| Synopsis: |
'A Turandot filtered through a modern brain,' wrote Puccini, describing his plans to rework the eighteenth-century Venetian 'dramatic fable' by Carlo Gozzi. According to Mosco Carner, the world authority on the composer, Puccini's last and supreme work is an advanced score which, with an orchestration that reflects contemporaries such as Richard Strauss and Stravinsky as well as genuine Chinese rhythms and harmonies, remains true to the Italian vocal tradition. The Swiss musicologist Jurgen Maehder has made a special study of the ending, which Franco Alfano composed from Puccini's sketches, and is accompanied by a series of previously unpublished photographs of the sketches. In addition, the great British Soprano, Dame Eva Turner, recalls her experiences of singing the title role, of which she was a legendary interpreter. |