Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924): Turandot
The world-famous opera about the cruel princess Turandot with breath-taking music and radiant singing.
Author: Giacomo Puccini
Director: Jiří Nekvasil
Assistant Stage Director: Barbora Hamalová
Conductor: Jiří Klecker, Ondrej Olos
Assistant Conductor: Ondrej Olos
Set Design: Daniel Dvořák
Costume Design: Simona Rybáková
Chorus Master: Josef Pančík
The beautiful princess Turandot has sworn that she will marry only the prince who solves her three riddles. Anyone who stands trial and fails will lose his head. Prince Calaf, captivated by Turandot’s beauty, takes up the challenge, determined to win her heart or die in the attempt. Calaf succeeds in solving the riddles but Turandot refuses to become his wife. However Calaf offers Turandot a way of escape: if she can discover his name before daybreak, he will consent to die...
In 1920 Giacomo Puccini began searching for a new theme for an opera. The librettists, Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni, suggested Turandot, a play by the Italian poet and playwright, Carlo Gozzi written in 1762. However, the history of the bloodthirsty princess dates back to the 12th century where her character appeared in a collection of Persian stories called The Book of One Thousand and One Days by the Persian poet Nizemi. The French orientalist, François Pétis de la Croix, translated the collection into French and published them, thereby introducing the legend to Europe.
Puccini spent the last four years of his life on the composition of Turandot. There were many delays in finishing the libretto and it was reworked several times before the composer was satisfied. Due to the delays and Puccini’s health problems, the work did not progress at a fast rate. In November 1924 Puccini lost his battle with throat cancer leaving the opera unfinished. He had completed the opera up until the final duet, however he had left detailed sketches and instructions for the end of the opera. Franco Alfano was given the task to complete the opera and Turandot had its premiere on 25th April 1926 at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, although this performance included only Puccini’s music and not Alfano’s ending. During this initial performance the conductor Arturo Toscanini famously laid down his baton in Act III, declaring ‘at this point, the Maestro died’. On subsequent nights the opera was performed with Alfano’s ending. In 2001 the Italian composer, Luciano Berio, created a new ending based on Puccini’s sketches as well as expanding the musical language. This ending has been sanctioned by Puccini’s estate and was first performed in the Canary Islands in 2002, followed by Los Angeles, Amsterdam and Salzburg.
After more than 15 years, Puccini’s Turandot returns to the stage of the Janáček Theatre. The new staging of the opera is the work of the renowned artistic duo: the director Jiří Nekvasil and the designer Daniel Dvořák, who along with the costume designer Simona Rybáková have prepared an impressive production aimed to show the best of contemporary theatre. Puccini created a score which is loaded with atmosphere and full of many memorable arias, from Turandot’s ‘In questa reggia’ to Calaf’s ‘Nessun dorma’ which transport the audience to a beautiful yet savage world.
