Turandot Puccini's publisher Tito Ricordi II decided on Alfano because his opera "La leggenda di Sakùntala" resembled "Turandot" in its setting and heavy orchestration. Alfano provided a first version of the ending with a few passages of his own, and even a few sentences added to the libretto which was not considered complete even by Puccini himself. After the severe criticisms by Ricordi and the conductor Arturo Toscanini, he was forced to write a second, strictly censored version that followed Puccini's sketches more closely, to the point where he did not set some of Adami's text to music because Puccini had
Enrico Alfano after having served 27 years. The son of a shoemaker, Alfano began as a fruit merchant in Naples and speculating on the cattle fairs. He apparently became affiliated with the Camorra at an early age, but this is not certain because he was not mentioned in a 1901 investigation report by the Ministry of Interior – known as the Saredo Inquiry since it was led by senator Giuseppe Saredo () – which unearthed an extensive political patronage system in the city of Naples. However, the inquiry revealed little about the inner workings of the Camorra. According to an informer, Alfano