The beautiful Princess Turandot will only marry the suitor who can answer three riddles. The Prince of Tartary successfully answers the riddles, but Turandot then announces that she is determined not to marry under any circumstances. The Prince makes a deal with her: if she can guess his name, before sunrise, he will submit to execution; but if she cannot, she must marry him.
Turandot then issues a proclamation that no one in Peking shall sleep that night. If the Prince's name is not discovered by morning, the whole population will die. The Prince anticipates his victory in the famous aria, Nessun Dorma.
As dawn approaches, Turandot is no nearer to discovering the Prince's name. He takes her in his arms and kisses her. At first she is disgusted, and resists strongly, but then she finds herself wanting him to hold her and love her. She admits that ever since meeting him she has both loved and hated him. She begs him to ask for nothing more and to leave, taking his mystery with him. But at this point the Prince reveals his name: Calaf, Son of Timur. This places him at her mercy; she can have him killed if she so desires.
In the final scene, the couple approach the throne of the Emperor, Turandot's father. She declares that she knows the Prince's name: "It is love!" The crowd cheers, and acclaims the two lovers.
© Haydn Thompson 2019