The Greek National Opera presents the opera "Turandot" at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus. Giacomo Puccini’s swan song, nearly a century after its creation.
Turandot, opens this year’s programme at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, in a  production on 1, 3, 5, 6, and 8 June, conducted by Pier Giorgio Morandi, directed by Andrei Şerban, with sets and costumes designed by Chloe Obolensky, and featuring a world-class cast.

Turandot, Giacomo Puccini’s last opera, is the most majestic of them all. The score combines the light elements of commedia dell’arte with the profound lyricism that characterises all of Puccini’s operas, along with a sense of grandeur that reflects a fantastical version of imperial China. Recognising the changes that occurred in the early 20th-century musical landscape, the composer chose to differentiate his writing by following new musical paths. Therefore, despite the fact that this work is undoubtedly rooted in the 19th century, its innovative musical language places it among the finest masterpieces of the 20th century.

The opera’s composition was never finished, as Puccini passed away in 1924, at the age of 65. In his last, farewell meeting with Arturo Toscanini, the maestro and artistic director of La Scala in Milan at the time, the composer predicted that “ my opera will be presented unfinished; someone will take the stage and say to the audience: "At this point, the composer died." The work was finally completed, according to Puccini’s drafts, by composer Franco Alfano in 1926, under the supervision of Toscanini, who had heralded the premiere at La Scala as the “ event of the century”.