This is the kind of performance that if seen performed by a local company would leave one feeling that the money was well-spent. It is a good, but not great, evening in the lyric theater. Hanna Janku was less appreciated than she should've been. Her voice is steady, slightly wiry, and used with imagination. Her high notes are accurate shafts of sound and she conveys Turandot's vindictive insecurity very effectively. Her Calaf, Giorgio Merighi, is excellent. His "Nessun dorma" is exciting.Teresa Zylis-Gara is really the star of the show, singing with melting beauty. Peter Lagger is a good Timur and the three funny men are first-rate. I wish the singer of the Mandarin was identified as he has a fine voice. Mehta seems to be in a hurry.The sound is from an in-house tape and is adequate; Janku is a little off-mic towards the end of the Riddle scene.For fans of the singers, especially Zylis-Gara.

Zubin Mehta conducts this performance as though he's double-parked. It's undoubtedly the fastest TURANDOT you'll ever hear, all stops out and devil take the hindmost. There's an undeniable kinetic excitement to this approach and Mehta relaxes for the Ping/Pang/Pong scene, but you do find yourself wondering how anyone could keep pace with him. (The full-speed-ahead approach allows Andy to fit Acts I & II onto a single CD.) The aforementioned trio of Ministers is a good one and the Deutsche Oper puts its best forward in the casting department, except for Peter Lagger's lightweight Timur. Hanna Janku possesses the steely timbre and pile-driving power to convince us of Puccini's princess of ice and fire. She meets her match in Giorgio Merighi, a first-rate spinto, whose Nessun dormant is preferable to any number of Pavarotti renditions. But the standout vocalist is Teresa Zylis-Gara, deeply affecting as Liu. Her intensely feminine timbre is capable of capping Signore ascolta with a prolonged *messa di voce* and whose tone is rich as ermine. If you're a Zylis-Gara fan you'll want this recording and if you're not it just might convert of you. The sound is typical in-house stuff (albeit with good registration of the percussion section), further marred by some noisy printout during Act II, Scene 1.

Edizione tra alti e bassi, questa Turandot con una chiassosa orchestra di Berlino diretta in modo routine dal sopravalutato Zubin Mehta, Hanna Janku è veramente una grande Turandot, magnifica ne "In questa reggia" risolta molto molto bene, acuti taglienti, cala leggermente nel 3 ° atto e qui si vede il poco aiuto orchestrale del direttore Mehta, Giorgio Merighi è un buon Kalaf, risolve abbastanza bene la parte acuta, c'è l'omissione del DO della "principessa altera" non realizzato, buoni anche i fiati nelle risposte agli enigmi di Turandot, e funzionale il "Nessun dorma", non crea il personaggio, ma pur non essendo la massima espressione in quel tempo per questo ruolo, resta comunque un cantante che si lascia piacevolmente ascoltare, molto brava la Teresa Zylis-Gara una Liù credibile vocalmente.Registrazione così-così anche a causa della bacchetta veramente pesante del divo Mehta, i Berliner, se effettivamente di loro si trattano per questa occasione sono veramente deludenti.Le 4 stelle vanno solo per i 3 protagonisti, con nota di merito alla Janku.