Dutch National Opera Presents TURANDOT

After a sold-out series of Tosca last spring, Turandot is the second Puccini opera chief-conductor Lorenzo Viotti and stage director Barrie Kosky will be collaborating on as part of their Puccini cycle for Dutch National Opera.

Princess Turandot's suitors are set three impossible riddles. Anyone who fails to solve all three of them, will be sentenced to a gruesome public execution. Prince Calaf, overcome by love, decides to take up the challenge.

For his new production, Barrie Kosky has decided to steer clear of the orientalism of the early 20th century. He neither zooms in on the psychological aspects of the characters, but presents an abstract city in a state of emergency. The people - "il popolo" - are we, the audience. Kosky stages his Turandot in a hallucinatory, dystopian dreamscape that is characterised by lust, desire and obsession. Kosky is exceptionally talented at directing large groups of people while maintaining meticulous attention to detail. This means the Chorus of Dutch National Opera, as of this season under direction of chorus master Edward Ananian-Cooper, will play a key role in this production, not only from a musical but also from a scenic perspective.

Twelve performances of Turandot at National Opera & Ballet, Amsterdam
Fri 2 (premiere), Sun 4*, Tue 6, Fri 9, Mon 12, Wed 14, Sat 17, Wed 21, Fri 23, Sun 25*, Wed 28 and Fri 30 December, 20:00 hrs (*14:00 hrs)