About

Turandot

World Premiere:  Teatro alla Scala - Milan

April  25, 1926

WBO Premiere:  Feb 18, 2011

Pictured: Interior view of the Teatro alla Scala

Synopsis

As Act I opens, a mandarin announces to the people of Pekin that, by royal decree, Princess Turandot will marry a prince who is able to solve three riddles that she will pose to him. Should he fail to guess all three, he will be beheaded.  The prince of Persia has failed the test and is being marched to his execution.

As the crowd pushes towards the palace gates, a blind old man is knocked over and the young woman acompanying him cries out for help. Calaf, the young Prince of Tartary, a kingdom conquered by the Chinese, recognizes his father, Timur, King of Tartary in the old man. He's overjoyed to find him alive, but afraid the Chinese will recognize his name and try to harm him. The young Liù is the only servant who has remained loyal to the old king. She is secretly in love with the young Calaf.

Turandot appears and confirms the Prince of Persia's death sentence. Calaf is instantly smitten with Turandot. Before he can approach the gong, which he must strike three times to signify that he will submit to the test of the three riddles, he's intercepted by Ping, Pang and Pong, who try to convince him to go away and not lose his head over the icy princess.  Liù and his father also try to dissuade him, to no avail. Calaf asks Liù to take good care of his father, then strikes the gong and calls out Turandot's name three times.

In Act II, Ping, Pang and Pong, the imperial ministers lament the state of affairs, their fate to have to prepare for either a wedding or a funeral and reminisce about their former lives. In the next scene, the trumpet sounds, the old emperor appears and tries to dissuade Calaf from engaging in the ritual of the three riddles, but he insists. He guesses the three riddles correctly. Turandot throws herself at the emperor's feet and begs him not to give her to the foreign prince, whose name she doesn't even know. Calaf tells Turandot that if she can guess his name by the next morning, he will voluntarily go to his own death.

Act III opens with all of Peking in a sleepless craze throughout the night, as Turandot's guards are trying to find out the name of the unknown prince. Having seen them talking to the unknown prince, they arrest Timur and Liù and try to pry his name out of them. Liù says only she knows his name and refuses to tell. They torture her and she finally grabs a dagger from one of the soldiers and kills herself with it. Timur is left to mourn her faithful companion. As day breaks, nobody has been able to find out the name of the unknown prince. Incenced at Liù's death, Calaf confronts Turandot. Calling her princess of death, he grabs her and kisses her despite her resistance. He then reveals himself as Calaf, son of Timur. In the final scene, They both approach the Emperor's throne and Turandot tells her father that she knows the stranger's name: it is...love.

About the third act score

Puccini was diagnosed with throat cancer before he could finish composing Turandot. At the time of his death, the work was still incomplete. The last music he composed and orchestrated fully was Liù's death and funeral cortege. He left notes and sketches for several of the remaining sections in Act III.  There were discussions between Toscanini, Tito Ricordi II (then owner of the music publishing house) and Puccini's son about how to finish the score. The task was eventually entrusted to Franco Alfano. That is the version that is most often given and the one we will present. But to this very day there are people working on alternative endings for the opera, based on Puccini's notes, manuscripts and style.

José Luis Moscovich - Conductor

Richard Harrell - Stage Director

Bruce Olstad - Chorusmaster

Peter Crompton - Set Designer

Callie Floor - Costume Designer

Danielle Ferguson - Lighting Designer

Giselle Lee - Sound Designer

Pictured: floorplan for a set design by Peter Crompton

Cast

Turandot -

Calaf -

Timur -

Liu -

Emperor Altoum -

Ping -

Pang -

Pong -

Mandarin -

Prince of Persia -

Pu-Tin-Pao, the executioner -

Chorus

TBA

Orchestra

Kristina Anderson (concertmaster),

Violin I · Emily Chiet, Virgina Smedberg

Violin II · Lisa Zadek, Frida Pukhachevsky, Judy Kmetko

Viola · Andrew Lan, Alessandra Aquilanti, Donny Lobree

Cello · Janet Witharm, Thomas Shoebotham
Bass · Christy Crews

Harp · Gennaro Porcaro

Flute · Michelle Caimotto

Oboe · Meave Cox

Clarinet · Art Austin

Bassoon · Amy Duxbury

Horn · Cathleen Torres, Diane Ryan

Trumpet · RIchard Leder

Bass Trombone - *

Timpani · Don Baker

Percussion · Norm Peck

Keyboards · Jonathan Erman

~

Orchestra Librarian · Virginia Smedberg

Orchestra Manager · Christy Crews

* First appearance with West Bay Opera