牛津M8U2 The universal language课文电子文档.docVIP

PAGE PAGE 2 Reading Turandot in Beiji By Jane Jones Last night, I witnessed the first of only eight performances of Giacomo Puccini’s world-famous opera, Turandot, being performed in the Forbidden City in Beijing, China. The performance was splendid. Some of the world’s greatest opera singers were cast in this production, and many great Chinese musicians also participated. Puccini, an Italian, wrote Turandot towards the end of his life, between 1920 and 1924. He liked East Asia very much and also wrote Madam Butterfly, which is set in Just imagine performing such an opera in the Forbidden City—there could not be a more awesome setting! You could almost feel the history. The weather was also perfect for a performance outdoors. Instead of a stage curtain, there were decorated screens covered with red and gold, and traditional Chinese drums were used to announce the start of the opera. Turandot is the story of a stubborn and cruel Chinese princess, named Turandot, who lives in the Forbidden City in Beijing. In the story, the emperor of China, Turandot’s father, has promised to allow her to choose her own husband. In order to avoid marriage, she says that any potential husband must solve three riddles if he wants to marry her. Those who cannot answer all three riddles, however, will be condemned to death. This means that few men would dare to ask for her hand in marriage. The story begins when a prince is killed for failing to solve her riddles. The emperor finds the death disturbing. However, although he would like to, he cannot break his promise and must allow Turandot to do as she wishes. Shortly afterwards, another prince, Calaf, falls in love with Turandot at first sight and decides to solve the riddles so that he can marry her. Meanwhile, Liu, a young slave of Calaf’s father, expresses her love for Calaf. The story then takes on a classic love triangle between Calaf, Turandot and Liu. Calaf goes to Turandot and—without introducing himself or telling her hi