The opera "Turandot" is based on Carlo Gozzi's play of the same name. The Chinese fairy tale inspired Giacomo Puccini to write his last work, which was completed by his student Franco Alfano after his death at his behest. In her conception of the fourth production of "Turandot" on the Varna stage, a co-production with Parma OperArt, the director Edi Lovaglio follows the classical opera models, while also respecting the Chinese cultural tradition.
"It's my first time in Bulgaria and I felt almost at home in Varna. I like the climate, the people, the atmosphere. There are high-level professionals at the Varna Opera, with whom it was not difficult to find a common language," says Maestro Lorenzo Bizzarri, who conducted both the Italian premiere of "Turandot" at the Reggia di Colorno, and the Varna premiere at Opera in the Summer Theater.
"Turandot has the fame of an Ice Princess, vowed not to reveal her heart to anyone. Without mercy, she sends to death all suitors who try in vain to solve her strange riddles - the condition for sitting on the throne next to her. We find the reason for this cruelty in the aria in which the princess tells about her martyred great-grandmother, whose spirit, reborn as Turandot, calls for revenge. But in the end a worthy man is found - Calaf gives the correct answer to the riddles and his kiss changes everything. When it comes to Turandot, I always think of the incomparable Gena Dimitrova, the best Turandot", bows before her idol Dimitrinka Raicheva - Turandot.
About Valery Georgiev - Calaf: " The role of Calaf is not only difficult, but also long, the opera could easily be called "Calaf", not "Turandot". The beautiful aria "Nessun Dorma" is perhaps the most famous tenor aria in the world. The part as a whole is written very interestingly, there are no phrases in it that gradually prepare you for the heights, but you are silent, silent and suddenly you have to sing some extreme height. These sharp turns are a challenge for any tenor, but I love the role of Calaf, I am singing it not for the first time and I hope I have managed to master it in all its complexity.'
Reflecting on her heroine Liu, Ilina Mihailova in turn shares: "Liu is a symbol of boundless love. To love another more than one's own life, to desire the happiness of the beloved, and to take one's own life to preserve the secret of his name, this is the greatest possible sacrifice. She makes Turandot's icy heart melt and he discovers love for the first time. Liu's sacrifice makes possible the happiness of two - Calaf and Turandot - and puts an end to the senseless executions. The challenges of the testiture lie in the heights and in the drama. You have to make the audience enter your story, your soul, sing softly and at the same time show Liu's courage and heroism. Liu is a multi-layered role that reveals deep, unusual, different sides of love.
