From March 20 to 22, on Romania’s premier opera stage, a series of internationally renowned soloists will perform in the operas Samson and Delilah by Saint-Saëns, Turandot, and La Bohème by Puccini.
Thus, on Thursday, March 20, the role of Musetta in La Bohème by Giacomo Puccini will be performed by Brazilian soprano Cláudia Azevedo. On Friday, March 21, French mezzo-soprano Clémentine Margaine will take on the role of Delilah in Samson and Delilah by Camille Saint-Saëns. On Saturday, March 22, Azerbaijani tenor Yusif Eyvazov will perform as Calaf in Turandot by Giacomo Puccini.
Turandot (by Giacomo Puccini) – Saturday, March 22, 6:30 PM
With music composed by Giacomo Puccini and posthumously completed by Franco Alfano, the opera Turandot (1926) was inspired by the tragicomedy Turandot, Prinzessin von China (1802) by the great German poet and playwright Friedrich von Schiller. This work, in turn, was based on the commedia dell’arte play of the same name by Venetian count and playwright Carlo Gozzi (1762), whose ultimate source of inspiration was a 12th-century Persian fairy tale that found its way into the collection Les Mille et un jours (1710–1712) by the French orientalist François Pétis de la Croix.
Giacomo Puccini sets the opera’s action in a legendary Peking, where each suitor for the enchanting Princess Turandot’s hand must solve three riddles or face death. Prince Calaf, mesmerized by her beauty, decides to take on the challenge. Although he correctly answers all three of the cruel princess’s riddles, she begs her father, the Emperor of China, to release her from the unwanted marriage. Calaf offers her a new challenge: he agrees to die if she can discover his name before dawn. Desperate to learn the mysterious stranger’s name, Turandot employs every possible means. In the end, Calaf surrenders his life to Princess Turandot, revealing his name in the process. The opera concludes with Turandot proclaiming that she finally knows the stranger’s name: “His name is Love!”
Azerbaijani tenor Yusif Eyvazov as Calaf in Turandot by Giacomo Puccini (Saturday, March 22, 6:30 PM)
Yusif Eyvazov is an Azerbaijani dramatic tenor with a flourishing international career. Recently appointed director of the Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater in his homeland, he also holds the honorary title of “People’s Artist of Azerbaijan.”
Yusif Eyvazov regularly performs on the stages of the world’s most prestigious opera houses, including Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Vienna State Opera, Teatro Real in Madrid, Berlin State Opera, Royal Opera House in London, Paris National Opera, Liceu Opera Barcelona, and the Metropolitan Opera in New York. His voice, described as “metallic, stentorian, and strongly Italianate” (L.A. Times), combined with his remarkable stage presence, has allowed him to maintain an active opera career alongside frequent concert performances.
He has appeared in numerous recordings for Deutsche Grammophon, including a complete live recording of Manon Lescaut by Puccini from the Salzburg Festival and the crossover album Romanza with soprano Anna Netrebko.
Yusif Eyvazov opened the current opera season (2024–2025) performing as Calaf (Turandot by Puccini) in Seoul, followed by Otello (Otello by Verdi) at Teatro Massimo in Palermo. He will also perform as Mario Cavaradossi in Tosca at Teatro dell’Opera di Roma and give concerts in Sofia, Budapest, Paris, Moscow, and Vienna. Further engagements include Alfredo in La Traviata at the Royal Opera House Muscat, Manrico in Il Trovatore at Staatsoper Berlin, and Des Grieux in Manon Lescaut at Bayerische Staatsoper. He will also appear in Pique Dame at Wiener Staatsoper, Carmen and Aida at the Arena di Verona Opera Festival, concluding the season at Opernhaus Zürich in La Forza del Destino.
Last season (2023–2024), Yusif Eyvazov opened with Radamès in Barry Kosky’s new production of Aida at Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin. He then returned to the Vienna State Opera as Des Grieux (Manon Lescaut), reprising this role at Teatro Colón in spring 2024. He performed one of his signature roles, Calaf (Turandot), in three different productions: at Teatro San Carlo, in Wiesbaden, and in a new production at Teatro alla Scala. Other engagements included Maurice (Adriana Lecouvreur) at Paris Opera, Turiddu (Cavalleria Rusticana) at Opera Monte Carlo, Cavaradossi (Tosca) at Royal Opera House and Arena di Verona, as well as a concert performance of Il Trovatore in Budapest.
️ Tickets available at http://tickets.operanb.ro/ and at the National Opera Bucharest Box Office.