Franco Alfano nine months on the following concluding duet and at his death had left behind a whole ream of sketches... Alfano had to reconstruct...according to his best assessment...and with his imagination and magnifying glass" since Puccini's material "had not really been legible." "Alfano's reputation has also suffered [IC:along with Mascagni], understandably, because of his willingness to associate himself closely with Mussolini's Fascist government." Alex Ross, in "The New Yorker", notes that a new ending of "Turandot" composed by Luciano Berio premiered in 2002 is preferred by some critics for making a more satisfactory resolution of Turandot's change of heart, and of
Enrico Alfano had become the head of the Camorra after the death of the legendary "capintesta" (head-in-chief) Ciccio Cappuccio in 1892, although other sources disagree over his rise to power. According to a "New York Times" report on the Cuocolo trial in 1911, Alfano was below medium height but a man of commanding presence; across his cheek he bore a long scar, the "sfregio" (a knife slash for dishonour; a sign of Camorra punishment). "The New York Times" reported that he was arrested many times as an accomplice in homicide, robbery and less important charges, but had never been convicted. According to