Turandot" by G. Puccini in the staging of Lviv National Opera

"Turandot" by G. Puccini in the staging of the Lviv National Opera takes the audience back to the times of ancient China, when the Great Wall of China was being built and the legendary terracotta army was being formed to protect the empire in the real world as well as the hereafter. In the play, more than a hundred fossilised figures of the terracotta army embody eyewitnesses in whom sympathy is only aroused by the tragedy in the opera's finale.

Cold and unconquerable, of unearthly beauty, the Chinese princess Turandot will marry the one who can guess her three riddles. So far, no one has succeeded: dozens of princes were expected to be executed as soon as the pale moon rose.

In the crowd in front of the imperial palace appears the Tatar prince Kalaf. He has just found his father, the dethroned king of the Tartars, who has been supported throughout his time in exile by his faithful slave Liu. The prince once sent Liu a brief smile and the girl has loved him tenderly ever since....

However, the past, family and devotion all fade before the enchanting beauty of Turandot. The prince is blinded by his desire for love. Will he be able to guess Turandot's riddle and why will victory turn into a horror story that shatters illusions of passion? This is what you will find out in the impressive staging of the opera "Turandot" by G. Puccini of the Lviv National Opera, whose artists will visit Bydgoszcz during the XXX BFO.

It was decided to reach for the last of Puccini's operas in Lviv (and for the first time!) to celebrate the 120th anniversary of the Lviv State Opera.

The anniversary in 2020, however, coincided with a pandemic and the associated restrictions. Therefore, the work on the production was done remotely, bringing together realists from: Poland, headed by director Michał Znaniecki (more than 186 costumes were sewn according to Małgorzata Słoniowska's designs, and the lighting design was handled by Dariusz Albrycht), Greece (choreography by Diana Theocharidis), Italy (colourful set design by Luigi Scoglio) and Ukraine (conductor-producer Ivan Cherednichenko).

It was quite a challenge to harmonise the whole with the ensembles of soloists, choir and ballet of the Lviv National Opera, communicating via internet connections. However, the play was successful, as confirmed by audiences watching the pre-premiere and premiere performances not remotely but live: 20 XI and 26 and 27 XI 2020.