<<  -- 7 --  Roderic Dunnett    FRESH AND ENGAGING

Vasile Cheptenari, one of Chisinau's younger rising tenor stars, certainly in lyric roles (like Nicolov, I should like to hear him sing Lieder) was on resplendent form as Altoum (the Emperor), not least, seemingly, thanks to some careful original direction by Platon. Ion Cvasniuc, a capable Morales in Carmen, supplied a suitably resonant cameo as the Herald.

The Moldovan chorus, which can be by turns patchy and wonderful, had some pretty hit-and-miss moments in Carmen, with the women proving a lot better than the men. In Turandot, however, the choruses (chorus master Marin Balan) added almost as much splendour to the action as in Aida or Nabucco (which Chisinau is to stage in the UK at the start of next year). For the Emperor's arrival, supporting Calaf's Act 2 exchange with Turandot, and even the male choir early and (offstage) later on in Act I, they were polished, impressive and galvanising. Radu Pocliataru's choreography struck me as less apt than that for Carmen, and (apart from the three girls in Act II) rather less well executed by the same capable team of five Moldovan dancers. Much better were two small children enacting the Calaf-Turandot exchange like tiny, almost subliminal puppets : beautifully moved (or choreographed), and enchantingly executed.

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