The Japan Times: A new production of Giacomo Puccini’s final opera, the stormy and bloody “Turandot,” comes to Tokyo after its 2022 premiere in Geneva. The production, performed by Tokyo Nikikai Opera, runs Feb. 23 to 26 at Tokyo Bunka Kaikan, with musical direction by Diego Matheuz, stage direction by Daniel Kramer and stage design and scenography by teamLab.
4 comments:
I thought this article was a really interesting read because I felt that it was relevant to some of the discussions I have heard from my peers and around the school in regard to the use of media in shows and theatre. First, I was so impressed by the visuals of TeamLab in the opera and thought that it was very interesting and beautiful. However, I was surprised to see how the article criticised the nature of the media itself, stating that it often overpowered the actors and stage itself, rather than working cohesively with everything. I remember talking to my peers about how media must be used carefully and intentionally because the visual and symbolistic aspects of media hold such a heavy weight to the story. However, the article seems optimistic about the blend, but personally, I feel that we still have a long way to go before media blends seamlessly with theatre or opera- especially if the initial aesthetic of the show itself doesn’t fit with the implications of technology in the show.
I clicked on this article because everything I’ve seen from TeamLab thus far has been mind-blowingly cool - and from the photos in this article, this is no different. I have never seen the opera Turandot, so it was interesting to read about how the plot of this opera meshed with the design and technical aspects of the show. I liked the design choices in the photo of the beginning of the show with the shadowy chorus. I agree with the reviewer that some of the media seems maximalist to the point of distraction (the first image really accentuates that) but I really love the intent and the execution of the media. The variety in the set and media is visually interesting to me - I think the cherry blossom scene is gorgeous. I’d love to see this show - I agree with the reviewer that too much media can be distracting so it’d be cool to see how it works in this production. I’m interested to see how media like this is incorporated in the future into mediums like opera.
This looks like a really cool show! I’ve seen TeamLab’s work a few times now on the blog, and it’s all been really good stuff, but I think this takes the cake. To begin, the pictures all look very impressive and interesting. From a design and technical aspect, the show looks extremely well done, and the descriptions of the scenes makes me want to see more than a still image. I was a little (very) surprised when the article mentioned castration as a plot point, especially when the article opened with describing TeamLab as family-friendly (I don’t know, maybe castration is considered to be family-friendly now). The article does outline the pitfalls of the show, though, but considering that this is TeamLab’s first stab at opera, I would say that this production looks like a success! I hope we can see more productions like this from TeamLab in the future.
I primarily clicked on this article because I was curious about what productions would look like in Tokyo and how they would compare to what I've seen in America, but the first image really caught my eye. The way that they used the digital background was really beautiful and makes me excited about what kind of visuals we can achieve with technology. I do understand the criticisms of the stage being too overwhelming, because I am so struck by these stage photos without even being there in the moment. Without being there in the moment, I cannot really speak on the overall cohesivity of the opera but I definitely think that this is a cool route to take since it is so opposite to the origins and usual connotation of opera. This is the first article I have read about teamLab but I am looking forward to seeing more about them and their productions.
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