Struggling with emotional connection and disenfranchisement, Calaf finds himself drawn into the digital hellscape of Turandot. Can there be a return to reality?
This radical and unnervingly relevant reinterpretation of Puccini’s last and unfinished opera explores online obsession and the spectre of a state-controlled media. Utilising cutting edge video design to draw audiences into a virtual world, a company of award-winning opera creatives and Asian diaspora artists confront this opera and its orientalist tropes head on.
Performed in Italian, this production repositions a historically problematic opera to reflect a uniquely British East & Southeast Asian narrative. Co-directed by Oliver Award nominated librettist Becca Marriott and Southeast Asian director-writer Iskandar إسكندر R. Sharazuddin this is a co-production between BESEA led Ellandar Productions and The Opera Makers for Grimeborn Festival 2023.