Month: October 2015 (Page 1 of 7)

Filled with death, fear, love, and sacrifice, Turandot is a whirlpool of emotions for its viewers. Though often to the extreme, this opera highlights certain aspects of humanity that can be seen in all individuals. We as humans can relate to the characters each in some way, or, at least identify the message they are meant to portray.

Liu is a big symbol in this story for loyalty. Committed to her master, as a slave, she first demonstrates this characteristic when she cries out for help as Timur falls to the ground. She is driven by her love for his son, Calaf. As a slave she knows that their love can never be, but she continues on anyway with the little hope she can have that something might become of her and her love. Once Calaf declares his love for Turandot and he is put in a dangerous situation, things take a turn for Liu. Put in a position where she or Timur will be killed if they do not tell comply with the guards and reveal Calaf’s name, Liu sacrifices herself for the ones she loves. To her, her love was worth more than her life. I find this an admirable tragedy.

In the opening scenes, Turandot orders for the execution of a young prince who failed to win her love over in riddles. She is introduced as seemingly cold and heartless. As the characters develop, we are able to see that Turandot masks behind her harsh actions a fear of her fate. She refuses to be forced into the hands of another man and has seen too many suitors die before her to have any hope left that she will find the right one. It isn’t until Calaf kisses her and takes away her fear that she finally accepts the feeling of love.

Calaf falls for Turandot through what most consider “love at first sight.” Determined to win her over, he answers the riddles correctly and passes the test that no other suitor has been able to complete. When the shock finally hits her and she refuses to marry him, Calaf gives Turandot the option of killing him if she can figure out what his name is by dawn. He, like Liu, is compelled by love and will do anything for it. But unlike Liu, he succeeds in winning over his love.

If we are not willing to risk and to sacrifice, no progress can be made. Unfortunately, Liu is an example of the danger that comes from the uncertainty of taking chances. She gave her all for her love and ended up dead. But, it does not always end this way. For both Calaf and Turandot, after their struggles, their lives end happily in love. I felt like these situations, although excessive, can pertain to ones in real life and that made me appreciate it more. I enjoyed reading this text and am excited to see it come alive on stage.

Reading Turnadot, I found the plot to be overlly dramatic and in general unbelievable. However if looked closely, it is similar to that of our Disney princesses in which we admire and look up to. Princess Turnadot is an undeniably beautiful women who men die for, literally. This play displays not only the naive ideals of love but also incorporates the desperation and blind following of it by the young.

The play begins with the execution of a persian prince who has failed the task in which he would either marry or die for the princess. The tasks, seemingly and easy one, is that you have to answer the three riddles the princess gives you and if you successfully answer them you can marry her but if you fail to then she will execute you. This is seen as exaggerated and unbelievable that someone would agree. However this emphasizes the princesses beauty. The unknown prince, also known as prince calaf also falls in love with her. Despite having only recently reunited with his father he is willing to risks his life for “love”. Which ends the first act.

Following this introduction, eventually prince Calaf does answer all three of Princess Turnadots riddles,however she does not wish to marry him. And so, he gives her a tasks in which if she learns his name she does not have to marry her and he will be killed also. With a twists a servant of his, Liu kills herself in order to protect Calafs name. This is where we see the one-sided love from a lowly servant to that of her prince. This not only broke my heart to read but also made me dislike prince Calaf a bit more. Personally, I enjoy rooting for the underdogs of the story but that is not the only reason why i dislike prince Calaf. Although i commend him for his bravery, he fell in love with the princess looks and despite having someone who cares so much about him near him, he chose beauty. Princess Turnadot however, fell in love with Calafs personality. Even though she does find out his name, she doesnt say because she begins to like him and eventually she does marry him.

This play is full of twists and turns that it was hard to keep up. Despite how dramatic and unrealistic this may of been, it was interesting to read because usually I watch shows that present the same plots. However I believe that watching and reading provide two different views and evokes different feelings. I’m looking forward to watching this opera!

Turandot, written by Giacomo Puccini, is definitely not your typical love story. Prince Calaf falls in love with the cold hearted and unobtainable Princess Turandot, but the only way to acquire permission to marry her is to solve three riddles. Any wrong answer results in death.  Although Calaf answers all three of the questions correctly, Turandot still refuses to marry him. He gives her the option to learn his name by dawn, and if she succeeds he will die the next day. Although Turandot does learn his name, she refuses to say it. Instead, she changes her mind and marries him at the end, adding an unexpected plot twist to the story.

Having never read an opera, I had no idea what to expect with Turandot. From the beginning, there is an execution of a prince while a crowd is narrating what is happening. Although it seemed confusing at first, I quickly understood the situation. Prince Calaf, who reunites with his father at the beginning of the first act, is set on risking his life to marry Princess Turandot. Liu, Calaf’s father’s servant who helps him find his son, is madly in love with him and ends up committing suicide so that she does not have to give his name away. Princess Turandot, who is able to kill many suitors without a second thought, has a change of heart when she falls in  love with Calaf.

The story uncovers the truth behind love and the impact it can have on a person. Like in many love stories, people sacrifice their lives for the people they love. Without reciprocation, life becomes meaningless for the characters. It does not matter to Calaf that he has not seen his father in such a long time, because he is blinded by his feelings for Princess Turandot. I admit, it seems ludicrous to choose some princess whom Calaf does not really know over his own father. However, when in love, people do very illogical and questionable things. I feel that Calaf did not know the princess well enough to be in love with her. Loving a person requires you to love every part of them and in order to do that, you have to know every part of them. Calaf falls in love with Turandot simply based on her beauty, which makes me question if he was actually in love with her. He was willing to risk his life for a woman who not only rejected him, but whom he does not really know. Turandot, on the other hand, changes her mind about Calaf when she sees the kind of person that he is. She falls in love with him because of his good heart, rather than his looks. This could symbolize what each gender considers important in finding a partner. Men tend to focus on beauty while women base their decisions off of someone’s personality and kindness. Although this might not necessarily be true, it seems to be the case in a lot of love stories. Turandot shows us the implications of love. It might seem irrational to risk your life for another person, but it is a feeling that cannot be matched with any other. Love is the biggest motivator in life.

The progression of this opera was very interesting and; in a sense, I expected but did not expect the plot line at the same time. I state this because the plot line sort of reminds of the plot lines that occur in the average ancient Chinese dynastic dramas. However, since this opera was written by a Italian, I did not expect for such a connection in plot line to modern dramas about dynastic China.

What stood out to me in the opera was the cruelness of Princess Turnadot. I did not expect Princess Turnadot to be so coldhearted and ruthless when telling her ministers to continue torturing Liu when she would not expose the Prince’s name. The beheading of The Persian Prince, in the beginning, also further demonstrates how ruthless Princess Turnadot is. Personally, knowing that she is a princess and the female lead of this opera, I expected Princess Turnadot to have a more positive image in the opera. However, the opera just emphasized the negative traits of Princess Turnadot. I perceive that the writers probably decided to let Princess Turnadot be more of an ‘evil’ character  so that there would be more of a shock and  contrast when Princess Turnadot actually returns the Prince of Tartary’s love.

Like many people who have read this opera, I think that it came as quit a shock that Princess Turnadot actually decided not to kill the Prince of Tartary, but instead marry him. However, I felt like that ending was a bit abrupt and I would have like to see the opera expand more on what happens after the couple gets married. I think that there should have been a sequel to this opera, just to expand on the marriage life after the couples wedding. This marriage is not necessarily a  normal relationship, where people move from being in a relationship to getting married. So I think there could potentially be a lot of marital problems that the sequel could go into. I would definitely read/ watch the sequel because of the drama that may occur.

Overall, I think that the opera storyline is relatively easy to follow and I definitely look forward to seeing the opera live. I just hope that the entire opera does not feel as long as it is.

Turandot was a very  striking play for many people especially me. I immediately felt the tension and violence that would unfold after reading that Princess Turandot wanted her male suitors to answer her three riddles correctly. Her disappointment at Prince Calaf’s correctness, I thought was very selfish. She took that opportunity as a way to kill someone innocent.

Calaf’s courage and determination to chase after someone so cruel was indeed very shocking. Most of all, he ignored the slave girl, Liu’s hints of appreciation for to not risk his life. Because of Liu’s bravery, she not only helped change Turandot’s overall demeanor at the end of the play, but became a central martyr figure.

Liu died to protect someone’ else’s love and well-being, which she could not gain herself, which was very gripping and sorrowful. It also brings to attention to the audience what true love means, rather than a false appearance of beauty. Turandot’s selfishness really generated contempt from the audience, which shifted dramatically at the end when she reveals that Calaf’s name is “Love.”

I feel that in the end, Princess Turandot finally came to her senses to be a respectable human being. But it costed the sleeplessness, and death of essential people. Overall, this play was very intriguing, and kept the pace of the tension moving forward until the very end.

A beautiful princess drifts through life until a handsome prince shows up, falls in love with her, and conquers whatever obstacle is there to protect her virtue (a dragon, riddle, high tower, witch, protective father, etc.), winning both her and the kingdom. She automatically falls in love with him at first sight (because he’s so charming, handsome, brave, and princely) or first kiss (because he’s just that good) and they have a huge wedding to kick off their “happily ever after”. Sounds familiar? It’s basically the plot for almost every traditional princess story we know. It’s also the plot to Turandot, the libretto loaded with cliches.

I’ll be honest. I was bored while reading it. While the structure was familiar, the execution could have been more exciting. There was no suspense for the answer to the riddles. Perhaps there could have been a sudden threat to the kingdom and the Prince was involved in eliminating it, only to come back and find the cold princess still required him to complete the riddle because his victory was not impressive enough. Maybe she would have learned something of his character and it would have softened her heart.

In the end, what do we know about the Prince’s character? He has been estranged from his blind father for years but easily abandons him when the trial comes up. He fell in love with Turandot at first sight, of course. He risks his life to answer her riddles which can be attributed to love making people do stupid/selfless things. He is sad when Liu – who sacrificed herself to preserve his anonymity – dies, but quickly turns to Turandot and kisses her against her will in a frenzy of passion (dead, faithful servant girls must really impassion him). He is intelligent enough to solve her riddles and offer her a riddle so she can accept the marriage on her own terms. When his “Love” is callous enough to order the execution of over a dozen princes in the past few years, it only makes sense to have her come into the marriage not wanting to kill him. So overall, he’s a handsome, intelligent man made stupid by love. What a redeeming character!

All the characters, except Turandot, were bland. She was cruel with her many executions, showing a heartlessness her father did not possess. He even begged the Prince to leave and not pursue his daughter so he would not have another execution on his hands. I admire her self-respect although it disappointingly dissipated into submission overnight. I suppose traditional art rarely has self-respecting women that are not ruthless or slightly crazy.

Liu is an interesting addition but contributes nothing to the plot, except maybe a contrast in types of love – her sacrifice versus Turandot’s resistance and submission. I suppose she shows how kind and handsome the Prince is; she does fall in love with him over one smile he kindly bestows on such a lowly servant.

Slight smile from Prince William (21 years ago)

The writing, the characters, and the plot lack passion. The musicality of the opera is more dramatic, elongating the scenes to convey more passion. Hopefully the performance adds the drama and suspense the writing lacks and the actors can bring the characters to life.

Imagine that you see the girl of your dreams for the first time. Staring across the moonlit sky, your eyes meet and it’s love at first sight. As your gazes cross, you instantly feel that spark. While this romance might sound like a typical Romeo and Juliet love story, its true nature is much more twisted than that. That one special moment in time where you held each other’s gaze mesmerizes you and you become a prisoner to her charm. The only way to free yourself is through her love.

The story of Turandot is one of obsession. Love becomes the sole driving force behind the characters’ actions, blinding them of all common sense and reasoning. A son gambles his and his father’s lives . A servant commits suicide to help make her beloved master’s wishes come true. Dozens of men kneel to their premature deaths in exchange for a chance at loving a princess. A princess, afraid of being hurt kills her suitors as to remain immune to love’s pain. Indeed the love in Turandot is more of a disease than an enjoyable emotion. It causes men to do terribly irresponsible things and feeds the atrocities within the kingdom. This unorthodox depiction of love exaggerates love’s ability to completely drive a person’s actions. Yet the happy ending in which the unloving princess Turandot falls in love with her noble suitor Calaf reveals that despite love’s illogical nature, love is still man’s ultimate fulfillment.

The music in the opera mirrors love’s complexity. Both pieces posted on the blog are quite grand and ostentatious. Questa Regia starts in a very somber manner. The dynamics of the piece aren’t too loud and as such, there is room for the song to grow to a climax. Towards the middle of the piece, the notes become slightly dissonant and I could imagine the lyrics referring to death, the ultimate wager in exchange for the princess’ hand in marriage. The ending was quite powerful and dreamy, making me imagine the glory in solving the riddles with an empire and a princess as reward. Nessun Dorma is a very passionate piece. It beautifully conveys the love driving Calaf to risk his life in the trial. The piece itself is very hopeful and makes me believe that Calaf truly wanted the princess above all else in the world.

Ultimately I was very content with the opera. I felt certain scenes were a bit overly dramatic, but I guess that comes with it being an opera. For example, the scene where Liu kills herself left me a bit perplexed. She could have denied her knowledge of Calaf’s name and lived, but her love for Calaf was such that living without him would be worse than death. Such an exaggerated image of love is unrealistic as Calaf only smiled at Liu once which developed into her obsession towards him. This dramatization is beautiful nonetheless and moves the audience. Ultimately, this opera left me with the idea that a life without love is a fate worse than death.