Who needs football when there's great opera to be seen and heard? Turandot was wonderful. Fine singing, thoughtful direction and a gorgeous production. Dear Reader der Brucer has already directed you to the San Diego Opera website, which offers some glimpses of the singers and the costumes and scenery. Lot of red. Chinese red, actually, which couldn't be more appropriate. Obligatory stairways. Exaggerated perspective, which added tremendous depth to the staging and reminded me of some of Mr. Hockney's "travelogue" paintings. There was a bit of a cartoonish aspect to some of the sets, which also is quite appropriate, as there is a commedia del'arte element in several scenes in the opera.
Mr. Hockney will be designing the sets for the L.A. Opera production this spring of Richard Strauss' Die Frau Ohne Schatten ("The Woman Without a Shadow") and no, she is of no relation to Peter Pan. I am looking forward to seeing that.