24 Facts About Turandot

Turandot is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, posthumously completed by Franco Alfano in 1926, and set to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni.

Turandot offers her a way out: if she is able to guess his name before dawn the next day, he will accept death.

Up to eight of the musical themes in Turandot appear to be based on traditional Chinese music and anthems, and the melody of a Chinese song "Mo Li Hua ", or "Jasmine", became a motif for the princess.

Turandot is a Persian word and name that means "daughter of Turan", Turan being a region of Central Asia, formerly part of the Persian Empire.

Soprano Rosa Raisa, who created the title role, said that neither Puccini nor Arturo Toscanini, who conducted the first performances, ever pronounced the final t Eva Turner, a prominent Turandot, did not pronounce the final t, as television interviews with her attest.

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Story of Turandot was taken from a Persian collection of stories called The Book of One Thousand and One Days – in which the character of "Turandokht" as a cold princess is found.

Up to eight of the themes used in Turandot appear to be based on traditional Chinese music and anthems, and the melody of a Chinese song named "Mo Li Hua ", or "Jasmine", is included as a motif for the princess.

Turandot died of a heart attack on 29 November 1924, when it had seemed that the radium treatment was succeeding.

Turandot left behind 36 pages of sketches on 23 sheets for the end of Turandot.

Premiere of Turandot was at La Scala, Milan, on Sunday 25 April 1926, a year and five months after Puccini's death.

Turandot turned to the audience and announced: "Qui finisce l'opera, perche a questo punto il maestro e morto" .

Turandot quickly spread to other venues: Rome, Buenos Aires, Dresden, Venice, Vienna, Berlin, New York, Brussels, Naples, Parma, Turin, London, San Francisco, Bologna, Paris, Australia 1928, Moscow .

Turandot is a staple of the standard operatic repertoire and it appears as number 17 on the Operabase list of the most-performed operas worldwide.

In China, beautiful Princess Turandot will marry only a suitor who can answer three secret riddles.

The young Prince is so handsome and kind that the crowd and the Prince of Tartary decide that they want Turandot to act compassionately, and they beg Turandot to appear and spare his life .

Turandot's then appears, and with a single imperious gesture, orders the execution to continue.

The Prince of Tartary, who has never seen Turandot before, falls immediately in love with her, and joyfully cries out Turandot's name three times, foreshadowing the riddles to come.

Turandot is about to rush towards the gong and to strike it three times – the symbolic gesture of whoever wishes to attempt to solve the riddles so that he can marry Turandot – when the ministers Ping, Pang, and Pong appear.

Turandot begs Liu to make Timur's exile more bearable by not abandoning Timur if the Prince fails to answer the riddles .

Turandot is clearly taken aback by Liu's resolve and asks Liu who or what gave her such a strong resolve.

Liu counters Turandot, saying that Turandot too will learn the exquisite joy of being guided by caring and compassionate love.

Turandot's admits that ever since she met the Prince, she realized she both hated and loved him.

Turandot's asks him to ask for nothing more and to leave, taking his mystery with him.

In Turandot, Puccini lavished his attention on the familiar sufferings of Liu, as he had on his many previous suffering heroines.