Turandot

Act One

Before the walls of the imperial palace in Beijing, the Mandarin announces that Princess Turandot will marry only the blue-blooded suitor who solves all three riddles she will present to him. Candidates who fail to answer correctly are sentenced to be beheaded. The Prince of Persia has just failed in his attempt to solve the riddles, and will soon be led to the gallows, where he will find his death. The crowd eagerly awaits the execution, while some call on the Princess to stop the cruel bloodshed. During the ceremony, an old man falls to the ground. A younger man rushes to help him and discovers that the old man is his father, whom he thought was dead. The joy of the reunion between father and son is interrupted when Kalaf, the younger one, tells his father, Timur, the exiled king of the Tatars, that they are being pursued by enemies. Timur manages to escape from the enemy with the help of Liu, his faithful maid. As the Persian prince is led to the gallows, the crowd mourns his beauty and youth. Turandot appears for a brief moment and signals that the execution can proceed. Klaf, who catches a glimpse of her, is stunned. He must solve the three riddles and take the princess as his wife. Timur urges his son to flee for his life and save his life, and the three imperial ministers, Ping, Fang, and Fong, also speak to the unknown man’s heart to reconsider his decision. Even Liu, who has secretly loved Klaf for many years, asks him to leave, but he comforts her and says that nothing will deter him from his decision. Klaf is determined. He approaches the palace gates, strikes the gong three times, and calls Turandot’s name three times, accepting the challenge that many before him have failed to meet and paid for with their lives.

Second act

Ping, Pang and Pong, the three ministers who resemble characters from the Commedia dell’Arte, discuss the funeral or triumphal procession of the unknown prince. They mourn Turandot’s ongoing bloodshed and yearn for the good, peaceful days they knew in the past, hoping that they will be able to enjoy the delights of nature again. They daydream about the peace that may one day prevail, when a suitor is found to win the princess’s heart. But they are soon forced to return to reality and come to the royal palace to be present, once again, at another ceremony of riddles.
Many have gathered at the palace, where the old Emperor Altom once again begs Klaff to resign and save his life. But no one can change Klaff’s decision, not even Turandot herself, who appears and explains in her aria why she is so cruel to her suitors. Many years ago, she says, a foreign king defiled the honor of one of her mother’s mothers, and Turandot vows to avenge the terrible deed. Klaff is ready, and provides the answer to the first riddle with ease. This is the hope that is born anew every night, he says. The second riddle is more difficult, but Klaff again finds the right solution: blood ignites like flame. Turandot is slightly agitated. It seems that her third question will decide the prince: “What ice produces fire?” she asks, and in the end Klaff wins. The answer, of course, is Turandot herself. The people cheer the victorious prince, but Turandot pleads with her father – she does not want to marry the prince. Altom cannot help her, but the swordsman himself has a proposition: he will pose a riddle to the princess. If she can guess his name by dawn, he will be ready to die. Turandot accepts the challenge.

Act Three

Turandot sends messengers throughout the city in an attempt to discover the prince’s name. No one will sleep tonight, the order says, until the name is revealed. In the palace garden, Klaf awaits his arrival in the morning. The three mandarins ask him to flee and offer him money and other women. But Klaf is stubborn. He is not willing to give up Turandot. Guards drag Timur and Liu inside under torture. The two are seen talking to the prince, and hope arises that they will be able to reveal the name that all of Beijing wishes to know. Turandot orders them to speak, but Liu, in order to save her master’s life, replies that she knows the name but will never reveal it, due to her love for Klaf. She snatches a dagger from one of the guards, plunges it into her heart, and dies. Klaf and Turandot are left alone on the stage. He holds her and kisses her passionately – a kiss that melts the ice princess’s heart. She confesses that she was afraid of the unknown prince and loved him from the beginning. She hopes that Klaf will be happy knowing that she loves him and asks him to leave. But Klaf simply reveals his true identity to Turandot, and puts his life in her hands. She comes to her senses, quickly summons the emperor and her people, and announces that she has discovered the stranger’s name: the name is Love. All’s well that ends well.