When Puccini’s opera first debuted, two years after his death, it was famously incomplete, as he had not composed the final section. Despite that, in 1927, Guardian journalist Eric Blom wrote that musically, Turandot is decidedly the most interesting work ever written by Puccini. The work was both “better than, and different from what the public had come to expect of him with La Boheme, Tosca and Madama Butterfly.”
The opera was originally based the story of Turan-Dokht, from the epic Haft Peykar composed by 12th century Persian poet Nizami. In China, Prince Calaf falls in love with the cold Princess Turandot, daughter of Turan. To obtain permission to marry her, the Prince must resolve three riddles – and any wrong answer will result in death.
Chinese director Chen Shi-Zheng, who grew up during the cultural revolution, will bring his understanding of ritual and ceremony to this opera on life and death. For him, death and beauty are inextricably linked, and this will be made evident in Turandot’s execution scene.
Type of Event: Classical
Venue: Mrs Macquaries Point
Mrs Macquaries Rd
Sydney NSW 2000
Date: from 24 March to 24 April 2016
Price: from $70
Website: Opera Australia
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