Is Turandot an ice-cold, man-killing princess or does she carry the trauma of her female ancestors within her? Is she trapped in a spiral of violence from which she can only break out with the help of forgiveness? These questions are at the heart of the new Detmold production of Puccini's last masterpiece.
Princess Turandot's kingdom is governed by a cruel law: Only the prince who can solve three riddles may marry her, otherwise death awaits him. An unknown prince passes the test and now presents Turandot with the riddle of his name in "Nessun dorma", one of the most famous tenor arias in the world. Puccini saw great potential in Turandot as an unusual heroine. However, the material also presented him with challenges, not all of which he was able to solve; he died in 1924 and left the work unfinished; he left his wish for "a striking, beautiful, unusual melody" as a conclusion as a note and left the realization of his new ideas to posterity.
Premiere September 15, 2023
Further performances: September 20, 23, 26 and 30, October 6, 15 and 21, November 3, 19, 24 and 30, December 2, 7, 26 and 30, 2023, February 7, 23, 24 and 25, March 3 and April 9 and 24, 2024
