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.
Princess Turandot is definitely shown in a negative light. I agree that it might be to shock the readers when she decides to marry Prince Calaf at the end. I think it is ironic, however, that Prince Calaf falls in love with her because of her beauty, but she marries him because she sees how kind-hearted he is. It could be meant to show us that she is the only one in the opera that bases her love off of something other than looks, showing a positive side to her.
I agree with what you said. I had the same feeling after reading this on how ironic the outcome of this play is. Being depicted as such a cold hearted princess she ends up marrying Prince Calaf for who he is rather than his looks. However, Prince Calaf who is shown to be brave to persue the hand of the princess despite possible death, is not as honorable as he is depicted. He falls for the princess for her beauty and even loses someone who really loves him and has been there for him since the beginning