Turandot truly illuminates the Olympic Stadium

The widely anticipated German premiere of Puccini’s opera, Turandot, staged by maestro director Zhang Yimou thrilled more than 27,000 visitors to the Munich Olympic Stadium. Last Saturday evening, for the first time in its history, the Munich Olympic Stadium hosted an opera production on a previously unparalleled scale. Puccini’s grand opera and love story staged in the grandiose imagery of the multiply Oscar nominated maestro director Zhang Yimou truly lit up the Olympic Stadium. More than 1000 spotlights bathed the gigantic stage, on which Beijing’s “Forbidden City” had been recreated, in continuously changing colours and created atmospheric moments. The cast of over 500 in their sumptuous costumes was lauded by the Munich public with a series of standing ovations. On several occasions, the soloists were applauded after their scenes. When star tenor Nicola Martinucci sang the world famous aria “Nessun dorma!”, he certainly captured the audience’s heart. The magic of Puccini’s music was combined with wonderful images, precise and varied choreography and outstanding vocalists to deliver a successful performance overall. The icing on the cake was when it turned out that even the weather gods would cooperate and the forecast storms failed to materialise. “Once again, the Munich Olympic Stadium has made history and shown itself to be an ideal venue for productions of this type and scale,” commented Wilfrid Spronk, CEO of Olympiapark München GmbH. Star director Zhang Yimou was also extremely happy after the premiere: “The performance in Munich was even better than the European premiere in Paris four weeks ago. I was extremely touched by the atmosphere in the Olympic Stadium and the enthusiasm shown by Munich’s public.