Turandot & Staatsoper for All
Premiere and STAATSOPER FOR ALL live broadcast on June 18th: Puccini's TURANDOT directed by Philipp Stölzl and conducted by Zubin Mehta
On Saturday, June 18th, Giacomo Puccini's TURANDOT, directed by Philipp Stölzl and conducted by Zubin Mehta, Honorary Conductor of the Staatskapelle Berlin, celebrates its premiere, which can also be experienced as an open-air event on Bebelplatz.
Photo credits: ffo art
Turandot doesn't want to belong to anyone. So far, the strategy of getting rid of annoying admirers has worked: Anyone who wants to marry her has to solve three riddles. If you don't make it, you pay with your life. Hundreds try their luck and fall victim to Turandot's cruel dictatorship. But then a man appears who can solve the puzzles...
The new production is staged by film and opera director Philipp Stölzl, who also designed the stage design. Most recently, Stölzl, who has been a guest at the Berlin State Opera several times, directed Verdi's IL TROVATORE. In 2021 his film »Schachnovelle« was released in cinemas.
TURANDOT is Puccini's last and unfinished opera, which moves on the threshold of modernity. Philipp Stölzl encounters Turandot's bloodthirsty power game between obsession and emancipation with a dark, surreal imagery in which an oversized live animated puppet takes control.
The ensemble includes Elena Pankratova in the title role, Aida Garifullina (Liù, role debut), René Pape (Timur), Siegfried Jerusalem (Altoum), Yusif Eyvazov (Calaf), Gyula Orendt (Ping), Andrés Moreno García (Pang), Siyabonga Maqungo (Pong) and David Oštrek (A Mandarin). Zubin Mehta has been Honorary Conductor of the Staatskapelle since 2014 and most recently conducted the premiere of DER ROSENKAVALIER at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden. The State Opera Choir, rehearsed by Martin Wright, and the State Opera Children's Choir play a central role. The costumes are by Ursula Kudrna, Irene Selka and Philipp Stölzl are responsible for the lighting design and Christopher Tölle for the choreography. Puccini's unfinished work can be experienced in Franco Alfano's abridged version.