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GIACOMO PUCCINI

TURANDOT

CONTENTS

SYNOPSIS P.

A PARABLE OF LOVE DIRECTOR CLAUS GUTH IN AN INTERVIEW WITH KONRAD KUHN P.

TURANDOT – RIDDLES AND TRANSFORMATIONS VERA KING P.

BEFORE THE LAW FRANZ KAFKA

A TURANDOT IN THE MODERN SPIRIT RICHARD ERKENS P.

STRUGGLE FOR CREDIBILITY KONRAD KUHN P.

THE ENIGMAS OF MUSICAL EXOTICISM IN TURANDOT W. ANTHONY SHEPPARD P.

IMPRINT

GIACOMO PUCCINI

TURANDOT DRAMMA LIRICO in three acts and five scenes Text by GIUSEPPE ADAMI & RENATO SIMONI

ORCHESTRA

3 flutes (3rd also piccolo) 2 oboes / cor anglais, 2 clarinets bass clarinet / 2 bassoons contrabassoon / 4 horns / 3 trumpets 3 trombones / bass trombone / timpani percussion (bass drum, snare drum, triangle, cymbals, tam-tam, Chinese gong, glockenspiel, xylophone, bass xylophone, tubular bells) celesta / 2 harps / organ / strings STAGE ORCHESTRA 2 alto saxophones / 6 trumpets 3 trombones / cimbasso percussion (2 wooden drums, tam-tam)

AUTOGRAPH Archivio Storico Ricordi, Milan FIRST PERFORMANCE 25 APRIL 1926 Teatro alla Scala, Milan (unfinished version) PREMIÈRE IN VIENNA 14 OCTOBER 1926 Vienna State Opera DURATION

2 H 45 MIN

INCL. 1 INTERMISSION

TURANDOT

SYNOPSIS ACT 1 The mandarin proclaims the law: Princess Turandot will be the bride of the prince who can solve the three riddles she poses him. If he fails, he will be executed. The Prince of Persia has just made the attempt and failed. The mob calls for the execu tioner. In this situation Calaf finds his father Timur, the de throned King of the Tartars, whom he believed to be dead. He was brought to safety by the slave girl Liù after his overthrow, who has been caring for him since. When Calaf asks her why she made this sacrifice, Liù explains that Calaf had smiled at her once in the palace. The Prince of Persia is led to his execution. At the sight of him, the previously bloodthirsty mob pleads for mercy for him. Calaf joins in the call. But when he sees Turandot, he falls in love with her that instant and now wants to challenge her riddles. The ministers Ping, Pang and Pong try to dissuade him from this. Liù and Timur beg him to reconsider, but Calaf has decided he will accept the challenge.

ACT 2 Ping, Pang and Pong talk about the many princes who have died in the attempt to win Turandot, and dream of their own private happiness. The test begins. Altoum, emperor of China and Turandot’s father, is tired of the slaughter. He calls on Calaf to give up and go his way. Calaf insists on the test. The mandarin proclaims the law again. Turandot explains the origin of the law. Many thousands of years ago, her ancestor Lo-u-Ling had been seized by a man, raped and killed. Now, she is taking her revenge on the princes who dare ask for her hand. No one will possess her. Calaf calls for her to pose the riddles. To Turandot’s horror, he finds the right answer three times. The princess begs her father not to give her to the strange prince, but he refuses, pointing out that he has taken a holy oath. When Turandot asks if Calaf will make her his wife by force, he rejects this, saying that he wants her love. He offers an escape. If she can discover his name before dawn, he will submit to his fate.

Previous pages: JONAS KAUFMANN as CALAF ASMIK GRIGORIAN as TURANDOT DANCE ENSEMBLE

SYNOPSIS

ACT 3 The entire city is trying desperately to discover Calaf’s name. Turandot has threatened executions if they fail. Ping, Pang and Pong try to bribe Calaf, then they appeal to his sympathy, but all in vain. When the mob is ready for violence, henchmen bring in Timur and Liù. Calaf immediately denies any link, but the ministers realise that the two know Calaf and can give his name. Turandot tries everything to get Timur to speak. To protect him, Liù declares that she alone knows the prince’s name, but she refuses even under the threat of torture to give it up. When Turandot asks what the root of her strength is, she answers it is love. She predicts that Turandot will also come to love, and then takes her own life. In the general emotion, Calaf and Turandot are left alone. She still refuses to submit to Calaf. The kiss he steals from her changes the situation. She weeps her first tears, and admits that she has feared him but also loved him. He should be satisfied with this and walk away with his secret. He puts his life in her hands by voluntarily surrendering his name, Calaf, son of Timur. In the following decisive ceremony, Turandot announces to the emperor, her father, that the name of the stranger is “love”.