Puccini’s last opera, Turandot, revolves around the beautiful Princess Turandot and the charming Prince Calaf. Turandot is full of “blood, violence, and fear – but also love and hope.”
Princess Turandot declares that anyone who attempts to marry her and fails to answer three riddles correctly will be punished by death. Prince Calaf takes on the challenge. As the tale unfolds, sacrifices are made, hearts are broken, and blood is spilled, but love ultimately wins.
The Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre’s cast for Turandot includes:
- Princess Turandot – Rebecca Nash, soprano
- Calaf – Ta’u Pupu’a, tenor
- Liù – Chloé Olivia Moore, soprano
- Timur – Stephen Swanson , baritone
- L’imperatore Altoum – Jesse Donner, tenor
- Ping – Andrew McLaughlin, baritone
- Pang – Nicholas Nestorak, tenor
- Pong – Max Zander, tenor
- Mandarino – Matthew Lau, bass
Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre’s Director William Ferrara describes Puccini’s music as “beautiful, and grief stricken” and believes it is Puccini’s “undying message of hope that is his final gift to us.”
IPR Classical’s CROT Turandot broadcast times will be:
- Saturday, May 4th at 8 pm
- Sunday, May 5th at 11 pm
The Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre performance of Turandot will end IPR’s Arias in April series for this season.
Please join us this fall, on October 5th and 6th, for IPR’s 2019 Opera in October series, which will include:
DMMO: Puccini’s La Bohème
DMMO: Leonard Bernstein’s Candide
DMMO: Alban Berg’s Wozzeck
ISU: Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld
CROT: The Grant Wood Operas: Strokes of Genius