My German friend Thomas told me the story of the evil Chinese princess Turandot. The way he described it some 10 years ago made me feel as though all Chinese princesses were evil.
Later I heard the famous tenor aria “Nessum Dorma” and decided that I had to see the opera.
Today I saw it at the Muziektheatre (Music Theatre) in Amsterdam. It is always confusing to find the right exit from Waterloo metro stop. I took some photos to write a blog about it in the near future.
My friend, a season ticket holder, invited me to this glorious occasion as her husband had gone to a guitar festival in Belgium. We met at Danzig restaurant for lunch and then proceeded to the pre-opera talk on the top floor of the theatre.
For those of you who missed it or may be tempted to go, please check out the video from the DNO site below.
The famous Chinese folk melody that Puccini used over and over again in his opera Turandot is none other than “Jasmine Flower.” Coincidentally I made an arrangement of it for harp when I was studying the instrument to compose for it.
Here is the PDF file for all to enjoy at http://www.pianoguitar.com/pianoles/jasmineharp.pdf
Maybe I should do a version for piano and guitar. Or at least for piano solo. But there are probably many improvisations already.
Concert Blog 
I love that opera.I must have seen it at least 4 times!