Implications of Love

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.