Today we cannot imagine the history of music without "Turandot" by Giacomo Puccini and its most famous aria – "Nessun Dorma". "Turandot" is one of the most imposing operas ever staged and a shining example of the growing public interest in it.
The action takes place in China, where all the candidates for the hand of the beautiful but heartless Princess Turandot must solve three riddles, and failure to solve them will lead to their death. Prince Calaf accepts and wins the challenge, but Turandot refuses him. Then, in turn, he asks the princess an impossible question with fatal consequences.
In the role of Turandot takes part the guest South Korean soprano Lilla Lee.
Who is the soprano Lilla Lee?
She studied at the Conservatory of Milan and Novara, in the school of Opera at the Arturo Toscanini Academy in Parma and the Academy of Orazio Vecchi in Modena with Raina Kabaivanska. She won many international singing contests like First and Public Prize in the G. Martinelli – A. Pertile Competition, Second Prize in the Spiros Argiris of Sarzana Competition and First Prize in the Iris Adami Corradetti Competition at Theater of Padova.
In 2008, she made her debut as Turandot for Aslico Opera Lombardia and she sang protagonists roles in Major Opera House like: La Fenice of Venice, Filarmonico of Verona, Grande of Brescia, Fraschini of Pavia, Sociale of Como, Sociale of Rovigo, Abbado of Ferrara, Wielki Narodowa of Warsaw, Bucharest National Opera, The Ancient Theater in Opera Plovdiv, Cankarjev Dom of Ljubljana (Production of Slovene National Theatre SNG Maribor), Seoul Arts Center, Opera House of Dubai, National Opera House of Ankara, Zorlu Performance Center of Istanbul, Daegu Opera House.
In the role of Calaf the audience will meet the tenor Byung-Kil Yoon, who performs for the first time on the stage of the Sofia Opera.
He was born in Seoul, South Korea, and after initial studies, went to Rome in 2002, to specialize opera singing. He graduated from the Conservatorium in Italy where he studied with greats including Renato Buruson and Gianni Raimondi. During his eight years in Italy, he performed lead tenor roles in operas including Traviata, Pagliacci, Aida and Madam Butterfly as well as participated in many master classes and international competitions where he won a series of awards.
Upon his return to Korea in 2010, he took up the role of principal tenor at Korean National Opera where he has since performed almost every major tenor role of both Verdi and Puccini to great acclaim. Byung-Kil also divides his time between singing engagements and training the nest generation of Korea singers as Professor of Voice in Seoul
A little of the history of the production of "Turandot":
The Greek music critic Thassos Sarigiannidis wrote after the performance of "Turandot" in Thessaloniki in 1997: "This co-production of the National Opera in Thessaloniki – "Cultural Capital of Europe", Thessaloniki 1997 and the Macedonian Artistic Society "Techni", Thessaloniki gave birth to an event of exceptional importance. The lucky people who had the opportunity to see the spectacle packed the hall. They were lucky to experience the best opera performance staged in Thessaloniki. The performance presented an imposing Turandot, Ghena Dimitrova, who returned to the stage of the Sofia Opera after many years of absence. The alienating harshness, cruelty of the Princess was expressed with incredible technique and suggestion.
Plamen Kartaloff's staging was inspiring. The overall atmosphere of the work was successfully recreated, the director's demands from the artists gave exciting results.
With "Turandot" the Sofia Opera marks the first significant cultural cooperation in the Balkans. The significance of this major event of such vital importance culminates in the magnificence of the performance. All agreed that this Bulgarian-Greek Turandot was the beginning of a cooperation on several levels. This means that through art we present a contact between the two countries that is more effective than any diplomatic mission."
It is also important to note from the history of "Turandot" that this particular production, created in 1995 and already presented with great success in 2000 in Japan (the first visit of the Sofia Opera to the Land of the Rising Sun), was restored by Plamen Kartaloff at the request of the Japan Impresario Agency, which presented the Sofia Opera in Japan for the sixth time in the autumn of 2015.
Let's wish success to the performance of "Turandot" on 10 February 2023, Friday, at 19 h on the stage of the Sofia Opera!
In the main roles in "Turandot" on Friday, 10 February 10 at 19 h are:
Turandot – Lilla Lee
Calaf – Byung-Kil Yoon
Also involved:
Svetozar Rangelov, Silvia Teneva, Atanas Mladenov, Nikolay Pavlov, Hrisimir Damyanov, Tsvetan Tsvetkov, Nikolay Petrov
Conductor : Francesco Rosa
Director : Plamen Kartaloff
Choir master : Violeta Dimitrova