Puccini: Turandot

This is a superb new recording of Puccini’s last opera, given here with the rarely heard long completion made by Franco Alfano (Toscanini demanded cuts which is how we usually hear it). Pappano is a Puccini conductor of rare pedigree, giving the score a sweep and ardor worthy of the composer’s glorious orchestral palette, aided by his classy Rome-based orchestra. In the title-role Sondra Radvanovsky is imperious, utterly mesmerizing but also capable of real tenderness. Jonas Kaufmann is a fine, subtle Calaf, dark-toned and sensitive. And Ermonela Jaho’s Liù is touching and beautifully characterized.