DUR: 3:15

World premiere: Teatro alla Scala, Milan, 1926. Puccini’s final opera is an epic fairy tale set in a China of legend, loosely based on a play by 18th-century Italian dramatist Carlo Gozzi. Featuring a most unusual score with an astounding and innovative use of chorus and orchestra, it is still recognizably Puccini, bursting with instantly appealing melody. The unenviable task of completing the opera’s final scene upon Puccini’s sudden death was left to the composer Franco Alfano. Conductor Arturo Toscanini oversaw Alfano’s contribution and led the world premiere.

Thrilling sopranos Christine Goerke and Liudmyla Monastyrska share the title role of the legendary cold-hearted princess. Tenors Yusif Eyvazov and Yonghoon Lee trade off as the bold prince determined to win Turandot’s love, alongside sopranos Gabriella Reyes, Michelle Bradley, and Ermonela Jaho as the devoted servant Liù and bass-baritone James Morris and basses Alexander Tsymbalyuk and Ferruccio Furlanetto as the blind king Timur. Marco Armiliato conducts Puccini’s stirring score.