Turandot Turandot Turandot (; ; ) is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, completed by Franco Alfano, and set to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni. Though Puccini's first interest in the subject was based on his reading of Friedrich Schiller's 1801 adaptation of the play, his work is most nearly based on the earlier text "Turandot" (1762) by Count Carlo Gozzi. The original story is based on one of the seven stories in the epic "Haft Peykar" ("The Seven Beauties"), a work of 12th-century Persian poet Nizami. Nizami aligned the seven stories with the
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