A story of a death-marked love told with salt in the air, light on the sails and the city skyline reflected in your glass.

In 2016, Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour presents Turandot: a story of a death-marked love told with salt in the air, light on the sails and the city skyline reflected in your glass. It’s the best of Sydney in a single evening: singing, sunsets and sparkling wine, in perfect harmony. Join us at the water’s edge in a pop-up opera house with purpose-built bars, restaurants and a grandstand under the stars.
Chinese director Chen Shi-Zheng’s take on this Chinese fable will be one for the history books.As a child of the Cultural Revolution, Chen Shi-Zheng grew up in a China where cruelty and beauty coexisted. Taken in by a Chinese opera troupe, he grew up surrounded by music, but witnessed great suffering. It’s a duality he finds utterly compelling, and a juxtaposition that ties in perfectly with the ice-hearted, impossibly beautiful princess at the heart of Puccini’s Turandot.
As a director, his work forms a bridge between Chinese and Western artistic approaches, drawing on the Hollywood film tradition, theatrical acrobatics and traditional Chinese opera to create works that thrill visually and cut to the heart.
When the heroic top notes of ‘Nessun dorma’ ring out, your soul stirs. It’s impossible to resist – the climax of an exotic adventure, captured perfectly in music.

Performed in Italian with English & Chinese surtitles.
The site opens at 5pm, with five bar and restaurant venues on site.

Artist Information