"Turandot doesn't exist..."

The original poster for the 1926 performance of Puccini's last and unfinished opera, Turandot, two years after his death. It was later completed by his contemporary Franco Alfano, based on Puccini's notes. The 1926 premiere was held at La Scala and conducted by Arturo Toscanini who ended the performance toward the end of Act III with the explanation that this was where the opera ended because the composer had died.


Maria Callas as Turandot.

And singing, "In questa reggia" in a 1954 recording.

In the 1998 Forbidden Palace production of 'Turandot' with Zubin Mehta conducting, and Zhang Yimou directing, the three ministers, Ping, Pang, and Pong, reminisce over their carefree youth in their hometowns. Mehta conceived the idea of bringing the production to China, in search of authenticity. But isn't Puccini's version of 'Turandot' the ultimate exercise in Western fantasy of the Orient? Is this a case of self-exoticism for Zhang Yimou and a pandering to Western stereotypes of the Chinese? The production process was filmed for a documentary, "The Turandot Project."