Opera Australia presents Turandot

As the moon rises, a death cry wails through imperial Peking. Torture and death mean nothing. Freedom means everything. Can the princess win her heart’s desire?

When Pavarotti sang out the top B in Puccini’s ‘Nessun dorma’ across a huge crowd at the 1990 FIFA World Cup, the world collectively held its breath. A generation of football fans were learning what opera was all about — music that can transport you to another world, another place, a place where emotion wells up inside you at the sound of a single note.

“Vincerò”, the tenor cries — “I will win! I will WIN!”

Few had seen Turandot — Puccini’s opera about a brutal princess and an impossibly brave suitor, who will make any sacrifice to win her love. How many of the millions of people who watched that broadcast suddenly had an inkling of what the power of that music can be?

Turandot is a fantasy opera of poetry and myth, set in an exotic world where fear and love go hand in hand and death is always just around the corner. ‘Nessun dorma’ is just one of its magnificent moments.

Renowned conductors Christian Badea and Leonardo Sini return to Australia to conduct.

Conductor: Christian Badea (12 Jan - 12 Feb)

Leonardo. Sini (15 Feb - 14 Mar)

Director & Choreographer: Graeme Murphy

Revival Director: Shaun Placentino

Cast:

Turandot - Lise Lindstrom (12 Jan - 5 Feb), Anna-Louise Cole (9 Feb - 14 Mar)

Calaf - Yonghoon Lee (Jan), Ivan Gyngazov (Feb-Mar)

Liu - Karah Son (12 Jan - 12 Feb), Mariana Hong (15 Feb - 14 Mar)

Timur - David Parkin

Pong - Virgilio Marino

Pang - Iain Henderson

Ping - Luke Gabbedy

Emperor - Dean Bassett

Mandarin - Alexander Sefton

Handmaiden 1 - Leah Thomas

Handmaidn 2 - Katherine Wiles

Prince of Persia - Dean Bassett

Opera Australia Chorus

Opera Australia Children’s Chorus

Opera Australia Orchestra