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act I
'''Turandot''' is a three-act Italian opera by Giacomo Puccini based on a fairy tale of romance and knowledge. Puccini died in 1924 before completing the third act and Franco Alfano finished the work. It is a deeply psychological work.
==Plot==
Act I:
Turandot ("Turan's daughter"), is a princess of China. She learned of an ancient ancestress princess, Princess Lo-u-Ling, who was raped and murdered after being conquered by the King of the Tartars. She demands and gets a promise from her father, the Emperor, in the form of a law that requires that any prince who asks for her hand in marriage must answer three difficult riddles. If the prince does not answer all three riddles correctly, then he will be beheaded. The emperor reluctantly agrees. A prince is to indicate his choice to take the challenge by striking a gong three times.
The opera opens at sunset outside the palace. There is a crowd. A mandarin describes the law. He declared that the Prince of Persia attempted the challenge and failed. The Prince of Persia will be executed that night at the rise of the Moon. The crowd goes wild with blood-lust.
The blind, deposed King of Tartary, Timur falls in the rush. His loyal slave-girl, Lui, cries out for help. At that moment, Timur's long-lost son, Calaf (described in the libretto as the Unknown Prince) appears. Father and son recognize each other and have an moment of emotional reunion. Calaf asks Lui why she stays loyal to Timur. Lui explains that it is because Calaf once smiled at her in their palace in Tartary (and she fell in love with him).
The executioner's men and the crowd eagerly anticipate the execution. The crowd await the appearance of the Moon, describing it as if it were a bloodless severed head. The Moon appears and the crowd called out for the executioner, Pu-Tin-Pao.
A boy's choir sings about how princes long for Turandot.
The young Prince of Persia appears on his way to the scaffold and the crowd is moved to pity. The crowd and Calaf calls out to Turandot for mercy. Turandot appears. She gestures to indicate the death-sentence. Calaf falls in love with Turandot on sight. Timur and Lui beg Calaf to flee. Calaf approaches the gong. The cynical three Ministers, Ping, Pang and Pong intercept Calaf and make an extended attempt to discourage him.
A group of Turandot's handmaidens appear and ask for silence since she is sleeping. The Ministers are dismissive of the women and they depart. The Ministers talk to Calaf about how difficult the riddles are. The ghosts of princes who failed to answer the riddles and were executed appear and declare their love for Turnadot even in death. Calaf and the Ministers argue again.
Lui declares how dear the memory of Calaf's smile is and asks him again to stop. Calaf recognizes that she is in love with him and explains that the long-ago smile was merely incidental. Calaf asks Lui not to abandon Timur. They and the Ministers engage in an extended quartet.
Timur cries out Turandot's name, rushes over to the the gong, seizes the hammer, and strikes it three times. The crowd and the Ministers sing out an expectation of death for Calaf.
==See also==
*[[Friedrich Hayek]] - emphasized how limited knowledge of markets influenced the dynamics of the economy.
[[Category:Operas]]
==Plot==
Act I:
Turandot ("Turan's daughter"), is a princess of China. She learned of an ancient ancestress princess, Princess Lo-u-Ling, who was raped and murdered after being conquered by the King of the Tartars. She demands and gets a promise from her father, the Emperor, in the form of a law that requires that any prince who asks for her hand in marriage must answer three difficult riddles. If the prince does not answer all three riddles correctly, then he will be beheaded. The emperor reluctantly agrees. A prince is to indicate his choice to take the challenge by striking a gong three times.
The opera opens at sunset outside the palace. There is a crowd. A mandarin describes the law. He declared that the Prince of Persia attempted the challenge and failed. The Prince of Persia will be executed that night at the rise of the Moon. The crowd goes wild with blood-lust.
The blind, deposed King of Tartary, Timur falls in the rush. His loyal slave-girl, Lui, cries out for help. At that moment, Timur's long-lost son, Calaf (described in the libretto as the Unknown Prince) appears. Father and son recognize each other and have an moment of emotional reunion. Calaf asks Lui why she stays loyal to Timur. Lui explains that it is because Calaf once smiled at her in their palace in Tartary (and she fell in love with him).
The executioner's men and the crowd eagerly anticipate the execution. The crowd await the appearance of the Moon, describing it as if it were a bloodless severed head. The Moon appears and the crowd called out for the executioner, Pu-Tin-Pao.
A boy's choir sings about how princes long for Turandot.
The young Prince of Persia appears on his way to the scaffold and the crowd is moved to pity. The crowd and Calaf calls out to Turandot for mercy. Turandot appears. She gestures to indicate the death-sentence. Calaf falls in love with Turandot on sight. Timur and Lui beg Calaf to flee. Calaf approaches the gong. The cynical three Ministers, Ping, Pang and Pong intercept Calaf and make an extended attempt to discourage him.
A group of Turandot's handmaidens appear and ask for silence since she is sleeping. The Ministers are dismissive of the women and they depart. The Ministers talk to Calaf about how difficult the riddles are. The ghosts of princes who failed to answer the riddles and were executed appear and declare their love for Turnadot even in death. Calaf and the Ministers argue again.
Lui declares how dear the memory of Calaf's smile is and asks him again to stop. Calaf recognizes that she is in love with him and explains that the long-ago smile was merely incidental. Calaf asks Lui not to abandon Timur. They and the Ministers engage in an extended quartet.
Timur cries out Turandot's name, rushes over to the the gong, seizes the hammer, and strikes it three times. The crowd and the Ministers sing out an expectation of death for Calaf.
==See also==
*[[Friedrich Hayek]] - emphasized how limited knowledge of markets influenced the dynamics of the economy.
[[Category:Operas]]