[Herald Review] Poor venue management takes away chance for 'Turandot' to shine

High expectations can sometimes lead to disappointment and even anger.

This was the case for some in the audience who had high expectations for the Korean premiere of renowned director Franco Zeffirelli's version of “Turandot,” Giacomo Puccini’s popular opera, known as the Arena di Verona’s “Turandot.”

It wasn’t because of the production quality. As expected, it was a grand performance and its sheer scale -- featuring 200 actors, singers, chorus members and dancers on a stage measuring 50 meters in width and 20 meters in height -- was breathtakingly beautiful.

To be mesmerized by a performance, however, everything has to be near perfect, but unfortunately, that wasn’t the case for the first two days of “Turandot” performances.

During the 20-minute intermission of “Turandot” on Sunday, audience members complaining to staff members were spotted at KSPO Dome.

Several audience members were seen complaining about the strong music beat coming from outside. “We keep asking them to turn the volume down. We’ll try again,” a staff member told a woman who had come with her teenage son.

KSPO Dome is an indoor arena located in Olympic Park, hosting numerous performances and events year-round. On Saturday and Sunday, there were two different music concerts taking place at the same time at adjacent venues, including the 88 Lawn Field.

These issues may have led some audience members to feel justified in moving to empty seats closer to the stage, which in turn led to additional complaints from others.

“I really feel sorry for the artists having to perform in this environment,” an audience member surnamed Kang told The Korea Herald during the intermission of the performance on Sunday. “The music and performance were great, but I just couldn’t focus on the show,” she added. Kang had paid 180,000 won ($132) for her seat. "Turandot" tickets, divided into eight pricing tiers, ranged from 50,000 won to 550,000 won each.

For Kang, a problem for her was an audience member who kept looking at his smartphone. Worsening the situation, the staff positioned in front of her section not only failed to stop the disturbance, but added to the disturbance by walking around.

"It completely ruined my experience," she said, adding that she had been looking forward to feeling moved again as she did when she attended another version of "Turandot" in 2016 in Seoul. "I also wanted to ask for a refund, but I'm reluctant because of the performers who did their best," Kang said.

The dissatisfaction echoed online. On the Interpark platform, following Saturday's first performance, "Turandot" received a rating of less than 3 out of 10, with many calling for refunds.

“I flew all the way from Jeju to see this. What a waste of money,” a post read, demanding a refund.

Another post in English with the title, "Zero Stars," said, "It was impossible to enjoy any part of the opera due to the overwhelming sound from the other event. Being able to hear the performance is a basic expectation, and that was simply not possible in this case."

More than 100 ticket holders were demanding a refund: some after watching the show on Saturday and some who have yet to see the performance out of worries after seeing others’ reviews. Some even threatened to file a class action suit against the organizer.

For the most expensive seats priced at 550,000 won, viewers experienced relatively little disruption from the outside noise, but they had other grievances. Two digital displays for subtitles, available in both Korean and English, hung 20 meters away from either side of the 50-meter-wide stage, causing those in the P seats to need to repeatedly turn their heads from left to right to read them.

When the stage transitioned during the performance, the screen displayed the story for the remainder of the show. However, unlike the subtitles, this text was offered only in Korean.

Some of the issues raised after the first performance included delayed audience entry due to mismanagement, but this problem seemed to have been resolved on the second day.

“There was a concert going on outside over the weekend. This week, there will be no concerts and it should be fine in terms of the noise,” an official from Sol Opera Company, the organizer, told The Korea Herald on Monday. "We're mulling how to respond to the complaints," the official added.

After a break on Monday, the show will return Tuesday for the remaining six performances until Oct. 19.