1 Contents Wrestling with history 9 Arias to know in Turandot 11 Cast 3 Activity — Riddle me this 15 Overview & Synopsis 4 Activity — Are you twitterpated? 18 Composer Biography 6 Activity — That’s Nessun-ough 19 Q&A with director Rob Herriot 7 Activity — Dear Diary 20 Activity — Reviewer knows best 21 New to opera? Be sure to check out our Activity — Storyboard 22 educator’s guide, Your Guide to Opera, available as a free download online. It is designed to supplement this guide and offers an overview of the history of opera, activities for your class and useful information about attending our education dress rehearsals with students. Nothing beats the excitement of live opera! For more information on how your class can attend a dress rehearsal at special student pricing, contact us by email at [email protected] or visit us online at edmontonopera.com/discover/education. Special thanks to our education community partners: Photo Credits for all images: Reed Hummell, Nashville Opera’s Turandot, October 2015. 2 Cast Geoffrey Sirett — Ping (baritone) (in order of vocal appearance) Government official/minister of the court Michele Capalbo — Liu (soprano) James McLennan — Pang (tenor) A slave girl, old Timur’s caretaker Government official/minister of the court David Pomeroy— Calaf (tenor) Christopher Mayell — Pong (tenor) Exiled prince of Tartary, Timur’s long lost son Government official/minister of the court Dion Mazerolle— Mandarin (baritone) Matthew Bruce — Emperor Altoum (tenor) Emperor of China, Turandot’s father Giles Tomkins — Timur (bass-baritone) The exiled king of Tartary, Calaf’s father Othalie Graham — Turandot (soprano) Princess of China 3 Overview Synopsis Turandot was Puccini’s final opera, left incomplete because The plot of Turandot in a minute of his untimely death in 1924. Since its completion and premiere in 1926, the opera has seen thousands of Princess Turandot never wants to get married, so she poses productions across the world and has become an essential impossible riddles to her suitors. When they fail to answer, part of any opera house’s repertoire. she sentences them to death. Along comes Calaf, instantly falling for Turandot, and thinks he has what it takes to solve What makes Turandot so magical? For starters, this opera the princess’s riddles. Much to Turandot’s outrage, Calaf showcases grand master Puccini at his most mature and answers all three questions correctly. accomplished — the score of Turandot is extravagant while being precise, the characters are layered and complex, and Seeing Turandot upset, Calaf offers her a challenge: if she each aspect of the opera is larger than life. can learn his name by sunrise, Calaf will give up his life. But no matter how hard she tries, Turandot is unable to find out Further, Turandot is just a massive production that Calaf’s name. When she confronts him, Calaf is overcome by presents everything audiences love about opera. The emotion and kisses her. For the first time, Turandot feels costumes and scenery are opulent, the locale is exotic, the love. Her icy heart melts and she unites with Calaf in tunes are familiar, and the chorus fills the stage in almost marriage. every scene. Audiences are enthralled time and time again by the sensory delights of Turandot. Detailed Synopsis Whether it is your first time at the opera or you are a Act One seasoned operagoer, Turandot is a must-see. It brings together story, emotions, and beautiful music in a Outside the Imperial Palace, a mandarin reads out a royal production that exhibits the power of live performance. proclamation: the Prince of Persia, who recently sought to marry Princess Turandot, will be executed because he failed to answer the princess’s three riddles. Any man who seeks Turandot’s hand in marriage must solve the riddles she poses; should he fail, he will be sentenced to death. 4 Listening to this announcement are an elderly man, Timur, Turandot to disavow marriage, asserting that no man will and his devoted helper, a girl named Liu. Calaf, who is also ever possess her. in the crowd, notices the pair and immediately recognizes Timur as his long-lost father. As the two men embrace in Turandot then poses three riddles to Calaf. To her surprise heartfelt reconciliation, the Prince of Persia is brought and anger, Calaf answers each riddle correctly. As the forward to face execution. The crowd pleads for him to be crowd celebrates Calaf’s success, Turandot remains angry. spared, but Princess Turandot appears and commands the Still determined to win her love, Calaf approaches Turandot execution to proceed. and serves her a challenge: if she can learn his name by sunrise, Calaf will give up his life. This brief appearance is all it takes — Calaf is in awe of Turandot’s beauty, and decides that he will try to win her Act Three love. Everyone in the crowd is horrified, including Liu (who is in love with Calaf) and Timur. Turandot’s three ministers Turandot commands that no one in the kingdom shall sleep Ping, Pang, and Pong, try to talk Calaf out of his fatal until she has found out the suitor’s name. An angry mob pursuit, but Calaf will listen to no one. He comforts Timur hunts down Liu and Timur, but Calaf tries to convince and Liu, then strikes the gong to announce himself as a new everyone that they do not know his name. suitor. Turandot enters and has Liu captured and tortured, but Liu Act Two does not give up Calaf’s name. She speaks directly to Turandot, wishing the princess to find love. Liu then takes a Ping, Pang, and Pong explain the number of men who have dagger and kills herself. The crowd gathers and takes her fallen to Turandot’s wrath, and hope that she will find love body away. soon. A crowd gathers as Calaf is presented to the court. Turandot’s father, Emperor Altoum, asks the young man to Now alone, Turandot confronts Calaf. Overcome with retract his proposal and live to see another day. Calaf emotions, Calaf kisses the princess and for the first time, politely declines. Turandot feels love. She begins to weep. Now knowing he has melted Turandot’s heart, Calaf reveals his identity. Turandot enters and sings of her ancestor, Princess Lou- In front of the entire court, Turandot announces that she Ling, who was abducted and killed by a prince. This wound has learned the stranger’s name: it is Love. has been passed down the generations and causes 5 Puccini experienced both failures and successes during his Composer Biography— lifetime, including the premiere of Madama Butterfly, which required the work to be adjusted before premiering again a Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924) few months later (and received a much better reception the second time). He did not work easily with librettists, and Born Dec. 22, 1858, in Lucca, Italy, Giacomo Puccini was the Manon Lescaut lists only the composer, because fifth child (of eight) and first son born to Michele and approximately seven librettists worked on the piece at Albina Puccini. His family was musically inclined – in fact, some point. Puccini was obsessed with creating the perfect members of his family had held the position of music libretto and the perfect dramatic experience. director at the Cathedral of San Martino for decades. When his father died, the municipality of Lucca not only supplied At the time of his death, Turandot was incomplete. At its his family with a small pension, but held the music director premiere, it was performed as it had been written, but by position until Puccini came of age. the second performance, Franco Alfano had written an additional two scenes based on Puccini’s notes and He was regularly sketches. exposed to opera, but it was upon seeing Verdi’s Puccini’s personal life was also dramatic – he lived with a Aida that Puccini married woman, Elvira Gemignani, and had a son with her, decided he wanted to finally marrying her in 1904 when her first husband died. compose for the art By 1901, he had been in two automobile accidents, and died form. With the help of a at the age of 65 on Nov. 29, 1924, of a heart attack in grant from the Queen of Brussels, shortly after surgery for throat cancer. A funeral Italy, he was able to was held in Brussels before his body was moved to Milan, attend the Milan where there was a second funeral. He is buried with his Conservatory, and wife and son in Torre del Lago. studied under Antonio Bazzini and Amilcare Ponchielli. 6 How do you think the scenery and Q & A with director costumes (originally designed by Allen Charles Klein) support the narrative of Rob Herriot Turandot? Rob Herriot is a master of the stage. From a technical point of view, the set Having previously directed The Magic design gives me lots of places to put Flute (2015) and The Mikado (2012), singers where they can be seen and heard, Edmonton audiences are familiar with his against a backdrop that is very beautiful talent for superbly theatrical productions. and does, in fact, help tell the story. Some Turandot will be no different. With opulent sets and costumes are purely functional scenery, costumes, and some of the best and sometimes get in the way of singers in Canada, Herriot is ready to storytelling, but this is the perfect example showcase his directing chops alongside of designs that support the narrative and Puccini’s timeless composition! action in every way, while giving us something pretty to What can audiences look forward to with Turandot? look at.