Turandot at the Metropolitan Opera

Nessun Dorma!!!!!


Translated, Nobody Shall Sleep. True to its word this opera did not put me to sleep. Turandot is a majestic and beautifully presented opera complete with extravagant costumes and sets.

The story set in the Orient follows a prince that has fallen in love with a princess, Turandot. Anyone wanting Turandot's hand in marriage must answer 3 riddles correctly or die by execution. Many have tried and failed before our hero, Prince Tartary succeeds. Turandot not know he is a prince does not want to marry him and he gives her a chance to get out of the deal if she can guess his name. In the process a slave dies but the opera ends with a wedding, so everyone is happy. Yes, plot-wise it can sound a bit complicated and silly, but that is what opera is all about isn't it? No the meat of the story is really not what we are here for, we are here for the soaring vocal perfromances and the aforementioned costumes and sets.

The 2 leads Irene Theorin and Marcello Giordani had fantastic performances. Mr. Giordani's rendition of the famous Nessun Dorma was stirring and powerful, giving me chills.  There is a great supporting cast as well with the ministers Ping, Pang and Pong very entertaining and Janai Brugger as Liu giving a dramatic and stirring performance.

Go to the Metropolitan Opera and experience some of these fantastic performances and gain a little culture in the process. The season has just started and is in full swing.

The Metropolitan Opera

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