Turandot

From Conservapedia - Reading time: 6 min

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Turandot is a three-act Italian opera by Giacomo Puccini based on a Schiller adaptation of a play possibly based on one of Richard Burton's The Arabian Nights. Puccini died in 1924 before completing the third act and Franco Alfano, one of its two librettists, finished the work. It is a deeply psychological work. It typically takes a little under two hours to perform.

Plot[edit]

Turandot ("Turan's daughter"), is a princess of China. She learned of an ancient ancestress princess, Princess Lo-u-Ling, who was raped and murdered after being conquered by the King of the Tartars. She demands and gets a promise from her father, the Emperor Altoum, in the form of a law that requires that any prince who asks for her hand in marriage must answer three difficult riddles. If the prince does not answer all three riddles correctly, then he will be beheaded. Altoum reluctantly agrees. A prince is to indicate his choice to take the challenge by striking a gong three times.

Act I[edit]

The opera opens at sunset outside the Forbidden City in Peking. There is a crowd. A mandarin describes the law. He declared that the Prince of Persia attempted the challenge and failed. The Prince of Persia will be executed that night at the rise of the Moon. The crowd goes wild with blood-lust.

The blind, deposed King of Tartary, Timur falls in the rush. His loyal slave-girl, Lui, cries out for help. At that moment, Timur's long-lost son, Calaf (described in the libretto as the Unknown Prince) appears. Father and son recognize each other and have a moment of emotional reunion. Calaf asks Lui why she stays loyal to Timur. Lui explains that it is because Calaf once smiled at her in their palace in Tartary (and she fell in love with him).

The executioner's men and the crowd eagerly anticipate the execution. The crowd await the appearance of the Moon, describing it as if it were a bloodless severed head. The Moon appears and the crowd called out for the executioner, Pu-Tin-Pao.

A boy's choir sings about how princes long for Turandot.

The young Prince of Persia appears on his way to the scaffold and the crowd is moved to pity. The crowd and Calaf calls out to Turandot for mercy. Turandot appears. She gestures to indicate the death-sentence. Calaf falls in love with Turandot on sight. Timur and Lui beg Calaf to flee. Calaf approaches the gong. The cynical three Ministers, Ping, Pang and Pong intercept Calaf and make an extended attempt to discourage him.

A group of Turandot's handmaidens appear and ask for silence since she is sleeping. The Ministers are dismissive of the women and they depart. The Ministers talk to Calaf about how difficult the riddles are. The ghosts of princes who failed to answer the riddles and were executed appear and declare their love for Turnadot even in death. Calaf and the Ministers argue again.

Lui declares how dear the memory of Calaf's smile is and asks him again to stop. Calaf recognizes that she is in love with him and explains that the long-ago smile was merely incidental. Calaf asks Lui not to abandon Timur. They and the Ministers engage in an extended quartet.

Timur cries out Turandot's name, rushes over to the gong, seizes the hammer, and strikes it three times. The crowd and the Ministers sing out an expectation of death for Calaf.

Act II[edit]

Scene 1:

Ping appears in front of a pavilion. He calls for Pang and Pong, who appear. Ping talks about the two possibilities: a royal marriage or death for the prince. Pong talks of the details of the celebration of a marriage and Pang sings of the funeral. Ping sings of how China used to be ruled by the ancient laws but that with the birth of Turandat, the order was lost. It was replaced by three strokes of the gong, three riddles, and another execution.

The Ministers reminisce about the lakes, forests and gardens at their comfortable homes away from the capital.

They sing about specific princes who tried and failed to answer the riddles. An offstage chorus sings of its blood-lust.

The Ministers say goodbye to China and the royal bloodline. They shift back to hope of a royal wedding and the bridal chamber and peace in China. They here trumpets announcing the challenge event and exit.

Scene 2:

After a long musical transition, a crowd forms in a large square in the palace. Eight Sages appear each with three scrolls containing the answers to the riddles. The crowd acknowledges the scrolls and the Ministers. They praise Altoum.

Altoum describes his promise and his horror at the many deaths and he asks Calaf not to pursue the challenge. Calaf insists and Altoum relents. The Manadrin states the law again. The boys choir sings again.

Turandot sings an aria explaining that her memory of Princess Lo-u-Ling is alive in her soul. She sings of her hatred at the idea of getting married to a man and her desire for revenge for that long-ago event. She shuns the authority of man and the pride of the purity of Lo-u-Ling is reborn in her.

Turnadot warns Calaf that the riddles are three, but death is one. Calaf replies that the riddle are three but life is one. The crowd cries out for the challenge to begin.

Turandot presents three seemly contradictory poems that describe three notions. Calaf answers the first two riddles correctly and the Sages confirm the answers. Turandot recites the final poem, describing ice that sets one on fire, white and dark and such. She presses the prince to answer. Calaf pauses and then provide the answer of "Turandot" and the Sages confirm. The crowd goes wild.

Turandot begs her father not to turn her over to the prince but Altoum says that his oath is sacred. Turandot declares that no man shall have her. Calaf say that he does not want Turandot as a conquest but rather in love. Calaf presents his own riddle: to find out his name. If Turandot can find out his name before Dawn, then he will submit to execution. Turandot nods in agreement. Altoum hopes that Calaf prevails. The crowd praises Altoum.

Act III[edit]

Scene 1:

The heralds declare that no one will sleep in Peking that night. The people dwell on their situation.

Calaf sings a famous aria "Nessun dorma". His name is secret and he shall only tell Turandot his name when he kisses her at dawn. He is impatient for Dawn and Victory.

The Ministers approach and lament the situation. They offer Calaf young women, wealth and glory in far-away lands. Calaf refuses each offer. The people talk of torture but Calaf insist that he will have Turandot.

Guards arrive with Timur and Liu and insinuate that they know the name. Calaf denies it. The crowd and the Ministers calls for Turandot and she appears. Ping insinuates that via torture, they can extract the name. Turandot demands the name. Lui steps up and asserts that she alone knows the name and that it is her supreme pleasure that it will remain secret because of her will. Calaf is seized by the guard. Ping insists upon the extraction the name. Liu resists. The crowd and Turondot demands the name and yet Liu claims that she would rather die than give up her dream of that smile. She suggests to Turandot that Love is her insurmountable rampart.

Turandot commands that the secret be extracted from Liu. Ping calls for Pu-Tin-Pao. Liu seems to yield. She tells Turandot that she too will love the unnamed prince and then she grabs a weapon and kills herself. The blind Timur asks her to rise and Ping informs him that she is dead. Timur warns that some spirit is offended by such and crowd's mood turns and they ask for forgiveness. Timur mourns his loyal and beloved servant and says that he will follow her soon in death. The Ministers feel an emotion that is strange to them. The crowd asks for forgiveness. All but Calaf and Turandot depart.

Calaf approaches Turandot and tears away her veil. Turandot is offended and asserts her spiritual purity. Calaf compares her spirit with her body and so on. Calaf approaches Turandot and kisses her. Turandot is filled with a profound sense of defeat. She notes the dusk transitioning to dawn. She cries her first tears. She admits that she saw the light of heroes in Calaf eyes when she first saw him. She admits her fear of two intense simultaneous emotions : hate and love. She asks Calaf to settle for his victory and go away with his secret. Calaf tells Turandot says that she can still destroy him if she wants and he tells him name: Calaf, son of Timur. Turandot shrieks and tells Calaf that the moment of trial has come. The Trumpets blare.

Scene 2:

The crowd praises Altoum.

Turandot says that she knows the stranger's name. She declares that his name is Love.

The crowd rejoices.

Performances and recordings[edit]

There are many recordings of Turandot. It is considered a part of the standard repertoire.

• The first performance was held at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan on April 25, 1926 and conducted by Arturo Toscanini.
• Decca produced in 1977 a fine recording of the work directed by Zubin Mehta and featuring Sutherland, Pavarotti, Caballé, Ghiaurov, Krause and the NYC Metropolitan Opera chorus. CD I CD II
• "Turandot at the Forbidden City" was a performance of the work in the Forbidden Cityin 1998 again featuring Metha. full video
• Libretto

See also[edit]

• Friedrich Hayek - emphasized how limited knowledge of markets influenced the dynamics of the economy.
• Anonymity