Turandot

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Original Turandot poster

For the opera by Ferruccio Busoni, see Turandot (Busoni).

Turandot is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, to an Italian libretto by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni, based on the play Turandot by Carlo Gozzi. It was left unfinished by Puccini at his death, and completed by Franco Alfano. The first performance, at the Teatro alla Scala, in Milan, on 25 April 1926, conducted by Arturo Toscanini, included only Puccini's music and not Alfano's additions. Later performances were of the completed score.

Turandot is a Persian word and name meaning "the daughter of Turan", Turan being a region of Central Asia which used to be part of the Persian Empire. 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, 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. ^[1]

"In questa reggia" — A citation from the score.

[edit] History

The story of Turandot was taken from the Persian collection of stories called The Book of One Thousand and One Nights or Hazar o-yak sab (1722 French translation Les Mille et un Jours by Francois Petis de la Croix), where the character of "Turandokht" as a cold Chinese princess was found. But this story about a Chinese princess bears much resemblance to Persian poet Nizami's story about a Russian princess being pursued by the Sassanid king Behram. The story of Turandokht is one of the best known from de la Croix's translation.

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 and some weeks later went to Brussels, Belgium for treatment. There he underwent surgery on November 24, but 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 should finish the opera. Puccini's son Tonio objected, and eventually Franco Alfano was chosen to flesh out the sketches. 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 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. 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 made a new official completion, but this has received a mixed reception.

The première of Turandot was at La Scala, Milan, on Sunday April 25, 1926, 1 year and 5 months after Puccini's death. It was conducted by Arturo Toscanini.

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.^[2] Later performances included Alfano's ending. Despite this, Turandot has maintained popularity. According to Opera America, it is today's twelfth most performed opera in North America.

For many years, the People's Republic of China 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, complete with opulent sets and soldiers from the People's Liberation Army as extras. It was an international collaboration, with director Zhang Yimou as choreographer and Zubin Mehta as conductor. The singing roles saw Giovanna Casolla as Princess Turandot, Sergey Larin as Calaf, and Barbara Frittoli as Liù.

As with Madama Butterfly, Puccini strove for a semblance of Asian authenticity (at least to western ears) by using music from the region in question. Eight of the themes used in Turandot are based on traditional Chinese music.

[edit] Roles

[edit] Synopsis

Place: Peking, China

Time: Legendary times

[edit] Act I

In front of the imperial palace.

A Mandarin announces the law of the land ("Popolo di Pekino! La legge è questa...)": 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, crying for blood, a blind old man is pushed to the ground while 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 urges his father 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 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, and the crowd's mood turns to mercy. They call on Turandot to spare the Prince. 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. As he cries out her name with joy, the crowd screams in horror: The Prince of Persia has been beheaded. Timur urges his son to desist, and Liù, who is secretly in love with the Prince, pleads with him in her acclaimed "Signore, Ascolta" not to attempt the riddles. The ministers Ping, Pong, and Pang appear and warn him that Turandot is unattainable. The Prince refuses to listen to them and rushes to the gong that hangs in front of the palace. Calling Turandot's name, he strikes the gong three times, thereby declaring himself a suitor. Ping, Pong, and Pang laugh, and the curtain falls.

[edit] Act II

[edit] Scene 1

A pavilion in the imperial palace. Before sunrise.

Ping, grand chancellor (Baritone), Pang, grand purveyor (Tenor), and Pong, grand cook (Tenor) from Act 2 Scene 1. This is from the 2002 coproduction of the Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg and the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden.

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 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, 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.

[edit] Scene 2

The courtyard of the palace. Sunrise.

Screenshot from the same production, Act 2 Scene 2.

The Emperor Altoum, father of Turandot, sits on his grand throne in his palace. Three times he urges the Prince to withdraw his challenge, and three times the Prince refuses. Turandot enters, and in the aria "In questa reggia", she explains that her ancestor of millennia past, Princess Lo-u-Ling, was ravished and murdered by a foreigner, and now out of revenge she has sworn to never let any man possess her. She warns the Prince to withdraw, but again he refuses. The Princess presents her first riddle: "What is born each night and dies each dawn?" The Prince correctly replies, "Hope." The Princess, unnerved, presents her second riddle: "What flickers red and warm like a flame, but is not fire?" The Prince thinks for a moment before replying, "Blood". Turandot is shaken. She presents her third riddle: "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 the Emperor's feet and pleads 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. 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," he tells her. "Bring me my name before sunrise, and at sunrise, I will die". Turandot accepts. The Emperor declares that he hopes to call the Prince his son come sunrise, and as he exits, the curtain falls.

[edit] Act III

[edit] Scene 1

The palace gardens. Night.

In the distance, heralds call out Turandot's command: "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, in the aria "Nessun dorma", anticipates his victory. Ping, Pong, and Pang appear and offer the Prince women and riches if he will only give up Turandot, 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. Liù counters Turandot in her aria "Tu che di gel sei cinta," 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. Even Ping, Pang and Pong express remorse and leave Turandot and the Prince alone.

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. As dawn breaks, the Prince reveals his name: Calaf, son of Timur.

[edit] Scene 2

The courtyard of the palace. Dawn.

Turandot and Calaf approach the Emperor's throne. She declares that she knows the Prince's name: "His name is ... love!" As the crowd cheers, the curtain falls.

[edit] Noted arias

• "Signore, ascolta" -- "My lord, listen" (Liù)
• "Non piangere, Liù" -- "Don't cry, Liù" (Calaf)
• "In questa reggia" -- "In this palace" (Turandot)
• "Nessun dorma" -- "None shall sleep" (Calaf)
• "Tanto amore segreto" -- "So much secret love" (Liù)
• "Tu che di gel sei cinta" -- "You who are begirdled in ice" (Liù)
• "Del primo pianto" (Turandot — from the final scenes not completed by Puccini)

Nessun dorma has become a popular culture standard and is recognizable to most Western ears.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Recordings of Turandot
• Background on the opera's origins and melodies
• MP3 Creative Commons Recording
• Recommended discography
• Opera Today - complete libretto with translations

[edit] See also

• About Turandot's character and differences between Gozzi's and Schiller's version