Pre-performance Talk Opera Preludes with Dr. Sam Dorf one hour before performances in the Mead Theatre
Pre-performance Opera Bites in the Wintergarden
Box Office (888) 228-3630
P $94 | A $89 | B $68 | C $38 | D $28
Music by GIACOMO PUCCINI
Libretto by GIUSEPPE ADAMI and RENATO SIMONI
NEAL GITTLEMAN conductor WEBSITE
JOHNATHON PAPE stage director WEBSITE
THOMAS BANKSTON opera artistic director WEBSITE
KARA SHAY THOMSON soprano – Turandot WEBSITE
JONATHAN BURTON tenor – Calaf WEBSITE
CHLOÉ MOORE soprano – Liu WEBSITE
HAROLD WILSON bass – Timur WEBSITE
KENNETH STAVERT baritone – Ping WEBSITE
ROBERT NORMAN tenor – Pang WEBSITE
MICHAEL ANDERSON tenor – Pong
DAYTON OPERA THOMAS BANKSTON artistic director
DAYTON OPERA CHORUS JEFFREY POWELL chorus master
DAYTON PHILHARMONIC NEAL GITTLEMAN artistic director and conductor
IN ITALIAN WITH ENGLISH SURTITLES
Can passion ignite ice? Who is the mysterious, ardent stranger who so unwisely seeks the hand of beautiful, forbidding Princess Turandot? Will they solve the riddles they pose each other—with love and life itself as the prize?
Plunge into the dazzling, faraway universe of Puccini’s last and most luxuriant work, Turandot. It’s a world of palatial splendor, set in China’s Forbidden City in legendary old Peking.
Along the way, you’ll encounter some of Puccini’s most vivid and unforgettable characters—passionate, single-minded Calaf; haunting, self-sacrificing Liu, who has long secretly loved him; aged Timur, Calaf’s dethroned father; and chilling Princess Turandot, whose regal allure has enticed uncounted hapless suitors to a swift and grisly decapitation.
Puccini’s swan song is his grandest and most exotic opera, splashed against the spectacle of ancient Imperial China. But despite the scenic splendor, it’s Puccini’s glorious melodies that will leave you breathless, including the passionately yearning “Nessun dorma” (Nobody sleeps), perhaps best known as Luciano Pavarotti’s signature aria.
You’ll laugh in sympathy with Ping, Pang, and Pong as they weigh their precarious court life against their desire for a peaceful retreat to the country. Perhaps you’ll shed a tear over sweet Liu and her hopeless love. Her “Tu, che di gel” (You who are girdled by ice) softens every heart but Turandot’s.
An opera that fills the stage with Imperial guards, executioners, priests, mandarins, dignitaries, wise men, handmaids, soldiers, standard-bearers, and the populace of Peking, Turandot closes this season of The Great Ones in grand style!
DP&L Foundation DPAA Innovation Partner—Powering Innovation in the Performing Arts
One Call Now DPAA Communications Partner
Coco’s Bistro Official Opera Cast Party Host
The Jesse and Caryl Philips Foundation – Orchestral Music Provider
The Opera Guild of Dayton Surtitle Provider