Opera TURANDOT

Turandot – Arena di Verona Opera Festival 2021

Turandot is the name of the “girl from Turan”. She is a princess from the Persian fairy tale collection A Thousand and One Days. The opera takes place in the Imperial Palace in Central Asia. As is so often the case in fairy tales, the suitor has to solve three riddles. If he solves it, he will have the beautiful princess as his wife, otherwise, he will have to pay for his passion with death. Kalaf, son of refugees, falls in love with the princess and was able to solve the puzzles. Even so, the princess remains cruel. Only Kalaf’s passion breaks their arrogance and the two become happy.
Turandot is the last opera by Giacomo Puccini, who died in 1924. Giuseppe Adami wrote the libretto based on the play by Carlo Gozzi. The opera was completed by Franco Alfano after his death and premiered on April 25, 1926, at La Scala in Milan.
The operatic aria by Kalaf “Nessun dorma” (Nobody Sleeps) is one of the most famous arias of all. She was a.o. sung by the unforgettable Luciano Pavarotti (one of the three tenors) on the occasion of the Soccer World Cup in Italy in 1990 in the Caracalla thermal baths and thus a world hit.

Lyric drama in 3 acts by Giacomo Puccini

Libretto
• Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni

Music
• Giacomo Puccini

Lasting
• 2.45 Hours approximately – Intervals included

Conductor
• Jader Bignamini (29/7 – 1, 5/8)
• Francesco Ivan Ciampa (28/8 – 3/9)

Director and set design
• Franco Zeffirelli

Costume Design
• Emi Wada

Choreography
• Maria Grazia Garofoli

Lighting Design
• Paolo Mazzon

Chorus Master
• Vito Lombardi

Arena di Verona Orchestra, Chorus, Corps de Ballet, and Technical Team

Cast

Turandot
• Anna Netrebko (29/7 – 1, 5/8)
• Anna Pirozzi (28/8)
• Elena Pankratova (3/9)

Emperor Altoum
• Chris Merritt (29/7 – 1, 5/8)
• Antonello Ceron (28/8 – 3/9)

Timur
• Riccardo Fassi (29/7 – 1, 5/8)
• Giorgio Giuseppini (28/8 – 3/9)

Calaf
• Yusif Eyvazov (29/7 – 1, 5/8)
• Murat Karahan (28/8 – 3/9)

Liù
• Ruth Iniesta

Ping
• Alexey Lavrov (29/7 – 1, 5/8)
• Biagio Pizzuti (28/8 – 3/9)

Pong
• Marcello Nardis

Pang
• Francesco Pittari (29/7 – 1, 5/8)
• Riccardo Rados (28/8 – 3/9)

A Mandarin
• Viktor Shevchenko

Performances Turandot Opera Festival Arena di Verona 2021

• Turandot: Thursday, July 29, 2021, 9 p.m.
• Turandot: Sunday, August 1, 2021, 8.45 p.m.
• Turandot, Thursday, August 5, 2021, 8.45 p.m.
• Turandot, Saturday, August 28, 2021, 8.45 p.m.
• Turandot, Friday, September 3, 2021, 8.45 p.m.