Puccini's Turandot Tickets

Franco Zeffirelli’s dazzling vision of mythic China retakes the stage, with soprano Elena Pankratova making her Met debut as the legendary—and lethal—title princess, opposite tenor SeokJong Baek as the valiant prince who puts his life on the line to win her love. Later in the spring, a pair of audience favorites, soprano Christine Goerke and tenor Roberto Alagna, assume the starring roles. Sopranos Gabriella Reyes, Aleksandra Kurzak, and Olga Kulchynska alternate as Liù, with basses Vitalij Kowaljow, Peixin Chen, and Soloman Howard as Timur. Maestro Oksana Lyniv makes her Met debut leading Puccini’s rousing score, sharing conducting duties with Marco Armiliato.

Puccini’s final opera is an epic fairy tale set in a China of legend, loosely based on a play by 18th-century Italian dramatist Carlo Gozzi. Featuring a most unusual score with an astounding and innovative use of chorus and orchestra, it is still recognizably Puccini, bursting with instantly appealing melody. The unenviable task of completing the opera’s final scene upon Puccini’s sudden death was left to the composer Franco Alfano. Conductor Arturo Toscanini oversaw Alfano’s contribution and led the world premiere.