To say Turandot is to say Puccini, although it was his posthumous opera. To say Turandot is the most personal and intense tribute one can make to the composer from Lucca on the centenary of his death. The complete catalogue pf Puccini is a legacy of enormous value, however it is this breathtaking story, with its origins in Persian literature, that takes its place in our emotional memory.
Nessum Dorma, let no one sleep, let no one lose the capacity to love, to dream, to live. That we can all be Calaf surprising Princess Turandot.That the musical beauty of this story comes to life. An opera which Puccini did not complete in his lifetime but for which he left precise instructions. So, the finale be exactly as the composer had imagined.
Turandot is a cold hearted, icy Chinese princess, who casts aside her pretenders one by one, challenging them with a series of impossible tasks to accomplish. He who is worthy of the princess must break through her impenetrable strength of character and respond to the enigmas laid out to him. It will be the young Calaf who has the answer to the three riddles and conquers the love of the princess, much to the pain of besotted Liù.
Both Turandot and her composer are worthy of our attention on the occasion of their centenary with this version of Emilio López, based on the unforgettable staging of Jean-Pierre Ponnelle, that premiered in Venice in 1987. This is a production by the Teatro de la Maestranza with two casts in the leading roles: sopranos Oksana Dyka and Maria Katzarava as Turandot and tenors Jorge de León and Héctor Sandoval for the part of Calaf.
