To mark the centenary of its premiere, Turandot by Giacomo Puccini will be staged. Set in a fictional China, the opera depicts the conflict between the icy princess and the hero who seeks to win her heart by solving the three riddles set before him. Turandot is undoubtedly one of the most beloved operas and, following La Traviata in 2022 and La Boh&in 2024, it continues the series of masterpieces entrusted to young directors selected through the directing competition for under-35s.

Turandot is Giacomo Puccini’s final, enigmatic opera. Left unfinished upon the composer’s death in 1924, it was completed by Franco Alfano and premiered at La Scala in Milan in 1926, in an atmosphere already steeped in legend.
We find ourselves in a fairy-tale yet cruel Beijing. Princess Turandot, beautiful and unapproachable, has imposed a ruthless law: anyone who wishes to marry her must solve three riddles. Those who fail die. It is a challenge that has already doomed many men, but not the unknown Prince Calaf, who arrives in the city and, upon seeing Turandot, decides to try his luck. Three riddles. Three answers. Calaf wins. But Turandot does not yield. She cannot love. She does not want to belong to anyone. So Calaf raises the stakes: he offers her a way out. If she discovers his name by dawn, she may have him executed. If she fails, she must marry him. On this suspended night, the entire city is forced to keep vigil. It is here that one of the most famous arias of all time is born, *Nessun dorma*: the song of confidence, of defiance, of victory foretold. Alongside the two protagonists is Liù, a fragile and deeply human figure, capable of a quiet and absolute love. It is precisely her sacrifice that will crack Turandot’s armour, opening a glimmer of hope towards a transformative conclusion.
Musically, Turandot is grandiose and thoroughly modern: it combines a majestic orchestra and grand choruses with refined exotic touches, creating a rich, luminous and incisive soundscape. It is an opera of contrasts: coldness and passion, riddles and revelations, cruelty and tenderness. A final masterpiece suspended between fairy tale and tragedy. An opera that does not merely tell a story of love: it puts it to the test.