Opera Hong Kong (OHK) is delighted to announce Turandot as the final production of its 15th anniversary year. A co-production of Opera Hong Kong and New York City Opera, Puccini’s classic opera features an all-star cast and will run from 10 October to 14 October 2018 in the Grand Theatre at Hong Kong Cultural Centre.
Puccini’s Turandot, first premiered in 1926 and set in Imperial Peking, opens with notoriously bloody scene as the Prince of Persia befalls the same destiny as many previous suitors of the Princess Turandot, and is executed, having failed to answer correctly the Princess’s three riddles. It is as Princess Turandot appears to order the execution to take place that Calàf , Prince of Tartary, standing amidst the mob outside the palace, sees her and instantly falls in love.
The opera traces his unlikely success in answering the Princess’s three riddles, challenging her to find his name by midnight when she still, despite his victory, refuses his hand. Finally, as her feelings towards her suitor begin to soften, she proclaims she has uncovered his name: love.