A Jackie Chan-directed version of the Italian opera Turandot will hold its world premiere at the Guangzhou Opera House tonight, serving as the opening show of the 2026 Guangzhou Art Season, which runs until 31 July.
Ahead of the debut, the cast and crew held a press conference yesterday to discuss the production, which represents the first time that Hong Kong martial arts star Chan has directed an opera.
In comments cited by local media, conductor Enrique Mazzola described the projection as “a fantastic new interpretation” of the 1926 opera, blending various elements together, including martial arts, singing, dancing and orchestral music.
Written by Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, Turandot is a three-act opera set in ancient China that tells the story of Turandot, a princess who will only marry a nobleman capable of solving her three riddles. However, the princess finds herself at crossroads when Prince Calaf manages to answer her riddles and proposes his own challenge to her.
Although Chan did not attend the media event yesterday, he has discussed his vision for the project via promotional videos, highlighting the many parallels that movies and opera share, including their focus on storytelling.
“It’s about moving audience members with art,” he said. “I have always been willing to challenge myself with new things…a work like Turandot allowed me to see the possibility of a new form of expression.”
Chan also spoke about his incorporation of kung fu elements into the opera, pointing out that he hoped martial arts would serve as a “theatrical language” to express conflict, repression and internal feelings that the characters can’t see for themselves.
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“In the end, audiences shouldn’t simply be viewing a wushu performance,” the martial arts filmmaker said. “What they should be seeing is kung fu entering this production, as well as body aesthetics from the East and the art of opera from the West. Only by bringing these elements together can we create something new.”
Polish-American soprano Ewa Plonka, who is playing Turandot, attended yesterday’s press conference. Speaking to Guangzhou media, she said it was her first time in China and that she was very honoured to be able to take part in this version of the opera.
While Puccini never set foot in China, members of the current Turandot production said the staging of the opera in the country that inspired it might have moved the writer.
Aside from the debut session, Guangzhou will also host two more performances of Turandot on Saturday and Sunday at 7:30 pm. After Guangzhou, the opera crew will take their show to Xiamen (14 to 16 May) and Chengdu (22 to 24 May) before staging its Italian premiere at the 72nd Festival Puccini, which runs between 17 July and 5 September.
Tickets for the China performances can be purchased by clicking here.
Chan is not the first Chinese filmmaker to produce his own rendition of Turandot. In 2009, director Zhang Yimou staged his version of the opera in Beijing’s Bird’s Nest National Stadium, inviting Chan and singer Song Zuying to attend a 1-month countdown event.
