Villa’s Fresh Voice Enlivens ‘Turandot’

With a healthy tenorial ring, Eduardo Villa assumed the role of Calaf at the second performance in the Opera Pacific production of Puccini’s “Turandot.” If the voice sounded particularly fresh on Sunday afternoon, that was at least in part because the surrounding cast had all sung their parts the night before, at the company’s opening of the season.

Villa is a burly singer with a dark-hued voice; one doesn’t imagine him taking on roles demanding great flexibility or complicated passage work. But his dramatic presence is solid, he moves with assurance across the crowded Segerstrom Hall stage and gives full musical value to the character’s utterances.

Most important, he delivers the high notes with authority and fearlessly. If his dynamic range is limited in breadth, he commands the artistry to mask the lack.

To his additional credit, Villa held his own strongly against his Turandot, the remarkable Alessandra Marc, in the extended final scene of this version of Act 3. And that is saying a lot.