August 1920. Giacomo Puccini was taking some time off at the baths and came across a music box of some traditional Chinese tune that belonged to his fellow, Baron Fassini, who was once consul in China. Some of the songs fascinated him to the point he wanted to integrate them wholly into his upcoming opera, which was, in fact, set in mysterious China, Turandot. The scene is set in Peking in ‘legendary times’ and follows Prince Calaf’s quest for the answers to three riddles, which would allow him to marry Princess Turandot. The libretto was inspired by a very ancient legend, probably Persian and not Chinese, that popularized in Europe after a theatrical adaptation by Carlo Gozzi back in 1762. The interesting plot shows the evolution of the two protagonists’ conscience, with Turandot’s ruthlessness giving space to love in the touching final duet. Puccini gave his all to Turandot, but died shortly before completing it. His publisher, Ricordi, entrusted his pupil Franco Alfano to compose the finale, based on the maestro’s note. It is generally recognized as a perfectly apt integration (and is the version that is currently on schedule at Fenice Theatre) but none other than Arturo Toscanini, in 1926, stopped his performance right at the incipit of the final duet with the words: “We stop here, for here is where the Maestro died.”
