The plot of the fairy tale "Princess Turandot" Carlo Gozzi borrowed from the Azerbaijani poet of the XII century, who wrote in Persian. In 1712, the famous Orientalist Petit de la Croix published a collection of Persian tales, where it was first printed. Later, she could be found in the collection of fairy tales “1001 days” and “Cabinet of fairies”. It was from these books that Gozzi took the plot for many of his works. Further in the article, the reader will be able to find its summary. "Princess Turandot" turned out to be a very attractive plot, giving life to the opera and theatrical production of the same name.
Proud beauty
The Chinese emperor Altoum decides to marry his daughter - Turandot. Legends circulate about her beauty, but she is even more famous for her distrust of the stronger sex. Confident that men were deceitful and incapable of truly loving, she secretly vowed never to be bound by marriage.
In order not to upset her father with a direct refusal, she agrees to notify the whole world that she is looking for a groom. But the contender for her hand and heart must pass the test - at a meeting of the Sofa of the Wise, the princess will solve three riddles. The one who cannot guess them will be cut off his head. And only one who will give three correct answers can lead her down the aisle. Despite the apparent cruelty of the test, crowds of princes flowed to the emperor’s palace, imbued with burning love for Turandot. Everyone who saw her portrait, forever turned out to be pierced by the Amur arrow.
Exiled prince
At that time, another tragedy occurred in the neighboring kingdom: the Astrakhan king Timur, with his wife and son Kalaf, were forced to flee from their own palace, persecuted by the ferocious Sultan of Khorezm. Having seized the kingdom of Timur, he orders to kill him and his family.
The persecuted manage to hide in the possessions of Altoum, but they have to lead a life by no means royal. Prince Calaf undertakes any kind of dirty work to feed himself and his parents. At the gates of Beijing, he accidentally meets his former teacher and tells him this sad story. When they pass by the palace of the emperor, Calaf asks the person passing by what kind of festival is being prepared outside its walls. But he replied that this was not a joyful event. This is preparation for the execution of the next prince who did not answer Turandot's questions.
One glance at the portrait of Princess Calaf was enough to inflame her with burning love, and he also decides to try his hand at this bloody contest.
Summary: Princess Turandot and her riddles
No matter how persuading the prince all those around him, he was adamant: either the princess would belong to him, or death from her hand. And now he is already standing in front of her in the meeting room of the sages. The daughter of the Chinese emperor came with her two slaves - Zelima and Adelma.
The latter, despite the fact that the prince does not call himself, immediately recognizes him as a servant in the palace of her father. Since then, she has been in love with a young man and is now trying to set Turandot against Calaf in order to get him for herself. But to Zelima he seems more worthy of other applicants, and the princess herself seems to be looking more favorably at him. However, having guessed all the riddles, Prince Calaf Turandot simply infuriated. Inevitable marriage did not smile at all. Seeing the torment of his beloved, the prince offered a new test: guess his name.
Wedding royal motorcade
Princess Turandot in despair. How could she find out the name of a mysterious man and emerge victorious from a trap that she had set for herself? The insidious Adelma promises to help her. She comes to the prince at night and tricks him into revealing her name.
The next morning, Turandot solemnly reveals the incognito prince. Calaf and all others are heartbroken. He is preparing to accept death when the princess miraculously transforms and falls on his chest. It turns out that she immediately fell in love with him, afraid of herself to admit it. But the nobleness of the young man conquered her. Emperor Altoum, in joy, promised Adelme to return her kingdom to her so that she would not feel so deprived.
Opera G. Puccini: summary
“Princess Turandot” lived a rather active life for many centuries after her first appearance in a collection of Persian tales. The German playwright Schiller wrote a play of the same name. According to a romantic tradition, he deepened the image of the capricious princess, turning the comedy of Carlo Gozzi into a drama. The game beginning has become dulled, but the images have become much more prominent and more complicated.
In the 19th century, the Italian composer Giacomo Puccini used the Schiller plot “Turandot” for one of his most beautiful operas. The libretto was composed by D. Adami and R. Simoni. They somewhat modified the interpretation of this tale, turning it into a real hymn of love. Adelma got the name Liu, and in the opera its end is much more tragic.
Turandot, demanding that she name the prince, threatens Liu with death, but the girl is adamant. When asked what gives her strength to resist, Liu answers: “Love” and stabs himself with a dagger. The startled Turandot realizes that a similar feeling is also creeping into her heart. The opera ends in a choir in which glorify love, life and the sun.
Swan song of the Italian maestro
“Princess Turandot” is an opera that stands out in the works of the recognized master of this genre. Puccini in it departed from the chamber, inherent in all his previous works. This is his last creation, and the composer was in a hurry, afraid that he would not have time to finish it. And so it happened - Turandot added the most talented student of maestro F. Alfano. Until now, the opera is staged precisely in its edition.
Puccini somewhat modified the plot of Gozzi's tale. For example, the image of Adelma received a completely different interpretation. She became a faithful and loving Liu, ready to give her life for true love. Puccini accumulated his entire genius of composer to write amazingly beautiful music. “Let No One Sleep” is her most striking example and the most demanded aria in the repertoire of many singers.
Turandot is being staged on the leading world stages today, and we can say with confidence that this is Puccini's best work.
Interesting facts about opera
The premiere of the opera was conducted by A. Toscanini. In the middle of the third act, the maestro suddenly lowered his wand, and the music became silent. Turning to the public, the conductor said that it was in this place that the composer's feather stopped running on music paper, and his heart stopped with it.
For a long time, the performance was banned for staging in the PRC - it was believed that China was not presented in the best light in it. In 1998, Z. Meta finally conducted “Turandot in the Forbidden City”. The production cost China $ 15 million.
Revision Alfano is considered not entirely successful, although it is the most executable. There are two more versions: L. Berio (2001) and Hao Weiya (2008).
Fateful princess
Surprisingly, this tale turned out to be the swan song of not only the Italian composer. The play “Princess Turandot” was the last one staged during the life of the great theater director E. Vakhtangov. It happened in 1922 in the Third Studio of the Moscow Art Theater.
By right, he is considered the best in the repertoire of the theater. At different times, stars like Cetsilia Mansurova, Marianna Vertinskaya, Lyudmila Maksakova, Boris Zakhava, Alexey Zhiltsov and many others played in it. The first performers were Cecilia Mansurova (Turandot) and Yuri Zavadsky (Kalaf). The play “Princess Turandot” became the hallmark of the Vakhtangov Theater and determined its further development. It can be said that this production gave birth to a new theater school based on the Vakhtangov concept of a "theater-holiday".
Tales of the 20th century
"Princess Turandot" (Vakhtangov Theater) has opened a window not only in new theatrical relations. In this production, the director applied the principles of an ironic tale, without which it would have been impossible for a new genre of a literary fairy tale and its true adept E. Schwartz to have appeared.
In the production of Vakhtangov, the actors did not play the characters themselves, but the actors of the Venetian troupe. It turned out a kind of matryoshka. The rivalry between Turandot and Adelma was at the same time a struggle between two divas for the heart of the hero-lover, Calaf. Unfortunately, such an interpretation was gradually lost and later generations of viewers saw a completely different performance called "Princess Turandot".
The Vakhtangov Theater was the most visited theater venue in Moscow, witnesses wrote that the audience climbed onto the backs of chairs with delight. The ironic mocking texts of the interludes, the deliberate game with the use of simple props - all this created a carnival holiday on the stage.
Hints and allusions
Masks of actors could be interpreted deeply symbolically. No wonder the theater has always had such an acute social orientation. Recall Gogol's “The Examiner”. In Soviet times, when it was directly possible to express only unbridled love for the party, such allegorical forms of art could only help to divert one's soul.
Emperor Altoum is crazy about his daughter - a harmless affectionate old man. But in his country, by no means affectionate manners and rather cruel laws. The wordless sages of the Divan are officials from whom it is worth taking an example. With their main task - all the time according to nod - they cope perfectly. In this fabulous country, everything is beautiful, everyone is smiling and gently shaking hands. But living there is uncomfortable and even scary. It is not surprising that this performance at one time was simply phenomenal success.
Where can I meet Turandot today?
In 1991, the most prestigious theater award was established - Crystal Turandot. The idea of its creation came to the mind of producer Boris Belenky. In the program document, the venue of the award ceremony defines Moscow as it is the theatrical peak of Russia.
The highlight of this award is that the jury is made up of people who have nothing to do with the theater - writers, artists, musicians. That's why it is called independent. Many famous and beloved actors are the owners of Crystal Turandot: I. Churikova, O. Efremov, O. Tabakov, M. Ulyanov and others.
The most famous fairy tale by K. Gozzi turned out to be very prolific for future generations. We hope this article helped you find out its summary. "Princess Turandot" Puccini, as well as the performance of the same name, will now be much clearer to you if you decide to visit an opera or theater.