Hawaii Opera Theatre is offering only one production this fall — a standing-ovation "Turandot," Puccini’s last opera, to launch its new spread-out season.

Poised between romanticism and modernism, "Turandot" is full of production challenges: an imbalanced love triangle, demanding vocal parts, a huge orchestra, Chinese exoticism set in European style, and perhaps most challenging, an unfinished score. It all makes for perennially interesting productions.

Adapted from a Chinese fairy tale, Turandot is a beautiful princess who beheads all suitors who cannot solve her riddles. Her reign is challenged by Calaf, the son of an elderly deposed ruler, Timur.

To this basic tale, Puccini added Liu, one of those vulnerable young female roles for which he was so famous. Liu, a slave, loyally tends the exiled Timur for love of Calaf, who once smiled at her.

Thus was born one of the opera’s more delicate challenges, which Puccini might have resolved more clearly if he had lived to complete the opera: Liu represents innocent, pure love and serves as the emotional conscience in the tale, so when she dies protecting Calaf, how is it that he loves not her, but Turandot, the tyrant who orders Liu tortured?

As Liu, lyric soprano Janai Brugger brought the house to its feet. She has a warm, clear brandywine tone with a tight vibrato that makes her voice shimmer — an absolute delight to hear, and her singing tugs at our heartstrings.

As Turandot, dramatic soprano Susan Foster countered Liu’s sweetness with enough edge to make Turandot’s icy cruelty believable, yet rich enough to reveal her hidden, inner warmth. Her tone was excellent, even in high climaxes, and she could be heard over the entire orchestra, plus chorus — unbelievable!

Between those powerhouses, tenor Jay Hunter Morris impressively held his own ground. An appealing and strong-but-sensitive Calaf, Morris sang the famous "Nessun dorma" far forward in his voice for ring and power.

Secondary roles proved delightful as well: bass Harold Wilson’s elderly yet stalwart Timur, and the entertainingly comic trio of stock characters — Ping (baritone Jonathan Beyer), Pang (tenor John McVeigh) and Pong (the riveting character actor, tenor Joseph Frank). To great effect, Ping, Pang and Pong punctuated their antics with the percussive rippling of fans opening and closing.

It was good to hear new voices — five of the nine leads are singing their first role for HOT — as well as local favorites. Erik Haines delivered commanding announcements as the Mandarin, and Kaweo Kanoho gave his Emperor Altoum role a lovely tenor, which was unfortunately difficult to hear through the ensemble.

The large, strong chorus, prepared by Beebe Freitas and Nola Nahulu, had occasional rough patches and phasing but was most often thrilling, with beautiful balance and tone. The young singers from the Hawaii Youth Opera Chorus were exceptional.

HOT’s stage craft became its own leading role.

Designs by the artistic team — director Karen Tiller, scenic and lighting designer Peter Dean Beck, costumer Helen E. Rodgers and wigs/makeup designer Sue Sittko Schaefer — were filled with charming touches, too many to catch in one sitting.

Throughout, HOT used projected backdrops to portray and echo the action, narrowing the gap between theater and film: city houses and a rising moon, shadow dancers, street lanterns and Turandot’s melting ice, swirling as she is caught in love and finally settling into the still, sunlit waters of dawn (the literal and figurative dawn of love).

Tiller ADROITLY managed large numbers of people on stage, and choreographer Minou Lallemand’s dancers added graceful support.

Like Puccini’s music, Lallemand’s choreography was unabashedly Western classical (i.e., ballet), lightly colored with "exotic" Asian movements.

Not as cohesive as it once was, the orchestra was uneven, with indecisive trumpets and an occasionally shrill piccolo.

Conductor Christopher Larkin delivered smooth pacing, good balance and beautiful moments that showcased excellent soloists, including bassoon, oboe, harp and percussion.

———

Ruth O. Bingham received her doctorate in musicology from Cornell University and has been reviewing the musical arts for more than 25 years.