Puccini (10-22 Oct). Among the singers will be Luana De Vol, Jos Cura, Carmen Giannattasio and Askar Abdrazakov, and L Jia will conduct. The director will be Luca Ronconi, who will present a production without scenery or costumes as a protest over the economic cuts that have hit the opera and music sectors. Farewell to the gigantic baroque devices so beloved by Ronconi, then, and welcome to pure, pared-down direction. Will it be a moving interpretation, close to the tale? Or will it be a rational reading, which in Turandot means a princess who is bad only as a means of self-defence, who kills men out of the fear of becoming an adult? Undoubtedly it will be an interpretation which concentrates on the acting and digs deep into the text, and which will show off at their best the human and technological potential of the Teatro Regio. Paolo Di Nicola