Turandot
Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924)
Lyric drama in three acts and five scenes
Libretto by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni after Carlo Gozzi
Fragment edition
Duration approx. 2 H. 10 Min. incl. intermission after 1st act after approx. 35 Min. Introduction 45 min before the performance.
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Turandot
Synopsis
Turandot
Act One
A Mandarin proclaims the law: Princess Turandot will only take as her husband the man who solves three riddles. Whoever attempts to solve the riddles and fails will be beheaded. The most recent suitor, the young Prince of Persia, tried his hand at them in vain. The people call for the executioner Pu-Tin-Pao and demand the Prince’s execution. In the tumult of the crowd, Calaf, the son of the overthrown Tartar king Timur, meets his father again, whom he thought to be dead. The aged Timur is accompanied by his slave girl Liù. The three of them remain unrecognised in Turandot's realm. Calaf asks Liù why she is caring for his father. She replies that Calaf once smiled at her in the Tartar palace. The mob sharpen their knives and sing to the moon, whose appearance is the sign for execution. After the moon has risen, the Persian prince is led in. The crowd now plead for mercy for him, but Turandot appears unmoved and gives the sign for the sentence to be carried out. Calaf is dazzled by the sight of Turandot and longs to conquer her. Timur and Liù implore him not to pursue his downfall. The three ministers Ping, Pong and Pang, tired of the bloody rituals, also try to deter Calaf with threats and ridicule. Calaf, however, is convinced of his victory and strikes the gong that sets the ritual in motion once again.
Act Two
Scene I
Ping, Pong and Pang have had enough of Turandot's rule and her executions. They lament the decline of China and long for their country homes, far away from Turandot's cruelty. They imagine a prince liberating their land and transforming Turandot into a loving woman. Trumpets announce the riddle challenge for Calaf and jolt them back into reality.
Scene II
The leaders and the people gather, and the old Emperor Altum appears. He longs for the end of the bloodbath his daughter has been causing among her suitors. But even he cannot deter Calaf from vying for his daughter’s hand. Turandot explains why she is not willing to submit to a man. Her ancestor Lou ling was violated and killed by Tartars hundreds of years ago. The cry of her ancestor sought refuge in her soul, she explains. She wants to avenge Lou-ling's death. Turandot asks Calaf the three riddle questions. The Tartar prince answers them all correctly. The correct answers are ‘hope’, ‘blood’ and ‘Turandot’. The people rejoice. Turandot begs her father Altum not to hand her over to the stranger. Calaf then poses a counter-riddle: if Turandot can find out his name by dawn, he is prepared to renounce her and die.
Act Three
Scene I
Turandot's heralds proclaim that no one may sleep that night. On pain of death, the stranger's name must be revealed before daybreak. Calaf is sure of his victory. Ping, Pong and Pang try to persuade Calaf to flee, threatening and making promises, but to no avail. Turandot's henchmen drag Timur and Liù over. They try to force Calaf's name out of them. Liù declares that she alone knows the name of the unknown prince, but that she will not reveal it under any circumstances. They torture her, but she does not reveal his name. Turandot asks her where she gets such strength. Liù answers: love. It is worth every sacrifice to her. Liù stabs herself. The people mourn Liù's death.