Turandot, prinzessin von China
'Ein tragikomisches Märchen nach Gozzi von Schiller'
music drama in three acts, 1950-51

Vocal score:  'pencil sketches completed 7 June 1950, ink copy completed 13 September July 1950'
Full score dated 18 May 1951
 
Turandot  (soprano)
Zelina, a slave of Turandot  (mezzo)
Skirina, Zelina’s mother  (mezzo)
Adelina, a Tartar princess, Turandot’s slave  (alto)
Kalaf, prince of Astrakhan  (tenor)
Ismail, companion to the Prince of Samarkand  (tenor)
Barak, Skirina’s husband  (baritone)
Tartaglia, a minister  (baritone)
Pantalon, chancellor  (baritone)
Brigella, captain of the watch  (baritone)
Altoun  (bass)
Doctors of the Diwan  (4 tenors, 4 basses)
Truffaldino, overseer of the eunuchs  (mimed role)

3 flutes (2 also piccolo), 2 oboes, cor anglais, 2 clarinets, Eb clarinet, bass clarinet, 3 bassoons (1 also contra), 4 horns, 4 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, 3 side drums, cymbals,  triangle, tambourine, castanets, tam-tam, bell in G, xylophone, glockenspiel, celesta, 2 harps, strings

c150 minutes

Text:  Schiller, abridged by the composer and set in German with no English translation


Act I 
Prelude
  [135 bars] (8
´)
Scene 1:  The environs of Pekin
  [305 bars] (16
´)
Scene 2:  The environs of Pekin
  [108 bars] (5
´)
Scene 3:  [149 bars] (7
´)

Act II
Prelude
  [97 bars] (5
´)
Scene 1: 
Great Hall of the Divan  [399 bars] (15
´)
Scene 2:  [887 bars] (43
´)

Act III
Scene 1:  A magnificent room 
[454 bars] (25
´)
Scene 2: 
Great Hall of the Divan  [495 bars] (34
´)

Total: [3136 bars] (155´)

unpublished

 

Derived works

Three pieces for orchestra  (extracted by HB, 1962)  [a] 20:25  [b] 17:13
3 flutes (2 also piccolo), 2 oboes, cor anglais, 2 clarinets, Eb clarinet, bass clarinet, 3 bassoons (1 also contra), 4 horns, 4 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, 3 side drums, cymbals,  triangle, tambourine, castanets, tam-tam, xylophone, glockenspiel, celesta, harp, strings
1  Prelude to Act I
,  Massig langsam-Andante moderato  [135 bars] [a] 8:30  [b] 6:55 
2  from Act I scene 1, 
Allegro molto   [142 bars] [a] 10:05  [b] 8:40
3  from Act I scene 1,   Lontano  [72 bars] [a] 1:50  [b] 1:38
United Music Publishers Limited

Suite for orchestra -  from Acts II and  III [assembled by Malcolm MacDonald, 1975]  [a] 24:40  [b] 22:08
3 flutes (1 also piccolo), 2 oboes, cor anglais, 2 clarinets, Eb clarinet, bass clarinet, 3 bassoons (1 also contra), 4 horns, 4 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, 3 side drums, cymbals,  triangle, tambourine, tam-tam, bell in G, xylophone, glockenspiel, celesta, 2 harps, strings
1  At the court of the Emperor Altoum
(Prelude to Act II), Adagio solenne  [95 bars] [a] 5:25  [b] 5:02
2  Minuett
(from Act II scene 1), launish   [44 bars] [a] 2:05  [b] 1:48
3  Entrance of the Princess Turandot and her retinue
(Introduction to Act II scene 2), Moderato maestoso  [106 bars] [a] 4:45  [b]4:16
4  Nocturne
(Prelude to Act III), Andante comodo ma misterioso  [38 bars] [a] 2:30  [b] 2:04
5  To the Divan!
(Prelude to Act III scene 2), Adagio  [51 bars] [a] 4:55  [b] 4:33
6  Lugubre-Marsch
(from Act III scene 2), Adagio solenne  [72 bars] [a] 5:00  [b] 4:27
United Music Publishers Limited

[a] Kelleher

[b] Walker

Minuet and funeral march  for piano [trans Malcolm MacDonald and Ronald Stevenson Jan-Feb 1973 (cf nos 2 and 6 of the Suite, see above)]
Havergal Brian Society

 

Articles

Tour d'horizon autour de Turandot - Malcolm MacDonald
Fascinating introductory article
A view from the rostrum - James Kelleher
on the Millennium Sinfonia's 1995 concert of orchestral excerpts

A note on the Minuet and Funeral march - Graham Hatton

 

Performances

Complete opera

unperformed

Derived works

Three pieces
27 May 1995 [first performance] . St James' Church, Piccadilly, London

Millennium Sinfonia, conductor James Kelleher

Suite
27 May 1995 [first performance] . St James' Church, Piccadilly, London

Millennium Sinfonia, conductor James Kelleher

Minuet and funeral march
3 May 1973 [first performance] . Reid Concert Hall, University of Edinburgh
Ronald Stevenson

5 May 1973 . Wigmore Hall, London
Ronald Stevenson

30 January 1976
Ronald Stevenson

25 July 1976 / 22 March 1977 (BBC Radio 3 broadcasts)
Ronald Stevenson

5 December 1976 [Funeral march only] . Victoria Theatre, Stoke on Trent
Ronald Stevenson

29 April 1977 [Funeral march only] . Mitchell Hall, Aberdeen University
Ronald Stevenson

9 March 1978 / 6 May 1978  (BBC Radio Manchester broadcast) . Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester
Ronald Stevenson

31 March 1988
Raymond Clarke

12 June 1992 [Funeral march only] . Stephen Joseph Room, Newcastle under Lyme
Ronald Stevenson

 

Commercial recordings

Derived works

Minuet and funeral march
February 1981 / Cameo Classics
Peter Hill

Three Pieces from Turandot: A Turandot Suite (arr. MacDonald)

25/26 June 2009, City Halls, Glasgow / Toccata Classics

BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, conductor Garry Walker

Toccata Classics TOCC 0113

 

See also Discography


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