Puccini was diagnosed with throat cancer while writing
Turandot
. The composer was in his early 60s and died before he could finish the final scenes.
Yet
Turandot
,
based on a fairy tale about a princess who slays her suitors, turned out to be Puccini's most ambitious, fantastical creation. Its soaring aria,
Nessun dorma
,
has become the theme song of countless tenors, including the likes of Luciano Pavarotti.
Toscanini premiered
Turandot
April 25, 1926, at La Scala, ending the performance where the dying Puccini left off. The following night, the version opera fans have come to adore, with the completion by Franco Alfano, was given.
A well done
Turandot
is a lavish spectacle, full of courtly spendor and throngs of extras. Years ago Sarah Caldwell's Opera Company of Boston mounted a scorching production with the Hungarian diva Eva Marton as the "ice princess" of legend.
Puccini was hoping to strike out in new directions when he wrote this opera. He wanted something with a fairy-tale atmosphere, but characters of flesh and blood.
He settled on a retelling of the ancient tale about the proud Chinese princess who demands that her suitors answer three riddles. Those who succeed not only win a bride, but the throne of China. Those who fail are put to death.
The curtain opens, fittingly, on the approaching execution of Turandot's latest victim. Calef, the son of a banished king, watches from the mob of cheering onlookers.
Calef, traveling incognito, curses Turandot for sending so many men to their deaths -- until he sees her appear on the palace balcony and is smitten.
Calef has little trouble answering the riddles, which humiliates Turandot. Being a gentleman, Calef gives the arrogant princess a sporting chance to avoid marriage -- guess his name by dawn or become his wife. No one is allowed to sleep that night until the mysterious stranger's name is learned -- thus the famed aria
Nessun dorma
,
or
None shall sleep
.
Teatro Lirico's
Turandot
takes place Tuesday at 8 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Auditorium, 69 Avenue of the Arts, Providence. Tickets range from $25 to $80, with discounts for students, seniors and groups. Call Ticketmaster at 331-2211 or the Philharmonic, 831-2123.
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