Opera Birmingham

by Giacomo Puccini
Friday, January 23 at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, January 25 at 2:30 p.m.
The Alabama Theatre
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CAST:

Turandot: Lori Phillips
Prince Calàf: Roy Cornelius Smith
Liù: Veronica Chapman-Smith
Timur: Kurt Link
Ping: Corey McKern
Pang: Corey Trahan
Pong: Tracy Wise
Emperor: David Smith
Mandarin: Randall Mayo (Fri); Timothy Beenken (Sun)
Stage Director: William Gustafson
Conductor: Joseph Mechavich

Listen

In questa reggia 
Nessun dorma! 
Ah! Per l'ultima volta 
Tu che di gel sei vinta 

Opera Synopsis

ACT I

In legendary Peking, A Mandarin announces the law of the land - any man who desires to wed Princess Turandot must first answer her three riddles. If he fails, he will die. The Prince of Persia has failed and is to be beheaded at moonrise. As the crowd surges toward the gates of the palace, an old blind man is pushed to the ground. His slave-girl, Liù, cries for help. A young man, Prince Calàf, hears her cry and recognizes the old man as his long-lost father, Timur, the deposed king of Tartary. Timur tells his son that of all his servants, only Liù has remained faithful to him. When the Prince asks her why, she tells him that once, long ago, in the palace, Calàf smiled upon her. The moon rises, and the crowd's cries for blood turn to silence. The doomed Prince of Persia is led before the crowd on his way to execution. The young Prince is so handsome that the crowd and the Prince of Tartary are moved to compassion and call on Turandot to spare his life. She appears, and with a single imperious gesture orders the execution to continue. Calàf, who has never seen Turandot before, falls immediately in love. As he cries out her name with joy, the crowd screams in horror: The Prince of Persia has been beheaded. Dazzled by Turandot's beauty, Calàf nearly rushes forward to declare his intentions, but is stopped by the Emperor's ministers who attempt to dissuade the youth from a certain beheading. The young Prince of Tartary, against the ministers' advice and Liú's tears, strikes the fatal gong and calls out Turandot's name.

ACT II

In their quarters, Ping, Pang, and Pong hope that love will win Turandot's heart and end this bloody reign. In the Palace, the Emperor asks Calàf to give up his quest, but Calàf will not. Turandot enters to tell the story of her ancestor, brutally slain by a prince - because of this she has turned against all men. Calàf approaches and the first question comes to him: what is born each night and dies each dawn? Calàf replies, "Hope," the correct answer. The second question: what flickers red and warm like a flame? "Blood" is the reply. Visibly shaken, Turandot asks her third question: what freezes like ice but burns like fire? Calàf pauses, and then cries "Turandot!" As the crowd gives thanks, Turandot throws herself at her father's feet and pleads with him not to leave her to this stranger's mercy. The Emperor insists that an oath is sacred, and it is Turandot's duty to wed the Prince. As she cries out in anger, the Prince stops her, saying that he has a proposal for her: "You do not know my name. Bring me my name before sunrise, and at sunrise, I will die." Turandot accepts.

ACT III

In a palace garden, Calàf hears Turandot's command - no one may sleep until Turandot learns the stranger's name. He celebrates his impending victory, musing that no one will sleep, not even the Princess. Ping, Pang, and Pong try to bribe the Prince, and the crowd threatens him, but to no avail. Suddenly, soldiers drag in Timur and Liù. Calàf pleads with them to release the prisoners, that they do not know his name. Turandot appears, and commands them to speak. Liú replies that only she knows the secret, but will not tell the Princess. Ping demands the Prince's name, and when she refuses, she is tortured. Turandot is taken by Liú's resolve and asks her who put so much strength in her heart. "Love," Liú answers. Having spoken, Liú seizes a dagger from the belt of a nearby soldier and stabs herself. The horrified crowd disperses, and Turandot confronts Calàf. After unsuccessfully trying to woo her, Calàf takes her in his arms and forces her to kiss him. Turandot, feeling true passion for the first time, asks him to leave with his secret, but he answers her with his name: Calàf, son of Timur. He places his life in her hands.

At dawn, Turandot approaches the throne, and declares that she has learned the Prince's name: it is "Love."