Scottish Opera answers the riddle of Turandot with a triumphant production
All great literature is one of two stories: a man goes on a journey, or a stranger rides into town. A quote commonly attributed to John Gardner (or Leo Tolstoy, for added gravitas), it describes a vast majority of stories, even if certain plot points need to be twisted and crammed to fit into this neat little box.
Despite being an opera, Turandot is all about what happens when a stranger shows up in town (the town being Peking, China). Largely composed by Giacomo Puccini, it was up to Franco Alfano to complete the score after the former’s death in 1924. With interference from famed conductor Arturo Toscanini, Alfano ended up with two scores, his original vision and one vastly reduced in length, the so-called ‘Alfano I’ and ‘Alfano II’, respectively.
While Alfano II is the more well-known ending to Turandot, Alfano I eventually saw the light of day in the 1980s, and it only took another forty years for the full Puccini and Alfano score to be fully staged in professional form in the United Kingdom for the first time.
Scottish Opera’s Turandot is a tour de force. Co-produced with Irish National Opera, it is a magnificent spectacle, with the set design especially standing out in its ability to capture and reflect the moral deterioration and decay of the characters and the story.
The story is, in truth, the great weakness of Turandot. It follows a Prince, who remains unnamed for the majority of the opera, who arrives in the court of Princess Turandot and falls in love with her at first sight. However, anyone who wishes to wed Turandot must first solve the three riddles she poses, with execution the only other outcome. There is an almost mythical quality to this setup, but like a myth, it does not always make the most logical sense, in particular the ending. Puccini himself famously struggled with the ending before his death, and any versions of it, from Alfano’s original interpretation to Alfano II’s to attempts by other composers, have never really completely satisfied audiences.
Much debate can also be had about the characters of the Prince and Turandot. Neither are particularly sympathetic; the Prince is arrogant, Turandot is cold-hearted. They also, in a way, represent the worst of Man’s many sins. The Prince is the ‘civilised’ foreign invader who ‘conquers’ Turandot with his inevitable ‘victory’ over her, while Turandot is a tyrannical authoritarian who uses her intergenerational trauma to justify death and more death.
It is to the great credit of the actors portraying them, Victor Starsky and Trine Møller, both on their Scottish Opera debut, that the humanity deep within these characters are on display. With their performances, you can make sense of these characters, such as when Møller sings of the rape and death of Turandot’s ancestor, she ignites such a righteous fury that you understand the steps she’s taken to protect herself.
Starsky’s technical ability is also put to the test as he performs arguably the most famous aria in all of opera, ‘Nessun dorma’. Having entered the world’s popular consciousness with Luciano Pavarotti in the 1990s, there is an expectancy in the buildup to it that is difficult to ignore, and Starsky, with his eyes gleaming, executes it with gusto, and to much applause.
Scottish Opera’s Turandot is worthy of all the applause it gets. Unlike many other much more tragic iterations, Alfano’s original ending is ultimately a happy one, with the Prince and Turandot heading off into the light. It will be no surprise if this production enjoys the same fate as the joyous couple.
Turandot played at Theatre Royal in Glasgow on 22nd October 2026 with further performances scheduled until 7th November, and will also play at Festival Theatre in Edinburgh from 11th November to 22nd November 2026.