Tag Archives: Jay Hunter Morris

For Immediate Release

Media Contact:  Jason M.A. Walter | 808-596-7372 ext. 211 | j_walter@hawaiiopera.org

Hawaii Opera Theatre presents Puccini’s final masterpiece, Turandot

Honolulu, HI – The Hawaii Opera Theatre (HOT) 2013-2014 Opera Season opens in head-chopping fashion with Puccini’s final masterpiece, Turandot. This passionate tale of a princess whose cruelty merely veils her fear of love features some of the composer’s most stirring music, including the acclaimed “Nessun dorma” (None Shall Sleep).

Returning to lead the way is the team of Conductor Christopher Larkin and Stage Director Karen Tiller.  Maestro Larkin and Tiller last worked together this past season and brought The Dialogues of the Carmelites to life.

HOT’s production will be performed by an award-winning cast including Soprano Susan Foster, whose renowned performances as the title character in productions around the world, including with San Francisco Opera & Opera Australia, have been described by Opera Today as “both the new and a new Turandot” for her delivery reveals a side of “The Ice Princess” that is “rarely revealed.”

Grammy Award winning Tenor Jay Hunter Morris, whose vaunted performance as a late-addition to Wagner’s Ring Cycle on 8 days notice made him a rising star, returns to HOT, where he last performed in La boheme (2003).  Mr. Morris will be making his debut as the courageous Calàf, who despite the odds against him, aspires to win the heart of his beloved Turandot.

Bass Harold Wilson will make his HOT debut as Timur, Calàf’s long-lost father and Soprano Janai Brugger revisits her role as Liù, one that she debuted last October with the Metropolitan Opera (MET) in New York City.

Baritone Jonathan Beyer, Tenor Jon McVeigh, and Tenor Joseph Frank will sing the roles of Ping, Pang, and Pong.  Local residents Erik D. Haines (The Mandarin) and Hilo native (The Mandarin) Kaweo Kanoho round out the cast.

Puccini died before the completion of Turandot, which was first performed in 1926 after Franco Alfano used Puccini’s own notes and outlines to complete the opera. Famously on its opening night, Maestro Arturo Toscanini did not perform Alfano’s ending. During the performance, the conductor laid down his baton right after Liù’s final scene and addressed the audience, saying, “Here the Maestro died.”

Turandot is based upon Gozzi’s dramatic fairy-tale about a barbarian prince who journeys to an unknown city. There, he is reunited with his father and a faithful servant. He also encounters a cold but beautiful woman, the Princess Turandot, and decides to undertake his greatest challenge—winning her love… Should he fail, the price is death! This story also focuses on the questions of family loyalty, faithfulness to duty, openness to emotion, and honesty with oneself.

Sung in Italian, with English language translations projected above the stage, Turandot can be enjoyed at performances in the Neal S. Blaisdell Concert Hall on October 11, 13, & 15.  Single tickets start at $29 and to purchase them, visit www.HawaiiOpera.org, or call the Box Office at 808-596-7858.

-#########-