The Kennedy Center premieres a new ending for one of the world's most famous operas on Saturday in Washington, D.C. The opera is Turandot, and its ending has always been, shall we say, problematic.

Puccini’s Turandot, with its combination of myth, ritual and emotional extremity, suits dark evenings and the build-up to Christmas, when audiences seem especially ready for spectacle and intensity.

The Italian composer Giacomo Puccini died of a heart attack on Nov. 29, 1924 without finishing his newest opera “Turandot.” The piece was later finished by Franco Alfano, but remains a curiosity in ...

Even more than 40 years since its original run, Andrei Șerban’s production of Turandot succeeds in impressing audiences with its animated choreography, spectacular use of colours and masks, and ...