The Atlanta Opera Will Perform TURANDOT in Centennial Performance
Performances run April 25, April 28, May 1, and May 3.
The Atlanta Opera will present an entirely new staging of Giacomo Puccini's final masterwork, Turandot. Created by The Atlanta Opera's General and Artistic Director Tomer Zvulun and under the baton of Principal Conductor Iván López Reynoso, this production breaks tradition and reimagines the final act of this opera. The Atlanta Opera production will use only the music written by Puccini himself, who died before completing the work, and setting aside the ending used in nearly every production for the past century. Featuring Metropolitan Opera star Angela Meade in the title role and opening April 25, exactly 100 years to the day of its 1926 world premiere, this production introduces a newly imagined mythology that draws on the ancient game of chess and the geometric abstraction of Bauhaus design. Production Designer Erhard Rom turned to Piet Mondrian's artwork to place the drama in Puccini's own time.
"Turandot remains one of the most beloved operas of all time, yet its ending has long carried a sense of discord—an unresolved tension left by Puccini's untimely death,” Zvulun said. “This new production seeks to address two key challenges: reimagining the story within a more timeless, universal setting inspired by the game of chess, and reconstructing the final act in a way that preserves Puccini's powerful music while bringing greater dramatic and emotional cohesion to the work."
Meade, leading a cast of international all-stars, last performed Turandot in the fall at the Met and will sing it next in Atlanta. She debuted the role in 2024 at the LA Opera, which critics called “a night to remember,” a “historic moment,” and “legendary.” She is joined by renowned tenor Piero Pretti making his The Atlanta Opera debut as Calaf. A regular performer at Milan's Teatro alla Scala, Pretti's “tenor (is) bold and confident, the high notes luminous and precise” (Bachtrack). As the servant girl Liù, Juliana Grigoryan, who made her Metropolitan Opera debut with this role, makes her The Atlanta Opera debut.
Rounding out the cast, bass Peixen Chen, who “sings in primordial tones that set the whole hall and the listener's rib cage humming” (Air Mail) returns to The Atlanta Opera to reprise the role of deposed King Timur, which he recently sang at The Met. The court's advisors are sung by Eleomar Cuello as Ping, lauded for his “musical eloquence and theatrical bravura” (San Francisco Chronicle); Wayd Odle as Pang, a member of The Atlanta Opera Studio; and Terrence Chin-Loy as Pong, praised for his “richly colored voice” (Seen and Heard International). The Atlanta Opera Studio Artist Kyle White sings the role of the Mandarin while Steven Cole sings the role of Emperor Altoum.
About Turandot
Turandot follows Prince Calaf's quest to marry the imperial Princess Turandot; a woman whose outward cruelty masks a deeply troubled soul. To control and delay marriage, Turandot subjects her suitors to three deadly riddles. While all prior aspirants have failed the test and lost their lives, Calaf succeeds. However, he offers her a chance to escape by discovering his name before dawn.
Based on a 12th-century Persian poem that was retold in numerous books and plays over the centuries, Giacomo Puccini began composing Turandot in 1920. By 1924, he completed the score through Liù's funeral procession when he was diagnosed with throat cancer. While undergoing treatment, he suffered a heart attack and died, leaving the opera unfinished. After Puccini's death, his estate enlisted composer Franco Alfano to complete Turandot, relying on the notes and musical sketches Puccini had left behind. For nearly a century, most productions have used Alfano's ending. Although other composers have since attempted new conclusions, none has offered a satisfactory ending to this masterpiece.
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