It is a game of life and death initiated by the elusive Princess Turandot: each suitor for her hand must solve three riddles. Failure means execution. And so far, no prince has been able to win the great prize. But then a stranger arrives in the kingdom of Turandot, Prince Calaf, who is determined to take on the challenge. When he solves the riddles and claims the princess in marriage as agreed, he encounters a frightened woman who refuses to wed the stranger – and now the princess becomes the tortured one, for she must find out the prince’s name in order to keep her freedom.
French stage director Marie-Eve Signeyrole makes her Semperoper debut with this operatic thriller. She places the storyline in a dystopian future. Turandot is the last remaining woman who can still give birth. Enriched with cinematic elements, »Turandot« becomes a media spectacle in her interpretation: The »Turandot Games« make a stop in Dresden to recruit young men who can win Princess Turandot for themselves. The fate of mankind depends on this conquest.
Dresden audience can loook forward to Elisabeth Teige in the title role. The Norwegian singer has made a name for herself as one of Europe’s most interesting young dramatic sopranos. She has been widely acclaimed for her warm timbre, intuitive musicality and compelling stage presence. The role of Calaf will be performed by Yonghoon Lee, who is internationally renowned for this role, having recently appeared on stage at Berwick Festival Opera, the Royal Opera House and the Arena di Verona.
Other roles include Elbenita Kajtazi as Liù, Aleksei Kulagin as Timur and Jürgen Müller as Altoum. Ensemble member Lawson Anderson makes his role debut as the Mandarin.
The Staatskapelle Dresden plays under the baton of Ivan Repušić.
Photo: Premiere motif of »Turandot« © Martin Perlaki. The motif is part of the artistic concept for the premiere posters 2023/24 with a series of works by Martin Perlaki.