Chinese Melodies

used by Puccini

in

Turandot

and where you will hear them in the opera

Mosco Carner identifies at least eight Chinese melodies used in the score of Turandot. Here are three of those melodies and how they are used in the opera. For more information, see Carner's "The Score" in ENO Opera Guide 27: Turandot and Puccini: A Critical Biography, and Albert Innaurato's "The Gong Show" in Opera News (Volume 56, Number 10 - February 1, 1992).

Clicking on the music examples below will load a midi file of the Chinese melody. There are also some midi files from the opera which will give you a very general idea of how Puccini used the melody. This page is only partially completed.

This melody is one of the most frequently used of the Chinese melodies. Its use occurs mainly at appearances of the Principessa Turandot or references to her or her power and glory.

Where you will hear this melody in the opera:

Act I

• Là sui monti dell'Est - the first appearance of the melody is right before the appearance of the Prince of Persia. It is sung by boys accompanied discretely by offstage saxophones as the chorus hums and the orchestra provides a gently rocking accompaniment (great orchestration)
• Principessa! - the choir and Calaf call for mercy for the Prince of Persia and we see (but don't hear) Turandot for the first time.
• Non senti? Il suo profumo è nell'aria! è nell'anima! - Calaf sings, "Don't you feel it? Her perfume is in the air and in my soul," and Turandot lingers also in the orchestral accompaniment.
• Turandot! Turandot! Turandot! - under Calaf's final high b-flat (immediately before the Prince of Persia's last cry of "Turandot!")
• La fossa già scaviam per te - this follows immediately after Calaf strikes the gong ("We're already digging your grave") near the end of the act.

Act II

• Gloria, gloria, o vincitore - the tune returns in scene ii after Calaf has answered the three riddles.
• Mi vuoi nelle tue braccia a forza...No, no, Principessa altera! Ti voglio tutta ardente d'amor - as Turandot sings "Would you have me in your arms by force?" she rises to a high C. "Reluctant, shuddering? and she again rises to the high C joined by the first sopranos. Calaf continues the melody through the end of the example above, "No...I want you ardent with love!" (at this point in the score, Calaf is also given the option of singing a high C. Some people seem to feel that this is the only option, and that if the tenor sings the lower melody (indicated in the score as the main line) that he is incapable of singing the high note. Both options have their advantages: the high C can be thrilling, but the lower melody line makes more sense musically and I prefer the lower unless the tenor's high C is so incredible that he can really make this a thrilling moment)

Act III

• Principessa divina! - Liù and Timur are dragged in and the crowd calls for Turandot.
• Signor, non parlerò - Liù defies the crowd and Turandot, telling Calaf that she will not reveal his name.
• È l'alba! È l'alba!...La mia gloria è finita! - fittingly, the last appearance of the melody comes as Turandot sings, "My glory has ended!" (This passage is part of both Alfano versions of the duet and was based on a sketch by Puccini)

Much of the music for Ping, Pang and Pong makes use of Chinese melodies; here is one example:

Act I - Notte senza lumicino - Ping, Pang and Pong try to convince Calaf to forget about Turandot and her impossible riddles.

Act II - Il cielo voglia che col primo sole mio figliolo tu sia! - this melody occurs under Altoum's last words in Act II (the midi file begins with the first occurance of the "name" theme - "Il mio nome non sai")

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