Three riddles, one ice queen, and Plácido Domingo melting her heart with 'Nessun Dorma'.
The Franco Zeffirelli production of Puccini's "Turandot", recorded live at the Metropolitan Opera in April, 1987. Éva Marton stars as Turandot, with Plácido Domingo as Calaf, Leona Mitchell as Liù, Paul Plishka as Timur, and Hugues Cuenod as L'Imperatore Altoum. James Levine conducts.
Production
Zeffirelli's sets are so extra they need their own zip code.
Acting
Éva Marton's Turandot could freeze actual hell.
Direction
Kirk Browning captures live opera better than most film directors.
Director
Kirk Browning
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Puccini died before finishing the final act; Franco Alfano completed it from sketches, and conductors still argue about his choices.
This 1987 Met broadcast became the definitive Turandot for a generation—partly because Zeffirelli's production cost $1 million and stayed in rotation until 2016.
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