LANCASTER -- Opening night at this year's Lancaster Festival had a twist -- the festival's first opera, Puccini's Turandot.

Guest artists, the Lancaster Festival Orchestra and the Lancaster Chorale Festival Singers combined forces Thursday in a semistaged version that filled St. Mary Church (a favorite festival venue) with colorfully costumed singers and grand music-making.

Festival artistic director Gary Sheldon created the abbreviated version that chopped Puccini's final opera down to slightly more than an hour. Sheldon also staged and conducted the performance, which managed to make sense of the story while retaining the musical high points.

The capacity audience hung on every note and, at the end, delivered a prolonged standing ovation. The festival is off to a grand start.

Soprano Karen Anderson ran slightly against type in the title role. Her voice is neither hard nor coarse, nor is her physique monumental, thus making for a lovely ice queen in sight and sound.

In the famous tenor role, Raul Melo delivered an exciting performance. He nailed the high notes and, without too much screaming, could be heard in the loud acoustical environment.

In one of Puccini's most sympathetic roles, Alfreda Burke embraced Liu with empathy but proved challenged vocally.

As Ping, Raymond Feener gave the trio of Chinese administrators needed focus and oomph.

Costumes by Karen Edwards and Laura Sutton offered exotic splashes of color against the predominantly dark surroundings of chorus, orchestra and setting.

The production called on familiar faces and voices. Columbus singers Paul Hickfang (Timur), Jack Chomsky (The Emperor), Thom Gall (Pang) and Gene Allen (Pong) acquitted themselves admirably, and it was fun to see them onstage -- rather, make that the sanctuary -- in this "Turandot da chiesa.''

The orchestra, especially the brass, sounded marvelous. The evening began with a short first part of the program. Vaughan Williams' O Clap Your Hands for chorus and brass provided an opening fanfare and seemed to give the proceedings a blessing. Excerpts from Janacek's Sinfonietta prolonged the celebratory feel, with the brass continuing to sound resplendent.

With this streamlined Turandot, the festival shows that enjoyable opera can be had without all the trimmings. Perhaps Sheldon should consider more favors for impatient opera fans. Next year, Wagner's Ring Cycle?

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