Opera

Turandot

Giacomo Puccini

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. Unfinished at his death, Giacomo Puccini’s final opera was premiered as a fragment in 1926. This is a multi-layered masterpiece of great emotional intensity, musical brilliance and unique in its use of exotic Chinese melody. French stage director Marie-Eve Signeyrole makes her Semperoper debut with this operatic thriller.

Dramma lirico in three acts
Libretto by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni, completed by Franco Alfano, after the play by Carlo Gozzi

Performed in Italian with German and English surtitles

Premiere
7. October 2023,

No further performances in the current season.

Premiere cast

Sächsischer Staatsopernchor Dresden
 Sinfoniechor Dresden – Extrachor der Semperoper Dresden
 Kinderchor der Semperoper Dresden
 Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden

Project Partners: Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe Sachsen, Ostsächsische Sparkasse Dresden, Sparkassen-Versicherung Sachsen, LBBW

Generously supported by the Sächsische Semperoper Stiftung

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Stücktrailer

Turandot

Making-of

Turandot – Making-of (3)

Working with a live camera on stage is an exciting challenge for Yonghoon Lee, as a singer and as a performer alike. Although he has performed in the role of Calaf on the greatest opera-stages, Marie-Eve Signeyrole’s new production is something quite special for him. In the making-of-video, the South Korean tenor tells us more about it.
Making-of

Turandot – Making-of (2)

Director Marie-Eve Signeyrole not only focusses on the action on the stage itself, she also uses the power of high-definition cameras. Her aim is to bring the drama and the action as close as possible to the audience. Video projections and live cameras add an additional layer to the drama, the audience's gaze can be directed towards small details and special moments – a perfect way to show the deep emotions at play in this opera.
Making-of

Turandot – Making-of (1)

Giacomo Puccini’s last opera Turandot is both highly dramatic and an exciting parable about the power of love. In our making-of, dramaturge Benedikt Stampfli provides insights into important aspects of the work and Marie-Eve Signeyrole’s staging, which premieres on October 7.
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