Puccini: Turandot (2-CD, Libretto & Program Notes) – Teatro Alla Scala 1964

Composer: Giacomo Puccini
Artists: Birgit Nilsson, Franco Corelli, Galina Vishnevskaya, Nicola Zaccaria
Conductor: Gianandrea Gavazzeni
Number of Discs: 2
Label: La Scala
CD Release Date: June 26, 2012
Paperback: 120 pages
Text Language: Italian, English

Turandot, Giacomo Puccini’s final opera, made its debut posthumously at La Scala on April 25, 1926. Arturo Toscanini was on the podium and on stage was the impressively striking figure of Polish soprano Rosa Raisa. Since then, the presence of illustrious international singers has marked almost twenty stagings of Turandot at La Scala.

The performance of December 7, 1964 stands out as being particularly memorable, conducted by Gianandrea Gavazzeni and starring an extraordinary Birgit Nilsson and a breathtaking Franco Corelli. Included in the 120-page book accompanying this recording is the original program by Riccardo Allorto, an introduction by Giorgio Gualerzi, a history of the staging, the opera libretto by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni, and the story in pictures – images from the La Scala Theatre Archive.