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
Giacomo Puccini Spain. Puccini made further revisions in 1901 and 1905, but the work never achieved popularity. Without the personal support of Ricordi, "Edgar" might have cost Puccini his career. Puccini had eloped with his former piano student, the married Elvira Gemignani, and Ricordi's associates were willing to turn a blind eye to his life style as long as he was successful. When "Edgar" failed, they suggested to Ricordi that he should drop Puccini, but Ricordi said that he would stay with him and continued his allowance until his next opera. On commencing his next opera, "Manon Lescaut", Puccini announced that he