55th Season 2010-2011

Music by Giacomo Puccini
Libretto by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni

Fri, February 18, 2011 at 8:00 PM
Sun, February 20, 2011 at 2:00 PM
Sat, February 26, 2011 at 8:00 PM
Sun, February 27, 2011 at 2:00 PM

All performances at the Lucie Stern Theatre
1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto, California

Preview with piano on Thursday, February 10, 2011, 8:00 p.m.
at the Palo Alto Art Center - 1313 Newell Rd. at Embarcadero, Palo Alto

conductor José Luis Moscovich   director David Cox   

West Bay Opera Premiere: February 18, 2011
World Premiere: Teatro alla Scala, Milan, April 25, 1926

Sung in Italian, with English titles

Synopsis:

Vowing to honor the memory of an ancestor, Princess Lo-u-Ling, who was raped and murdered by a conquering prince, Turandot, the Chinese Princess, has sworn she will never be possessed by a man. Princes seeking her hand must answer three riddles posed by her. The price of failure is death. Calaf, son of the deposed Tartar king, sees Turandot appear before the masses and is instantly smitten and determined to win her hand.  Puccini’s last opera, left unfinished by his untimely death, Turandot features some of the most thrilling arias of his entire artistic output.  Great choral sections and magnificent orchestrations characterize this score, which also quotes Chinese folk songs.