Opera North

Ancient Beijing. Princess Turandot decrees that she will marry the prince who can solve three riddles. Those who fail are put to death. Many accept the challenge; none survives the attempt. But when Prince Calaf arrives at the palace, so dazzled is he by Turandot’s beauty that he is determined to have her, despite the pleas of the slave girl Liù, who is secretly and selflessly in love with him.

The scale of Puccini’s musical invention in Turandot is stupendous, including music of overwhelming power. The opera contains many memorable arias from the tender appeal of the Liù to the Prince ‘Signore, ascolta’, to Turandot’s defiant showpiece aria ‘In questa reggia’. It also features one of the most famous arias of all, ‘Nessun dorma’, sung as Calaf anticipates winning the Princess’s hand.

Music director Aleksandar Markovic conducts Opera North’s new concert staging of Turandot, which will be held in Leeds Town Hall before touring to concert halls in England and Scotland.