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''Turandot'' ( or ; (:turanˈdɔt); see below) is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, completed by Franco Alfano, and set to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni. Though Puccini's first interest in the subject was based on his reading of Friedrich Schiller's 1801 adaptation of the play, his work is most nearly based on the earlier text ''Turandot'' by Carlo Gozzi. The original story is based on the story of Turan-Dokht (daughter of Turan) from the epic ''Haft Peykar'' (''The Seven Beauties''), work of 12th-century Persian poet Nizami.〔(''Turandot's Homecoming: Seeking the Authentic Princess of China in a New Contest of Riddles'' ), Master of Music thesis by Ying-Wei Tiffany Sung, Graduate College of Bowling Green State University, August 2010〕 The opera's story is set in China and involves Prince Calaf, who falls in love with the cold Princess Turandot. To obtain permission to marry her, a suitor has to solve three riddles; any wrong answer results in death. Calaf passes the test, but Turandot still refuses to marry him. He offers her a way out: if she is able to learn his name before dawn the next day, then at daybreak he will die. The opera was unfinished at the time of Puccini's death in 1924, and was completed by Franco Alfano in 1926. The first performance was held at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan on 25 April 1926 and conducted by Arturo Toscanini. This performance included only Puccini's music and not Alfano's additions. The first performance of the opera as completed by Alfano was the following night, 26 April, although it is disputed whether this was conducted by Toscanini again or by Ettore Panizza. ==Origin and pronunciation of the name== ''Turandot'' is a Persian word and name that means "the daughter of Turan", Turan being a region of Central Asia, formerly part of the Persian Empire. In Persian, the fairy tale is known as ''Turandokht'', with ''dokht'' being a contraction of ''dokhtar'' (daughter); the ''kh'' and ''t'' are both pronounced. According to Puccini scholar Patrick Vincent Casali, the final ''t'' is silent in the opera's and title character's name, making it sound (:turanˈdo *). Soprano Rosa Raisa, who created the title role, says that Puccini never pronounced the final ''t''. Eva Turner, a prominent Turandot, did not pronounce the final ''t'', as television interviews with her attest. Casali also maintains that the musical setting of many of Calaf's utterances of the name makes sounding the final ''t'' all but impossible. On the other hand, Simonetta Puccini, the composer's granddaughter and keeper of the Villa Puccini and Mausoleum, has said that the final ''t'' must be pronounced. Italo Marchini questioned her about this in 2002. Ms. Puccini said that in Italian the name would be ''Turandotta''. In the Venetian dialect of Carlo Gozzi the final syllables are usually dropped and words end in a consonant, ergo ''Turandott'', as the name has been made Venetian. In 1710, while writing the first biography of Genghis Khan, the French scholar François Pétis de La Croix published a book of tales and fables combining various Asian literary themes. One of his longest and best stories derived from the history of Mongol princess Khutulun. In his adaptation, however, she bore the title Turandot, meaning "Turkish Daughter," the nineteen-year-old daughter of Kaidu. Instead of challenging her suitors in wrestling, Pétis de La Croix had her confront them with three riddles. In his more dramatic version, instead of wagering mere horses, the suitor had to forfeit his life if he failed to answer correctly. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Turandot」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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