Turandot was radically different to anything Puccini had written before. To mark its centenary, Opera Australia is staging a brand-new production. Alexandra Wilson talks to director Ann Yee and designers Elizabeth Gadsby and David Fleischer about how they plan to reappraise the contentious opera for audiences today.

A set model for Opera Australia’s new production of Turandot. Image courtesy of set designer Elizabeth Gadsby

This year marks the centenary of the first performance of Puccini’s Turandot. Not only did it represent the swansong of one of the world’s most famous opera composers, but it was the last opera to establish a firm place in the global repertoire. A hundred years on, Turandot gives us a lot to think about in terms of what opera is and how...