The Royal Opera's TURANDOT Comes to Cinemas This Week

The Royal Opera House has announced that, this March, audiences across the globe will be able to watch Giacomo Puccini's final opera Turandot on the big screen. On Wednesday 22 March 2023, Andrei Serban's classic production will be broadcast live to 956 cinemas in 22 countries across the world.

In the court of Princess Turandot, suitors who fail to solve her riddles are brutally killed. But when a mysterious Prince answers correctly, suddenly he holds all the power. When life hangs in the balance, can love conquer all?

Serban's spectacular and thrilling 1984 staging has long been a classic, drawing on Chinese and Italian theatrical traditions to conjure a vision of ancient China steeped in legend and fantasy. Puccini's score is rich in musical marvels - not least the instantly recognisable 'Nessun dorma' - and offers an evening of memorable arias, chorus numbers and moments of high drama.

For the live broadcast, Music Director of The Royal Opera Antonio Pappano conducts an international cast that includes Anna Pirozzi as Princess Turandot; Yonghoon Lee as Calaf; Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha as Liù; and Vitalij Kowaljow as Timur. Encore screenings will run from Sunday 26 March 2023.

Our cinema programme has brought opera and ballet to audiences across the globe since 2008. For the 2022/23 Season, an astonishing 13 productions from The Royal Ballet and The Royal Opera will be broadcast to more than 1,300 cinemas from the UK all the way to New Zealand. Each broadcast offers audiences the best seat in the house, and includes exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, interviews and insights into the rehearsal process. The programme forms an integral part of our plan to secure our future, expand audiences and continue to help facilitate the vital recovery of cinema domestically and internationally.