Turandot

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Turandot

Turandot is an opera

Opera

Opera is an Performing arts in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work which combines a text and a musical score. Opera is part of the Western classical music tradition....
in three acts by Giacomo Puccini

Giacomo Puccini

Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was an Italians composer whose operas, including La boh?me, Tosca, Madama Butterfly and Turandot, are among the most frequently performed in the List of important operas....
, set to a libretto

Libretto

A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, sacred or secular oratorio and cantata, Musical theater, and ballet....
in Italian by Giuseppe Adami

Giuseppe Adami

Giuseppe Adami was an Italy Libretto, known for his collaboration works with Giacomo Puccini for La rondine , Il tabarro and Turandot ....
and Renato Simoni

Renato Simoni

Renato Simoni was an Italy journalist, playwright, writer and theatrical critic noted for his collaboration work with Giuseppe Adami for Puccini?s Turandot....
. Though Puccini's first interest in the subject was based on his reading of Friedrich Schiller

Friedrich Schiller

Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller [johan/jo?han kr?st?f fri?t??? f?n ??l??/??l?] was a Germany poet, philosopher, historian, and playwright....
's adaptation of the play, his work is most nearly based on the earlier text Turandot by Carlo Gozzi

Carlo Gozzi

Carlo, Count Gozzi , was an Italy dramatist....
. Turandot was unfinished by the time of Puccini's death and was later completed by Franco Alfano

Franco Alfano

Franco Alfano was an Italy composer and piano. Though today best known for completing Giacomo Puccini's unfinished opera Turandot in 1926, he had considerable success with his own works during his lifetime....
. The first performance was held at the Teatro alla Scala

La Scala

The Teatro alla Scala , in Milan, Italy, is one of the world's most famous opera houses. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778, under the name Nuovo Regio Ducal Teatro alla Scala with Antonio Salieri Europa riconosciuta....
in Milan

Milan

Milan is the second largest city of Italy, located in the plains of Lombardy. It is the capital in the Province of Milan, as well as the Regions of Italy capital of Lombardy....
on 25 April 1926 and conducted by Arturo Toscanini

Arturo Toscanini

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Encyclopedia

Turandot is an opera

Opera

Giacomo Puccini

Libretto

A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, sacred or secular oratorio and cantata, Musical theater, and ballet....
in Italian by Giuseppe Adami

Giuseppe Adami

Giuseppe Adami was an Italy Libretto, known for his collaboration works with Giacomo Puccini for La rondine , Il tabarro and Turandot ....
and Renato Simoni

Renato Simoni

Friedrich Schiller

Carlo Gozzi

Carlo, Count Gozzi , was an Italy dramatist....
. Turandot was unfinished by the time of Puccini's death and was later completed by Franco Alfano

Franco Alfano

La Scala

Milan

Arturo Toscanini

Origin of the name

Turandot is a Persian

Persian language

Turan

Turan is the ancient Iranian languages name for Central Asia, literally meaning "the land of the Tur". As described below, the original Turanians are the...
", Turan being a region of Central Asia

Central Asia

Central Asia is a region of Asia from the Caspian Sea in the west to central China in the east, and from southern Russia in the north to northern India in the south....
which used to be part of the Persian Empire

Persian Empire

The 'Persian Empire' was a series of successive Iranian or Persianization empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the original Persian homeland, and beyond in Southwest Asia, South Asia, Central Asia and the Caucasus....
. In Persian, the fairy tale is known as Turandokht, with "dokht" being a contraction for dokhtar (meaning daughter), and both the "kh" and "t" are clearly pronounced. However, according to Puccini scholar Patrick Vincent Casali, the final "t" should not be sounded in the pronunciation of the opera's name or when referring to the title character, as Puccini never pronounced it (according to Rosa Raisa

Rosa Raisa

Rosa Raisa was a Poland-born, Italy-trained, Russian-Jewish dramatic soprano. She was one of the most highly-acclaimed operatic performers of her time with a voice of great magnitude....
, the first singer to play the title role) and, as Casali notes, the musical setting of many of Calaf's intonations of the name makes sounding the final "t" all but impossible. However Simonetta Puccini, keeper of the Villa Puccini and Mausoleum and his granddaughter, clearly states that the final "t" must be pronounced.

History

The story of Turandot was taken from the Persian collection of stories called The Book of One Thousand and One Days or Hezar o-yek shab (1722 French translation Les Mille et un jours by François Petis de la Croix

François Pétis de la Croix

Fran?ois P?tis de la Croix was a France orientalist.He was born in Paris, the son of the Arabic language interpreter of the French court, and inherited this office at his father's death in 1695, afterwards transmitting it to his own son, Alexandre Louis Marie, who also distinguished himself in Oriental studies....
— not to be confused with its sister work The Book of One Thousand and One Nights
The Book of One Thousand and One Nights

One Thousand and One Nights , is a collection of folk tales and other stories. The original concept is most likely derived from a pre-Islamic Persian prototype that probably relied partly on India elements, but the work as we have it was collected over many centuries by various authors, translators and scholars across the Middle East an...
), where the character of "Turandokht" as a cold Chinese princess was found. The story of Turandokht is one of the best known from de la Croix's translation.The plot respects the classical unities

Classical unities

The classical unities or three unities are rules for drama derived from a passage in Aristotle's Poetics . In their neoclassicism form they are as follows:...
of time, space and action.

Puccini first began working on Turandot in March 1920 after meeting with librettists Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni. He began composition in January 1921. By March 1924 he had completed the opera up to the final duet. However, he was unsatisfied with the text of the final duet, and did not continue until October 8, when he chose Adami's fourth version of the duet text. On October 10 he was diagnosed with throat cancer

Cancer

Cancer is a class of diseases in which a group of cell display uncontrolled growth , invasion , and sometimes metastasis . These three malignant properties of cancers differentiate them from benign tumors, which are self-limited, do not invade or metastasize....
and on November 24 went to Brussels

Brussels

Brussels , officially the Brussels Capital-Region, is the de facto capital city of the European Union and the largest urban area in Belgium....
, Belgium for treatment. There he underwent a new and experimental radiation therapy treatment. Puccini and his wife never knew how serious the cancer was, as the news was only revealed to his son. He died of complications on November 29, 1924.

He left behind 36 pages of sketches on 23 sheets for the end of Turandot, together with instructions that Riccardo Zandonai

Riccardo Zandonai

Riccardo Zandonai was an Italy opera composer....
should finish the opera. Puccini's son Tonio objected, and eventually Franco Alfano

Franco Alfano

Franco Alfano was an Italy composer and piano. Though today best known for completing Giacomo Puccini's unfinished opera Turandot in 1926, he had considerable success with his own works during his lifetime....
was chosen to flesh out the sketches after Vincenzo Tommasini

Vincenzo Tommasini

Vincenzo Tommasini was an Italy composer.Born in Rome, Tommasini studied philology and the Greek language at the University of Rome La Sapienza, at the same time pursuing equally intensive studies in music at the Academy of St....
(who had completed Boito

Arrigo Boito

Arrigo Boito , aka Enrico Giuseppe Giovanni Boito, pseudonym Tobia Gorrio, was an Italian poet, journalist, novelist and composer, best known today for his opera libretto and his own opera, Mefistofele....
's Nerone
Nerone

Nerone is an opera in three acts by Pietro Mascagni, 1935, from a libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti, based on the play Nerone by Pietro Cossa....
after the composer’s death) and Pietro Mascagni

Pietro Mascagni

Pietro Mascagni was an Italy composer most noted for his operas. His 1890 masterpiece, Cavalleria rusticana, caused one of the greatest sensations in opera history and singlehandedly ushered in the Verismo movement in Italian dramatic music....
were rejected. Ricordi decided on Alfano because his opera La leggenda di Sakùntala resembled Turandot in its setting and heavy orchestration. Alfano provided a first version of the ending with a few passages of his own, and even a few sentences added to the libretto which was not considered complete even by Puccini himself. After the severe criticisms by editor Ricordi

Ricordi

Ricordi may refer to:* Giovanni Ricordi , Italian violinist & publishing-company founder* Giulio Ricordi , Italian publisher & musician* Casa Ricordi, Italian music-publishing company...
and the conductor Arturo Toscanini, he was forced to write a second, strictly censored version that followed Puccini's sketches more closely, to the point where he did not set some of Adami's text to music because Puccini had not indicated how he wanted it to sound. Ricordi's real concern was not the quality of Alfano's work, but that he wanted the end of Turandot to sound as if it had been written by Puccini, and Alfano's editing had to be seamless. Of this version, about three minutes were cut for performance by Toscanini and it is this shortened version that is usually performed.

The premiere of Turandot was at La Scala

La Scala

Milan

Milan is the second largest city of Italy, located in the plains of Lombardy. It is the capital in the Province of Milan, as well as the Regions of Italy capital of Lombardy....
, on Sunday April 25, 1926, one year and five months after Puccini's death. It was conducted by Arturo Toscanini

Arturo Toscanini

Arturo Toscanini was an Italian people conductor. One of the most acclaimed musicians of the late 19th and 20th Centuries, he was renowned for his brilliant intensity, his restless perfectionism, his phenomenal ear for orchestral detail and sonority, and his photographic memory....
. In the middle of Act III, two measures after the words "Liù, poesia!", the orchestra rested. Toscanini stopped and laid down his baton. He turned to the audience and announced: "Qui finisce l'opera, perché a questo punto il maestro è morto" ("Here the opera ends, because at this point the maestro died"). The curtain was lowered slowly. Toscanini apparently never conducted the opera again. The second and subsequent performances at the 1926 La Scala season were conducted by Ettore Panizza

Ettore Panizza

Ettore Panizza was an Argentinian Conductor and composer, one of the leading conductors of the early 20th century.Panizza studied first with his father, who was a cellist at the Teatro Col?n, and later in Milan with Galli, Saladino, and Ferroni....
and they included Alfano's ending. (As discussed in Ashbrook and Powers , the music for Liù's death was not in fact Puccini's final composition, but had been orchestrated some nine months earlier).

Turandot quickly spread to other venues: Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city, with 2,724,347 residents in an urban area of some ....
(Teatro Costanzi, April 29, four days after the Milan premiere), Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is the Capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southern shore of the R?o de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent....
(Teatro Colón, June 23), Dresden

Dresden

Dresden is the capital city of the Germany Federal Free state of Saxony. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon triangle metropolitan area....
(September 6, in German), Venice

Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy, the capital city of the Italian regions Veneto, a population of 271,251 . Together with Padua, Italy, the city is included in the Padua-Venice Metropolitan Area ....
(La Fenice, September 9), Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the Capital of Republic of Austria and also one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.7 million...
(October 14), Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the Capital of Germany city and one of sixteen States of Germany of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million within its city limits, Berlin is the country's largest city....
(November 8), New York

New York

The State of New York is a U.S. state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States and is the nation's List of U.S....
(Metropolitan Opera, November 16), Brussels

Brussels

Brussels , officially the Brussels Capital-Region, is the de facto capital city of the European Union and the largest urban area in Belgium....
(La Monnaie, 17 December, in French), Naples

Naples

Naples is a city in southern Italy, the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples. The city is known for its rich history, art, culture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,800 years old....
(Teatro San Carlo, January 17, 1927), Parma

Parma

Parma is a city in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna famous for its architecture and the fine countryside around it. It is the home of the University of Parma, one of the oldest universities in the world....
(February 12), Turin

Turín

Tur?n is a municipality in the Ahuachap?n Department Departments of El Salvador of El Salvador....
(March 17), London

London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
(Covent Garden, June 7), San Francisco (September 19), Bologna

Bologna

Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna in northern Italy, in the Po Valley , between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, exactly between the Reno River and the S?vena River....
(October 1927), Paris

Paris

Paris is the Capital of France and the country's largest city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the ?le-de-France Regions of France ....
(March 29, 1928), Moscow

Moscow

Moscow is the capital and the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia of the Russian Federation. It is also the largest European cities and metropolitan areas, with the Moscow metropolitan area ranking among the largest urban areas in the world....
(Bolshoi Theatre, 1931).

Turandot is a staple of the standard operatic repertoire and it appears as number twelve on Opera America

Opera America

Opera America, officially OPERA America, is a service organization in North America promoting the creation, presentation, and enjoyment of opera....
's list of the 20 most-performed operas in North America.

For many years, the Government of the People's Republic of China

People's Republic of China

The People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the List of countries by population in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately a fifth of the world's population....
forbade performance of Turandot because they said it portrayed China and the Chinese unfavorably. In the late 1990s they relented, and in September 1998 the opera was performed for eight nights at the Forbidden City

Forbidden City

The Forbidden City was the China imperial palace from the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty. It is located in the middle of Beijing, People's Republic of China, and now houses the Palace Museum....
, complete with opulent sets and soldiers from the People's Liberation Army

People's Liberation Army

The People's Liberation Army is the unified military organization of all land, sea, and air forces of the People's Republic of China. The PLA was established on August 1, 1927 ? celebrated annually as "PLA Day" ? as the military arm of the Communist Party of China....
as extras. It was an international collaboration, with director Zhang Yimou

Zhang Yimou

Zhang Yimou is an internationally acclaimed China filmmaker and former cinematographer, and one of the best known of the Fifth Generation of Chinese film directors....
as choreographer and Zubin Mehta

Zubin Mehta

Zubin Mehta is an Indian conducting of Western classical music....
as conductor. The singing roles saw Giovanna Casolla as Princess Turandot, Sergej Larin

Sergejus Larinas

Sergej Larin or Sergejus Larinas was one of a number of tenors from the former Soviet Union to achieve fame in the West and rank with the best tenors of the 90s....
as Calàf, and Barbara Frittoli

Barbara Frittoli

Barbara Frittoli is an Italian people soprano born in Milan in 1967 and graduated from the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory in Milan. She recorded La Boheme with tenor Andrea Bocelli which became the biggest selling opera recording of all time....
as Liù.

As with Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly

Madama Butterfly is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa....
, Puccini strove for a semblance of Asian authenticity (at least to western ears) by using music from the region in question. Up to eight of the themes used in Turandot appear to be based on traditional Chinese music, and the melody of a Chinese song named "Mò Li Hua

Mo Li Hua

Mo Li Hua , which means 'Jasmine Flowers', is a popular China folk song. It was created during the Qianlong Emperor period of the Qing Dynasty....
", or "Jasmine", is included as a motif for the princess.

Alfano's original ending

The debate over which version of the ending is better is still open, but the consensus generally tends towards Alfano's first score. Scrutiny of the sketches, which Ricordi later allowed scholars to analyze (and sometimes publish), showed how Alfano actually didn't even try to use most of the short sketches on the sheets, with the exception of those with an obvious placement and one short theme he freely transformed, and used for the sake of stylistic continuity. From 1976 to 1988 the American composer Janet Maguire, convinced that the whole ending is coded in the sketches left by Puccini, composed a new ending, but this has never been performed. In 2001 Luciano Berio

Luciano Berio

Luciano Berio, Italian orders of merit was an Italian composer. He is noted for his experimental music work and also for his pioneering work in electronic music....
made a new sanctioned completion, using Puccini's sketches but also expanding the musical language, but this has received a mixed reception.

The opera with Alfano's original ending has been recorded more than once. The first definitely known live performance of the opera with Alfano's original ending was not until November 3, 1982, at the Barbican, London. It may have been staged in Germany in the early years, since Ricordi had commissioned a German translation of the text and a number of scores were printed in Germany with the full final scene included. This includes the aria "Del primo pianto", which is not usually performed. Recordings of this aria with Anna Roselle and Lotte Lehmann exist, which suggests they may have sung the original ending on stage, but no other evidence is available.

Roles

Role	Voice type	Premiere Cast, 25 April 1926 (Conductor: Arturo Toscanini Arturo Toscanini Arturo Toscanini was an Italian people conductor. One of the most acclaimed musicians of the late 19th and 20th Centuries, he was renowned for his brilliant intensity, his restless perfectionism, his phenomenal ear for orchestral detail and sonority, and his photographic memory.... )
Princess Turandot	soprano Soprano A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four part chorale style harmony the soprano takes the highest part which usually encompasses the melody....	Rosa Raisa Rosa Raisa Rosa Raisa was a Poland-born, Italy-trained, Russian-Jewish dramatic soprano. She was one of the most highly-acclaimed operatic performers of her time with a voice of great magnitude....
The Emperor Altoum, her father	tenor Tenor The tenor is a type of male voice type and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between the C one octave below middle C to the A above in choral music, and up to high C in solo work....	Francesco Dominici Francesco Dominici Francesco Dominici was an Italian operatic tenor particualarly admired for his acting in comedic roles. He made his professional opera debut as Fernando in Donizetti's La favorite at the Teatro Donizetti in Bergamo in 1914....
Timur, the deposed King of Tartary	bass	Carlo Walter
The Unknown Prince (Calàf), his son	tenor	Miguel Fleta Miguel Fleta Miguel Burr? Fleta was a Spanish tenor.Despite his short career, , Fleta is often described as one of the most significant Iberian opera singers of the 20th century....
Liù, a slave girl	soprano	Maria Zamboni Maria Zamboni Maria Zamboni was an Italian operatic soprano who had a prolific career in Italy and South America between 1921 and 1936. Admired for her vivid character portrayals and expressive singing, Zamboni was a popular and frequent performer at both La Scala and the Teatro Costanzi....
Ping, Lord Chancellor	baritone Baritone Baritone is a type of European classical music male voice type that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice....	Giacomo Rimini Giacomo Rimini Giacomo Rimini was an Italian born American operatic baritone most admired for his interpretations of the works of Verdi....
Pang, Majordomo	tenor	Emilio Venturini Emilio Venturini Emilio Venturini was an Italian operatic lyric tenor known for his portrayal of character roles. He made his professional opera debut in 1900 in Italy where he remained for the next several years....
Pong, Head chef of the Imperial Kitchen	tenor	Giuseppe Nessi Giuseppe Nessi Giussepe Nessi was an Italian opera tenor....
A Mandarin	baritone	Aristide Baracchi
The Prince of Persia	tenor	Not named in the original program
The Executioner (Pu-Tin-Pao)	silent	Not named in the original program
Imperial guards, the executioner's men, boys, priests, mandarins, dignitaries, eight wise men,Turandot's handmaids, soldiers, standard-bearers, musicians, ghosts of suitors, crowd

Synopsis

Place: Peking

Beijing

is a metropolis in northern China and the Capital of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the four municipality of China, which are equivalent to province in China's Political divisions of China....
, China

Time: Legendary times

Act 1

In front of the imperial palace A Mandarin announces the law of the land ( Popolo di Pekino! - "Any man who desires to wed Turandot must first answer her three riddles. If he fails, he will be beheaded" ). The Prince of Persia has failed and is to be beheaded at moonrise. As the crowd surges towards the gates of the palace, the imperial guards brutally repulse them, a blind old man is pushed to the ground. His slave-girl, Liù, cries for help. A young man hears her cry and recognizes the old man as his long-lost father, Timur, the deposed king of Tartary. The young Prince of Tartary is overjoyed seeing his father alive but urges him not to speak his name because he fears the Chinese rulers who have conquered Tartary. Timur tells his son that of all his servants, only Liù has remained faithful to him. When the Prince asks her why, she tells him that once, long ago in the palace, he smiled upon her (The crowd, Liù, Prince of Tartary, Timur: Indietro, cani! ).

The moon rises, and the crowd's cries for blood turn into silence. The doomed Prince of Persia is led before the crowd on his way to execution. The young Prince is so handsome that the crowd and the Prince of Tartary are moved to compassion and call on Turandot to spare his life (The crowd, Prince of Tartary : O giovinetto! ). She appears, and with a single imperious gesture orders the execution to continue. The Prince of Tartary, who has never seen Turandot before, falls immediately in love. He cries out Turandot's name (three times) with joy, and the Prince of Persia echoes his final cry. The crowd screams in horror as the Prince of Persia is beheaded.

The Prince of Tartary is dazzled by Turandot's beauty. He is about to rush towards the gong and strike it three times— the symbolic gesture of whoever wishes to marry Turandot—when the ministers Ping, Pong, and Pang appear and urge him cynically ( Fermo, che fai? ) not to lose his head for Turandot but to go back to his own country. Timur urges his son to desist, and Liù, who is secretly in love with the Prince, pleads with him ( Signore, ascolta! - "My lord, listen!" ) not to attempt the riddles. Liù's words touch his heart. The Prince tells Liù to make exile more bearable and never to abandon his father if the Prince fails to answer the riddles ( Non piangere, Liù
Non piangere, Liù

Non piangere, Li? is an aria sung by Cal?f, the "Unknown Prince" from Act I of the Italian opera, Turandot by Giacomo Puccini. The lyrics were written by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni....
- "Don't cry, Liù" ) . The three ministers, Timur, and Liù try one last time to hold the Prince ( Ah! Per l'ultima volta! ) but he refuses to listen.

He calls Turandot's name three times, and each time Liù, Timur, and the ministers reply, "Death!", and the crowd gasp ("Ah!"). Rushing to the gong that hangs in front of the palace, he strikes it three times, declaring himself a suitor. From the palace balcony, Turandot accepts the challenge, as Ping, Pang, and Pong laugh at the prince's foolishness.

Act 2

Scene 1: A pavilion in the imperial palace. Before sunrise

Ping, Pang, and Pong lament their place as ministers, poring over palace documents and presiding over endless rituals. They prepare themselves for either a wedding or a funeral (Ping, Pang, Pong: Ola, Pang! ) . Ping suddenly longs for his country house in Honan, with its small lake surrounded by bamboo. Pong remembers his grove of forests near Tsiang, and Pang recalls his gardens near Kiu. The three share fond memories of life away from the palace (Ping, Pang, Pong: Ho una casa nell'Honan ) but are shaken back to the realities of Turandot's bloody reign. They continually accompany young men to death and recall their ghastly fate. As the palace trumpet sounds, the ministers ready themselves for another spectacle as they await the entrance of the Emperor.

Scene 2: The courtyard of the palace. Sunrise The Emperor Altoum, father of Turandot, sits on his grand throne in his palace. He urges the Prince to withdraw his challenge but the Prince refuses (Altoum, the Prince: Un giuramento atroce ). Turandot enters and explains ( In questa reggia
In questa Reggia

In questa reggia is an aria from Giacomo Puccini's opera Turandot set to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni. The text is based on Friedrich Schiller's adaptation of the play Turandot by Carlo...
) that her ancestress of millennia past, Princess Lo-u-Ling, reigned over her kingdom "in silence and joy, resisting the harsh domination of men" until she was ravished and murdered by an invading foreign prince. Lo-u-Ling now lives again in Turandot and out of revenge she has sworn never to let any man possess her. She warns the Prince to withdraw, but again he refuses. The Princess presents her first riddle ( Straniero, ascolta! ) "What is born each night and dies each dawn?" The Prince correctly replies, "Hope."

The Princess, unnerved, presents her second riddle ( Guizza al pari di fiamma ) "What flickers red and warm like a flame, but is not fire?" The Prince thinks for a moment before replying, "Blood". Turandot is shaken. The crowd cheers the Prince, provoking Turandot's anger. She presents her third riddle ( Gelo che ti da foco ) "What is like ice, but burns like fire?" As the prince thinks, Turandot taunts him. Suddenly he cries out victory and announces, "Turandot!"

The crowd cheers for the triumphant Prince. Turandot throws herself at her father's feet and pleads with him not to leave her to the Prince's mercy. The Emperor insists that an oath is sacred, and it is Turandot's duty to wed the Prince (Turandot, Altoum, the Prince: Figlio del cielo ). As she cries out in anger, the Prince stops her, saying that he has a proposal for her. "You do not know my name. Bring me my name before sunrise, and at sunrise, I will die" ( Tre enigmi m'hai proposto ). Turandot accepts. The Emperor declares that he hopes to call the Prince his son come sunrise.

Act 3

Scene 1: The palace gardens. Night In the distance, heralds call out Turandot's command ( Cosi comanda Turandot—"This night, none shall sleep in Peking! The penalty for all will be death if the Prince's name is not discovered by morning" ). The Prince waits for dawn and anticipates his victory by singing "Nobody shall sleep!... Nobody shall sleep! Even you, O Princess" ( Nessun dorma
Nessun dorma

Nessun dorma is an aria from the final act of Giacomo Puccini's opera Turandot, and is one of the best-known tenor arias in all opera....
).

Ping, Pong, and Pang appear and offer the Prince women and riches if he will only give up Turandot ( Tu che guardi le stelle ), but he refuses. A group of soldiers then drag in Timur and Liù. They have been seen speaking to the Prince, so they must know his name. Turandot enters and orders Timur and Liù to speak. The Prince feigns ignorance, saying they know nothing. Liù declares that she alone knows the Prince's name, but she will not reveal it. Ping demands the Prince's name, and when she refuses, she is tortured. Turandot is clearly taken by Liù's resolve and asks her who put so much strength in her heart. Liù answers "Princess, Love!". Turandot demands that Ping tear the Prince's name from Liù, and he orders her to be tortured further. Liù counters Turandot ( Tu che di gel sei cinta
Tu che di gel sei cinta

Tu che di gel sei sinta is an aria from Act 3 Scene 1 of Puccini's opera Turandot. It is sung by Liu under torture, and prior to her suicide. Turandot is clearly taken by Li?'s resolve and asks her who put so much strength in her heart....
- "You who are begirdled by ice" ), saying that she too shall learn love. Having spoken, Liù seizes a dagger from a soldier's belt and stabs herself. As she staggers towards the Prince and falls dead, the crowd screams for her to speak the Prince's name. Since Timur is blind, he must be told about Liù's death, and he cries out in anguish. Timur warns that the gods will be offended by this outrage, and the crowd is subdued with shame and fear. The grieving Timur and the crowd follow Liù's body as it is carried away. Everybody departs leaving the Prince and Turandot. He reproaches Turandot for her cruelty (The Prince, Turandot: Principessa di morte ) and then takes her in his arms and kisses her in spite of her resistance. Here Puccini's work ends. The remainder of the music was completed by Franco Alfano.

The Prince tries to convince Turandot to love him. At first she is disgusted, but after he kisses her, she feels herself turning towards passion. She asks him to ask for nothing more and to leave, taking his mystery with him. The Prince however, reveals his name, "Calàf, son of Timur" and places his life in Turandot's hands. She can now destroy him if she wants (Turandot, Calàf: Del primo pianto ).

Scene 2: The courtyard of the palace. Dawn

Turandot and Calàf approach the Emperor's throne. She declares that she knows the Prince's name: "It is ... love!" ( Diecimila anni al nostro Imperatore! ). The crowd cheers and acclaims the two lovers ( O sole! Vita! Eternita ).

Critical response

Whilst long recognised as the most tonally adventurous of his operas, Turandot has also been considered as at best a flawed masterpiece, and some critics have been unreservedly hostile. Thus Joseph Kerman

Joseph Kerman

Joseph Kerman is a well-known writer on music and musicologist. He is a professor emeritus at University of California, Berkeley.In 1997-1998 Kerman was the Norton professor at Harvard University....
states:

"Nobody would deny that dramatic potential can be found in this tale. Puccini, however, did not find it; his music does nothing to rationalize the legend or illuminate the characters..." and he apparently considered the opera as a whole "depraved".

Some of this criticism is possibly due to the standard Alfano ending (Alfano II), in which Liù's death is followed almost immediately by Calaf's 'rough wooing' of Turandot, and the 'bombastic' end to the opera. The Berio version is considered to overcome some of these criticisms, but critics such as Tanner have failed to be wholly convinced by the new ending, noting that the criticism by the Puccini advocate Julian Budden

Julian Budden

Julian Medforth Budden was a British opera scholar, radio producer and broadcaster. He is particularly known for his three volume on the operas of Verdi , and a single volume biography in 1982; followed by a single volume work on Puccini in 2002....
still applies:

"Nothing in the text of the final duet suggests that Calaf's love for Turandot amounts to anything more than a physical obsession: nor can the ingenuities of Simoni and Adami's text for 'Del primo pianto' convince us that the Princess's submission is any less hormonal."

Ashbrook and Powers consider it was an appreciation of this problem, which they state as an inadequate buildup for Turandot's change of heart combined with an overly successful treatment of the secondary character' (by which they mean Liù), which contributed to Puccini's inability to complete the opera.

Instrumentation

Turandot is scored for the following large orchestra:

Woodwinds
Woodwind instrument

A woodwind instrument is a musical instrument which produces sound when the player blows air against an edge of, or opening in, the instrument, causing the air to vibrate within a resonator....

3 Flute

Flute

The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike other woodwind instruments, a flute is a reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air against an edge....
s (3rd doubling Piccolo

Piccolo

The piccolo is a small flute. The piccolo has the same fingerings as its larger component, the flute, but the sound it produces is an octave higher than written....
)

2 Oboe

Oboe

The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois", "hoboy", or "French hoboy"....
s

English Horn

Cor anglais

The cor anglais, or English horn, is a Double reed woodwind Musical instrument in the oboe family.The cor anglais is a transposing instrument pitched in F, a perfect fifth lower than the oboe , and is consequently approximately one-third longer....

2 Clarinet

Clarinet

The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The name derives from adding the suffix -et meaning little to the Italian word clarino meaning a particular type of trumpet, as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet....
s in B-flat

Bass Clarinet

Bass clarinet

The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common Soprano clarinet, it is usually pitched in B , but it plays notes an octave below the soprano B clarinet....

2 Bassoon

Bassoon

The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the Bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher....
s

Contrabassoon

The contrabassoon is a larger version of the bassoon sounding an octave lower. Its technique is similar to its smaller cousin, with a few notable differences....

2 Onstage Alto Saxophones

Alto saxophone

The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by the Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax. The alto, with the Tenor saxophone, is the most common size of saxophone....
in E-flat

Brass
Brass instrument

A brass instrument is a musical instrument whose tone is produced by vibration of the lips as the player blows into a tubular resonator. They are also called labrosones, literally meaning "lip-vibrated instruments" ....

4 Horns

Horn (instrument)

The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. It is descended from the natural horn and is informally known as the French horn....
in F

3 Trumpet

Trumpet

The trumpet is a musical instrument with the highest Register in the brass instrument family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BC....
s in F

3 Trombone

Trombone

The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass instrument family. Like all brass instruments, it is a lip-reed aerophone: sound is produced when the player?s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate....
s

Contrabass Trombone

Types of trombones

There are many different types of trombones. The most frequently encountered trombones today are the tenor and bass, though as with other Renaissance instruments such as the recorder, the trombone has been built in every size from piccolo to contrabass ....

6 Onstage Trumpets in B-flat

3 Onstage Trombones

Onstage Bass Trombone

Types of trombones

Percussion

Percussion instrument

A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound by being hit with an implement, shaken, rubbed, scraped, or by any other action which sets the object into vibration....

Timpani

Timpani are musical instruments in the percussion instrument family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a drumhead stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper, and more recently, constructed of more lightweight fiberglass....

Cymbal

Cymbals are a modern percussion instrument. Cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various cymbal alloys; see cymbal making for a discussion of their manufacture....
s

Gong

A gong is an East Asia and South East Asian musical instrument that takes the form of a flat metal disc which is hit with a mallet.Gongs are broadly of three types....

Triangle

Triangle (instrument)

The triangle is an idiophone type of musical instrument in the Percussion instrument family. It is a bar of metal, usually steel in modern instruments, bent into a triangle shape....

Snare Drum

Snare drum

The snare drum is a drum with strands of snares made of curled metal wire, metal cable, plastic cable, or catgut cords stretched across the a drumhead, typically the bottom....

Bass Drum

Bass drum

A bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch . There are three general classifications of bass drums: the concert bass drum, the kick' drum, and the pitched bass drum....

Tam-Tam

Gong

A gong is an East Asia and South East Asian musical instrument that takes the form of a flat metal disc which is hit with a mallet.Gongs are broadly of three types....

Glockenspiel

File:Glockenspiel-malletech.jpgFile:GlockenspielSousaphone.jpgThe glockenspiel is a musical instrument in the percussion instrument family....

Xylophone

The xylophone is a musical instrument in the percussion instrument family which probably originated in Slovakia. It consists of wooden bars of various lengths that are struck by plastic, wooden, or rubber drum stick#Malletss....

Bass Xylophone

Xylophone

Tubular Bells

Tubular Bells is the debut vinyl record of English musician Mike Oldfield, released in 1973. The late Vivian Stanshall provided the voice of the "Master of Ceremonies" who reads off the list of instruments at the end of the first movement....

Onstage Wood Block

Wood block

A wood block is essentially a small piece of slit drums made from a single piece of wood and used as a percussion instrument. It is struck with a stick, making a characteristically percussive sound....

Onstage Large Gong

Keyboards

Keyboard instrument

A keyboard instrument is any musical instrument played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include various types of organ s as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic musical instrument....

Celesta

The celesta or celeste is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard instrument. Its appearance is similar to that of an upright piano or of a large wooden music box ....

Organ

Organ (music)

The organ is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard played either Manual or Pedal clavier. The organ is one of the oldest musical instruments in the European classical music....

Strings

String instrument

A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones....

2 Harp

Harp

The 'harp' is a stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicular to the Sounding board. It is also considered to be a percussion instrument....
s

Violin

The violin is a Bow string instrument with four strings usually tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest and highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which also includes the viola and cello....
s I, II

Viola

The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.The casual observer may mistake the viola for the violin because of their similarity in size, closeness in pitch range , and nearly identical playing position....
s

Violoncellos

Cello

The violoncello is a bowed string instrument. A person who plays a cello is called a cellist. The cello is used as a solo instrument, in chamber music, and as a member of the string section of an orchestra....

Double Basses

Double bass

The double bass or contrabass is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow string instrument used in the modern orchestra. It is a standard member of the string section of the orchestra and smaller string musical ensembles in European classical music....

Selected recordings

Year	Cast (Turandot, Calàf, Liù, Timur)	Conductor, Opera House and Orchestra	Label
1938	Gina Cigna Gina Cigna Gina Cigna was a French-Italian opera singer, one of the leading dramatic soprano of the inter-war period.... , Francesco Merli Francesco Merli Francesco Merli was an Italian opera singer, particularly associated with heavy roles such as Otello, Canio and Calaf. He ranks as one of the finest dramatic tenors of the inter-war period.... , Magda Olivero Magda Olivero Magda Olivero is considered by many to be one of the greatest sopranos of the verismo-school of singing. She was born in Saluzzo, Italy. Her early teachers found her voice wanting.... , Luciano Neroni	Franco Ghione Franco Ghione Franco Ghione was an Italy conductor and violinist. He graduated from the Parma Conservatory and became a violinist for the Parma Theatre and the Augusteo in Rome.... , Chorus and Orchestra RAI, Turin	Audio CD: Naxos Cat: 8.110193-94
1955	Inge Borkh Inge Borkh Inge Borkh is a German-born Swiss soprano.Inge Borkh was born Ingeborg Simon in Mannheim, Germany, in 1917. She was initially an actress and had some training in dance, both of which served her well in opera: she became known both for her voice and for her dramatic intensity - the "singing actress" exemplified, years before the term... , Mario del Monaco Mario del Monaco Mario Del Monaco was an Italian tenor and is regarded by his admirers as being one of the greatest dramatic tenors of the 20th Century.Del Monaco was born Florence to a musical upper-class family.... , Renata Tebaldi Renata Tebaldi Renata Tebaldi was an Italian lirico-spinto soprano, popular in the post-World War II period. Acclaimed as one of the most beloved opera singers of all time, she primarily focused on the verismo roles of the lyric and dramatic repertoires.... , Nicola Zaccaria Nicola Zaccaria Nicola Zaccaria was a Greece bass-baritone.Born in Piraeus, Zaccaria studied in Athens where he enjoyed his debut in 1949, aged 26. He sang at La Scala in 1953 and his position as a mainstay of the bass operatic repertoire was assured thereafter....	Alberto Erede Alberto Erede Alberto Erede was an Italy Conductor , particularly associated with opera work.Born in Genoa, Erede studied there before studying in Milan, then with Felix Weingartner at Basle, and after this with Fritz Busch at Dresden.... , Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia The Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia is one of the best-known orchestras in Italy. It is based at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome....	Audio CD: Decca Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 in music by Edward Lewis . Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; later the link with the British company was broken for several decades.... Cat: 452 964-2
1957	Maria Callas Maria Callas Maria Callas was an American-born Greeks soprano and one of the most renowned opera singers of the twentieth century. She combined an impressive bel canto technique with great dramatic gifts.... , Eugenio Fernandi Eugenio Fernandi Eugenio Fernandi was an Italian tenor born in Pisa in 1922 and raised in the countryside outside of Turin. He studied at La Scala in Milan and made his operatic debut in Lisbon during 1954 singing the role of the Duke in Rigoletto.... , Elisabeth Schwarzkopf Elisabeth Schwarzkopf Dame Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Order of the British Empire was a German-born Austrian/British opera singer and recitalist. She was amongst the most renowned opera singers of the 20th Century, much admired for her performances of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Richard Strauss and Hugo Wolf.... , Nicola Zaccaria Nicola Zaccaria Nicola Zaccaria was a Greece bass-baritone.Born in Piraeus, Zaccaria studied in Athens where he enjoyed his debut in 1949, aged 26. He sang at La Scala in 1953 and his position as a mainstay of the bass operatic repertoire was assured thereafter....	Tullio Serafin Tullio Serafin Tullio Serafin was an Italy Conducting.... , Orchestra & Coro del Teatro alla Scala di Milano	Audio CD: EMI Classics
1959	Birgit Nilsson Birgit Nilsson Birgit Nilsson was a Sweden dramatic soprano who specialized in operatic and symphonic works. Her voice was noted for its overwhelming force, bountiful reserves of power and the gleaming brilliance and clarity in the upper register.... , Jussi Björling Jussi Björling Johan Jonatan was a Sweden operatic tenor, Grammy Award for Best Classical Vocal Performance .... , Renata Tebaldi, Giorgio Tozzi Giorgio Tozzi Giorgio Tozzi was for many years a leading basso with the Metropolitan Opera, and was seen playing lead roles in nearly every major opera house world-wide....	Erich Leinsdorf Erich Leinsdorf Erich Leinsdorf was an Austrian-born American conducting. He performed and recorded with leading orchestras and opera companies throughout the United States and Europe, earning a reputation for exacting standards as well as an acerbic personality.... , Rome Opera Chorus and Orchestra	Audio CD: RCA Victor Cat: 09026626872
1965	Birgit Nilsson, Franco Corelli Franco Corelli Franco Corelli was an Italian tenor active in opera from 1951 to 1976. Associated in particular with the big spinto and dramatic tenor roles of the Italian repertory, he was celebrated internationally for his handsome stage presence and thrilling upper register.... , Renata Scotto Renata Scotto Renata Scotto is an Italy soprano. Since retiring from the stage as a singer in 2002, she has turned to directing opera as well as teaching at her own opera academy in Italy and New York.... , Bonaldo Giaiotti Bonaldo Giaiotti Bonaldo Giaiotti is an Italian operatic Bass , particularly associated with the Italian repertory.Born in Udine, he studied in his native city and later in Milan with Alfredo Starno, where he made his debut at the Teatro Nuovo in 1957....	Francesco Molinari-Pradelli Francesco Molinari-Pradelli Francesco Molinari-Pradelli was a prominent Italian opera conductor . He studied piano and composition at Bologna, and graduated from the Accademia di Santa Cecilia, Rome in 1938.... , Teatro dell'Opera di Roma Teatro dell'Opera di Roma The *Teatro dell'Opera di Roma* is an opera house in Rome, Italy. Originally opened in November 1880 as the 2,212 seat Costanzi Theatre, it has undergone several changes of name as well modifications and improvements.... orchestra and chorus	Audio CD: EMI Classics EMI Classics EMI Classics is a record label of EMI, formed in 1990 in order to reduce the need to create country-specific packaging and catalogs for internationally distributed european classical music releases.... Cat: 077776932729
1972	Joan Sutherland Joan Sutherland Dame Joan Alston Sutherland, Order of Merit, Order of Australia, Order of the British Empire is an Australian voice type soprano noted for her contribution in the renaissance of the bel canto repertoire in the late 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.... , Luciano Pavarotti Luciano Pavarotti Luciano Pavarotti Italian orders of merit was an Italian opera tenor, who also crossed over into popular music. He was the most commercially successful tenor of all.... , Montserrat Caballé Montserrat Caballé Montserrat Caball? is a Spain Catalan people operaticsoprano. One of the greatest sopranos of the 20th century,she possesses a voice of remarkable beauty and of great range... , Nicolai Ghiaurov Nicolai Ghiaurov Nicolai Ghiaurov was a Bulgarian opera singer and one of the most famous basso singers of the postwar period. He was admired for his powerful, sumptuous voice, and was particularly associated with roles of Giuseppe Verdi....	Zubin Mehta Zubin Mehta Zubin Mehta is an Indian conducting of Western classical music.... , London Philharmonic Orchestra London Philharmonic Orchestra The London Philharmonic Orchestra , based in London, is one of the major orchestras of the United Kingdom, and is based in the Royal Festival Hall....	Audio CD: Decca Cat: 4582022
1977	Montserrat Caballé, Mirella Freni Mirella Freni Mirella Freni is an Italian opera soprano much admired for the youthful quality of her voice, her phrasing and thoughtful character interpretations and acting skills.... , José Carreras José Carreras Josep Maria Carreras i Coll , better known as Jos? Carreras, is a Spain Catalonia tenor. One of the most prominent opera singers of his generation, and particularly eminent in the operas of Verdi and Puccini, his career has encompassed over 60 roles on stage and in the recording studio.... , Paul Plishka Paul Plishka Paul Plishka is a Ukrainian-American opera singer.Mr Plishka comes from Old Forge, Pennsylvania; his parents were American-born children of Ukrainians immigrants....	Alain Lombard Alain Lombard Alain Lombard is a France Conductor .Born in Paris, he studied at the Conservatoire de Paris, earning an appointment at the Op?ra National de Lyon in 1961, where he would soon become principal conductor.... , Chorus of the Rhine Opera, Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra	Audio CD: EMI Classics EMI Classics EMI Classics is a record label of EMI, formed in 1990 in order to reduce the need to create country-specific packaging and catalogs for internationally distributed european classical music releases.... Cat: 5652932
1981	Katia Ricciarelli Katia Ricciarelli Katia Ricciarelli is an Italian soprano.... , Plácido Domingo Plácido Domingo Jos? Pl?cido Domingo Embil Order of the British Empire , better known as Pl?cido Domingo, is a Spanish tenor, known for his versatile and strong voice, possessing a ringing and dramatic tone throughout its range.... , Barbara Hendricks Barbara Hendricks Barbara Hendricks is an American-born operatic soprano and concert singer. She is also known for her work as a human rights activist. Hendricks is currently a citizen of Sweden.... , Ruggero Raimondi Ruggero Raimondi Ruggero Raimondi is an Italian bass-baritone opera singer and sometime screen actor....	Herbert von Karajan Herbert von Karajan Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian orchestra and opera conducting, one of the most renowned 20th-century conductors. His obituary in The New York Times described him as "probably the world's best-known conductor and one of the most powerful figures in classical music." Karajan conducted the Berlin Philharmonic for thirty-five years.... , Vienna State Opera Chorus, Vienna Philharmoniker	Audio CD: Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon is a Germany classical record label, now part of the Universal Music Group. The company has long been known for its high standards of high fidelity.... Cat: 423 855-2
1988	Eva Marton Éva Marton ?va Marton is a Hungary dramatic soprano, particularly known for her operatic portrayals of Puccini's Turandot and Tosca, and Wagnerian roles.... , Plácido Domingo, Leona Mitchell Leona Mitchell Leona Mitchell , is an African-American operatic soprano and an Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame inductee.Ms. Mitchell started singing at an early age in the choir of the Antioch Baptist Church in Enid where her father, Reverend Hulon Mitchell, was the minister.... , Paul Plishka	James Levine James Levine James Lawrence Levine is an United States orchestral conducting and piano. He is currently the music director of the Metropolitan Opera and of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.... , Metropolitan Opera Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera Association of New York City, founded in April 1880, is a major presenter of all types of opera including Grand Opera. Peter Gelb is the company's general manager and James Levine is music director.... orchestra and chorus	DVD: Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon is a Germany classical record label, now part of the Universal Music Group. The company has long been known for its high standards of high fidelity.... Cat: 00440 073 0589
1998	Giovanna Casolla, Sergej Larin, Barbara Frittoli Barbara Frittoli Barbara Frittoli is an Italian people soprano born in Milan in 1967 and graduated from the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory in Milan. She recorded La Boheme with tenor Andrea Bocelli which became the biggest selling opera recording of all time.... , Carlo Colombara	Zubin Mehta, Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Fondazione	DVD: RCA RCA RCA Corporation, founded as Radio Corporation of America, was an electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. Today, the RCA is owned by the France conglomerate Thomson SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Thomson.... Cat: 787798 928658

Note: "Cat:" is short for catalogue number by the label company

External links

available from the Metropolitan Opera International Radio Broadcast Information Center (2006-07 Broadcast)
In Spanish.
- Aria of Liù (recording by Jana Lady Lou)