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Turandot, Puccini's final opera, is best known for the aria Nessun Dorma, the stirring signature tune of the World Cup and Three Tenors concerts. It's also the composer's most ambitious, exotic amalgam of orchestra, chorus and soloists.
Set in China in "legendary" times, the opera tells of the princess Turandot, who promises to marry a nobleman who can solve three riddles she poses; incorrect answers mean death, and decapitated men pile up around the palace. There's a typically tragic Puccini heroine, the slave Liu, who commits suicide when she is spurned by Calaf, who plays the riddle game and wins the ice princess.
Premiered in 1926, Turandot was one of the last operas to enter the standard repertoire. Puccini died before it was completed, and the concluding duet between Calaf and Turandot was composed by Franco Alfano.
Soprano Pamela Kucenic is Turandot in the Opera Tampa production, staged by Vernon Hartman. Soprano Amy Johnson sings Liu. Tenor Richard Brunner is Calaf. Anton Coppola conducts the orchestra.
Turandot has performances at 8 p.m. today and 2 p.m. Sunday at Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. $24.50-$75. 813 229-7827 or toll-free 1-800-955-1045 or www.tbpac.org