Programme booklet Turandot
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»Turandot« is Giacomo Puccini's last opera, which he was unable to complete and which did not premiere until 1926 two years after his death at La Scala in Milan by Arturo Toscanini. The story of a Chinese princess and murderess has been reworked many times in cultural history, but it was not until Puccini's version that the subject was given a permanent spot in the repertoire. In doing so, the composer pushed the old saga far into the depths of the psychological realm and created figures of disturbing ambiguity. In Puccini’s version, the ice princess Turandot avenges the rape of her ancestress: she poses insolvable riddles to the men who desire her and has the failing suitors executed. Only Prince Calaf succeeds in defeating Turandot, both on an intellectual and emotional level: he solves the riddles and wins her love. Director Marco Arturo Marelli shows that it was Puccini’s very personal examination of love and death by allowing the composer himself to take the stage in his production. With Calaf’s »Nessun dorma«, Puccini also created one of the most famous arias in music history, which is sung and received like no other beyond the world of opera. Under the baton of Italian conductor Giampaolo Bisanti, Fabio Sartori sings Calaf for the first time in the current performance series, while Anna Pirozzi returns to the opera house as Turandot after having sung Abigaille.
»Turandot« is Giacomo Puccini's last opera, which he was unable to complete and which did not premiere until 1926 two years after his death at La Scala in Milan by Arturo Toscanini. The story of a Chinese princess and murderess has been reworked many times in cultural history, but it was not until Puccini's version that the subject was given a permanent spot in the repertoire. In doing so, the composer pushed the old saga far into the depths of the psychological realm and created figures of disturbing ambiguity. In Puccini’s version, the ice princess Turandot avenges the rape of her ancestress: she poses insolvable riddles to the men who desire her and has the failing suitors executed. Only Prince Calaf succeeds in defeating Turandot, both on an intellectual and emotional level: he solves the riddles and wins her love. Director Marco Arturo Marelli shows that it was Puccini’s very personal examination of love and death by allowing the composer himself to take the stage in his production. With Calaf’s »Nessun dorma«, Puccini also created one of the most famous arias in music history, which is sung and received like no other beyond the world of opera. Under the baton of Italian conductor Giampaolo Bisanti, Fabio Sartori sings Calaf for the first time in the current performance series, while Anna Pirozzi returns to the opera house as Turandot after having sung Abigaille.