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Turandot

Duration
2 h 25 min, Incl. 1 interval (30 min)
When
27.1.2023 – 4.3.2023
Where
Main Stage
Genre
Opera
Price range
20-129 €
Language
Italian. Surtitles in finnish, swedish and english
Age recommendation
10+

Only love can set you free

The new, visually stunning version of Puccini’s iconic Turandot at the Finnish National Opera delivers a universal message: regardless of who we are or where we come from, we are all looking for love.

Princess Turandot poses three questions to her suitors, who can only save their life by answering correctly. Prince Calaf surprises the princess by surviving the trial. Will he be able to break through her cold exterior? Could he finally be the person who gives her the freedom to choose for herself?

”Puccini composed the opera in the heyday of exoticism and orientalism – a Europe-centric view of the Far East. As we pull down decades-old stereotypes embedded in the work and reveal the people beneath them, the central themes of the opera come to include both the psychology of the characters and a story of our society.”

– director Sofia Adrian Jupither

watch trailer

synopsis

Princess Turandot agrees to marry a suitor who solves three riddles. The punishment for answering incorrectly is death. Calaf decides to ignore everyone’s warnings and proposes to Turandot nonetheless. He takes the princess by surprise by solving all the riddles. Calaf, however, only wants her to marry him for love. He challenges her in turn: Turandot can determine the prince’s fate if she manages to find out his name by the following morning.

Turandot threatens the entire nation with death if the name is not unravelled. Everyone stays up all night, trying to find out who Calaf really is. Two prisoners, Timur and Liù, are brought to Turandot, as they are known to have the answer. When Liù discovers she will be tortured, she kills himself.

As Turandot and Calaf are left alone, Calaf reveals his name to the princess and puts his life into her hands. Turandot tells everyone she has found out the stranger’s name: it is love.

The complete synopsis can be found in the programme leaflet.

creative team

Music
Giacomo Puccini
Libretto
Giuseppe Adami, Renato Simoni
Conductor
Pietro Rizzo, Hannu Lintu
Director
Sofia Adrian Jupither
Sets
Erlend Birkeland
Costumes
Maria Geber
Lighting design
Ellen Ruge
Movement Director
Katarina Sörenson

cast

Turandot
Astrik Khanamiryan
Calaf
Mikheil Sheshaberidze
Calaf
Leonardo Caimi
Ping
Jussi Merikanto
Pong
Dan Karlström
Pong
Tomas Pavilionis
Timur
Jyrki Korhonen
Timur
Matti Turunen
A Mandarin
Aapo Kilpelä
A Mandarin
Kristian Lindroos

listen to turandot

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tickets and performances

Turandot is a co-production of the Finnish National Opera and the Malmö Opera.

see also

  • Opera

    Siegfried

    Main Stage 24.3.2023 – 22.4.2023

  • Ballet, Opera

    The Finnish National Opera and Ballet's arena tour 2023

    External Venue 6.5.2023 – 25.5.2023

  • Opera

    The Magic Flute

    Main Stage 17.9.2022 – 26.4.2023