STORY: Epic Turandot: A Century-Long Eastern Dream
SHOOTING TIME: File
DATELINE: Nov. 30, 2024
LENGTH: 00:05:18
LOCATION: Rome
CATEGORY: CULTURE

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Turandot related scenes
2. SOUNDBITE (English): SIMONETTA BIGONGIARI, Director of the Puccini Birthplace Museum
3. SOUNDBITE (English): SIMONETTA BIGONGIARI, Director of the Puccini Birthplace Museum
4. SOUNDBITE (English): SIMONETTA BIGONGIARI, Director of the Puccini Birthplace Museum
5. SOUNDBITE (English): SIMONETTA BIGONGIARI, Director of the Puccini Birthplace Museum
6. SOUNDBITE (Italian): GIOVANNI PUCCIARMATI, Director of the Luigi Cherubini Conservatory of Florence
7. SOUNDBITE (English): SIMONETTA BIGONGIARI, Director of the Puccini Birthplace Museum
8. SOUNDBITE (Chinese): ZHANG SIYI, Student of the Luigi Cherubini Conservatory of Florence
9. SOUNDBITE (Italian): GIORGIO ALBIANI, Internationalization Delegate of the Luigi Cherubini Conservatory of Florence
10. SOUNDBITE (Chinese): ZHANG SIYI, Student of the Luigi Cherubini Conservatory of Florence
11. SOUNDBITE (Italian): GIOVANNI PUCCIARMATI, Director of the Luigi Cherubini Conservatory of Florence
12. SOUNDBITE (Italian): GIORGIO ALBIANI, Internationalization Delegate of the Luigi Cherubini Conservatory of Florence

STORYLINE:

An Italian conservatory plans to stage Turandot, an opera by the renowned Italian opera composer Giacomo Puccini, in China.

Turandot is a classical opera set in ancient China.

SOUNDBITE (English): SIMONETTA BIGONGIARI, Director of the Puccini Birthplace Museum 
"Turandot is probably one of the most important and modern operas of Puccini."

SOUNDBITE (English): SIMONETTA BIGONGIARI, Director of the Puccini Birthplace Museum
"Puccini was born in this house. (Nearly) all his ancestors were musicians, from the grand grand grandfather to his father. So he grew up to become a musician too."

In 1858, Puccini was born in Lucca, a historic city located in the Tuscany region of central Italy. Over his lifetime, he composed twelve operas, blending elements from the East and West.

SOUNDBITE (English): SIMONETTA BIGONGIARI, Director of the Puccini Birthplace Museum
"The Steinway and Sons piano was bought by Puccini in 1901. And so he wrote all the music from Madam Butterfly on this piano, especially Turandot."

"Turandot" depicts a love story of a beautiful yet coldhearted Chinese princess who stipulated that any prince seeking to marry her should answer three riddles, which, if he failed to answer, would lead to a death sentence.

Calaf, a Tartar prince, refrained from informing the princess of his real name, striving to melt her icy heart.

The princess eventually told the public she would marry the prince and his name was Love.

SOUNDBITE (English): SIMONETTA BIGONGIARI, Director of the Puccini Birthplace Museum
"Turandot is probably one of the most important and modern operas of Puccini. Unfortunately, as everybody knows, Puccini died before he could finish Turandot. The opera went on two years after his death at La Scala and, of course, was a success."

Over the past century, Turandot has become one of the most frequently performed Western operas across the globe.

SOUNDBITE (Italian): GIOVANNI PUCCIARMATI, Director of the Luigi Cherubini Conservatory of Florence
"Puccini's opera also meant engaging with and selecting the popular activities of the people, studying their culture, and bringing it to us as an authentic part of a system -- not just something exotic, but a lived reality shared with those people."

SOUNDBITE (English): SIMONETTA BIGONGIARI, Director of the Puccini Birthplace Museum
"The (reason for the) success of Turandot in China, I believe that is because it is part of the history. So people saw a part of their history on the stage, even though it's a fairy tale, but recalls ancient time in China."

"Turandot" was left unfinished in the second scene of the third act when Puccini died in 1924.

SOUNDBITE (Chinese): ZHANG SIYI, Student of the Luigi Cherubini Conservatory of Florence 
"In 2021, I came to Italy through the "Turandot Program" to study vocal performance at the Florence Conservatory of Music."

The Turandot Program, launched in 2009, provides Chinese students with opportunities to pursue studies at art and music institutions in Italy.

SOUNDBITE (Italian): GIORGIO ALBIANI, Internationalization Delegate of the Luigi Cherubini Conservatory of Florence
"On average, in the conservatory, the Chinese student population makes up about 15% of the total number of our enrolled students. So it is a very significant presence and also important from a cultural perspective within our institution."

SOUNDBITE (Chinese): ZHANG SIYI, Student of the Luigi Cherubini Conservatory of Florence
"To me, Puccini is a highly captivating and dramatic composer. His works allowed Italians and many Westerners to discover distant China, and appreciate the charm of Eastern culture."

Pucciarmati's conservatory plans to stage Turandot in China.

The production will involve Italian singers and stage artists, alongside Chinese orchestras.

SOUNDBITE (Italian): GIOVANNI PUCCIARMATI, Director of the Luigi Cherubini Conservatory of Florence
"We are preparing something specifically about Turandot which will be presented at the beginning of 2026. We will bring Turandot in four versions to four countries, including one in China, in Shanghai. So, we will bring Turandot to China, where the story was born."

SOUNDBITE (Italian): GIORGIO ALBIANI, Internationalization Delegate of the Luigi Cherubini Conservatory of Florence
"Music is one of the deepest languages for understanding each other, leading us together to change, to grow, and not to be satisfied with the beauties we have had until today. It is time to start looking forward."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Rome.
(XHTV)