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Puccini’s grand and exotic tale is told through the eyes of a young reader telling a story, inviting audiences on an immersive adventure filled with imagination

Pacific Symphony and Music Director Laureate Carl St.Clair bring together the monumental forces of the orchestra, acclaimed vocal ensemble Pacific Chorale, Southern California Children’s Chorus and an international cast of vocalists in Puccini’s epic opera Turandot. Inspired by Puccini’s fairy tale, Stage Director Eric Einhorn has envisioned the design to have a Western medieval aesthetic with creative use of costumes, dramatic lighting and puppetry, including shadow puppets on an overarching moon. The opera will be framed with a child reading from a storybook and have a larger-than-life look for audience members to experience the story through the child’s eyes.

Presented in the Symphony’s signature semi-staged format, the production places the full orchestra onstage surrounding the cast with the sweeping sound of Puccini’s richly orchestrated score. Together, orchestra, chorus and soloists bring Puccini’s mythical tale of riddles, sacrifice and redemption vividly to life for three performances, April 16, 18 and 21, 2026 at 8 p.m. in the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall.

A Tale of Love and Destiny

Puccini’s Turandot stands as one of the most monumental works in the operatic repertoire. Set in a mythical ancient China, the story unfolds as Princess Turandot challenges her suitors to solve three riddles, with failure meaning death. When the mysterious Prince Calaf dares to risk everything for her hand, the opera becomes a searing journey through cruelty, sacrifice and ultimately, redemption. From the chilling opening chorus to the triumphant cry of “Nessun Dorma,” Puccini’s score radiates both exotic color and visceral emotion.

“Puccini spent his career telling stories rooted in real people and raw, recognizable emotion, and yet for his final opera he chose a fairy tale. I don’t think that was an escape from reality; I think it was a deeper dive into it,” stage director Einhorn noted. “Fairy tales strip away the ordinary rules of the world so we can confront our fears, our longing and our capacity for love in heightened form. In Turandot, the riddles and the spectacle are thrilling, but beneath them is an emotional journey toward vulnerability and transformation. Puccini understood that sometimes the most fantastical stories reveal the most human truths.”

Setting the Stage

Costume designer Cait Cisek and puppet designer Robin Walsh are animating each character with aspects of moving puppetry, including Turandot’s silks, Ping, Pang and Pong’s top hats, an amulet puppet for Timur, and a toy marionette for the Prince of Persia. Hanging above the stage is a backlit moon with wooden-cut shadow puppets. Along with the puppets, costumes and carefully crafted lighting, the concert hall is transformed into Turandot’s imperial court, preserving the grandeur of opera while emphasizing Puccini’s richly orchestrated score.

In addition, Pacific Symphony’s distinctive semi-staged format places the orchestra at the visual and emotional heart of the performance. Rather than separating pit and stage, the musicians share the spotlight with the cast, creating an integrated theatrical environment.

Turandot remains one of opera’s most demanding and spectacular works, calling for massive orchestral forces, a large chorus and commanding voices capable of riding Puccini’s surging climaxes. Pacific Symphony’s presentation honors the opera’s amplitude with a larger-than-life fairy tale aesthetic while offering audiences a unique vantage point into its orchestral brilliance.

Riveting Voices

Anchoring the production are two acclaimed artists who bring seasoned authority to their roles. Dramatic soprano Marjorie Owens returns to the formidable title role of Princess Turandot, a character she has previously portrayed to critical acclaim on major stages. Known for her commanding presence and gleaming, powerful upper register, Owens brings both regal ferocity and emotional depth to Puccini’s ice princess. Opposite her, tenor Limmie Pulliam is Prince Calaf, bringing interpretive insight and vocal stamina to the opera’s most famous aria, “Nessun Dorma.” Pulliam’s ringing, heroic sound and Owens’ dramatic intensity promise a thrilling clash of wills at the heart of this epic fairy tale.

The ensemble also features acclaimed vocalists Alisa Jordheim as Liu and Raymond Aceto as Timur; Hunter Enoch, Nicholas Nestorak and David Blalock as Ping, Pang and Pong; with David Crawford as Mandarin and Nicholas Quinn as Emperor, as well as the young reader Jayden Guarneri, each contributing vivid character portrayals that bring Puccini’s mythic world to life.

Stage director Einhorn urges audience members to dive into Puccini’s fairy tale saying, “Immerse yourself in the vivid costumes, puppets and lighting the reader envisions. And give yourself permission to jump headlong into the ‘deep, quiet pool’ of the story to ultimately understand yourself better.”

With its fusion of concert and theatrical traditions, Pacific Symphony’s semi-staged Turandot promises an evening of “bloody, lustful, fabulous glory.”

Pacific Symphony’s production of Puccini’s Turandot takes place Thursday, April 16, Saturday, April 18, and Tuesday, April 21 at 8 p.m. in the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. All three performances include a preview talk with Classical California host Alan Chapman at 7 p.m. Tickets are $36-$175.

The opera performances are made possible by Honorary Producer Janet L. Curci, and sponsors Haydee Mollura, Mark Nielsen, Isidore C. and Penny W. Myers Foundation, and Opera Focus.

Pacific Symphony’s Classical Series is made possible by the Hal and Jeanette Segerstrom Family Foundation, with additional support from Classical California, LAist, Avenue of the Arts Costa Mesa, The Park Club and PBS SoCal.

For more information or to purchase tickets, call (714) 755-5799 or visit https://www.pacificsymphony.org/show-details/puccinis-turandot.

CALENDAR LISTING

PUCCINI’S TURANDOT
Thursday, April 16, at 8 p.m.
Saturday, April 18, at 8 p.m.
Tuesday, April 21, at 8 p.m.

Carl St.Clair, conductor
Eric Einhorn, stage director
Pacific Chorale–Robert Istad, artistic director
Southern California Children's Chorus–Lori Loftus, founding director
Cait Cisek, costume designer
Robin Walsh, puppet designer

Step into the mythical world of Turandot, where love and destiny collide. From the iconic aria “Nessun Dorma” to the dramatic clash of heart and duty, Puccini’s lush melodies and grand orchestration bring this epic tale of sacrifice, love, and defiance to life. This unforgettable journey will leave you captivated by one of opera’s most powerful stories.

Preview Talk at 7 p.m. with Classical California host Alan Chapman.

CAST
Turandot: Marjorie Owens
Calaf: Limmie Pulliam
Liu: Alisa Jordheim
Timur: Raymond Aceto
Ping: Hunter Enoch
Pang: Nicholas Nestorak
Pong: David Blalock
Mandarin: David Crawford
Emperor: Nicholas Quinn
The Reader: Jayden Guarneri

Honorary Producer:
Janet L. Curci

Sponsors:
Haydee Mollura
Mark Nielsen

Isidore C. and Penny W. Myers Foundation
Opera Focus

About Eric Einhorn, Stage Director
Stage director Eric Einhorn is returning to Pacific Symphony after director several of the semi-staged productions include Tosca, Turandot, Carmina Burana and Madama Butterfly.

From 2012-2023, Einhorn was the co-founding General & Artistic Director of On Site Opera, the country’s only opera company dedicated to site-specific productions. His immersive, site-specific productions performed to sold-out houses and critical acclaim in venues and institutions throughout New York City and beyond that range from community gardens, historic homes, restaurants, the American Museum of Natural History, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Atlanta Botanical Gardens. He also forged partnerships with social service and educational organizations to further involve the community in the creation and impact of On Site’s productions. Einhorn has become an industry-recognized leader in site-specific opera, often speaking at conferences and teaching masterclasses.

Einhorn has also directed productions at many of the country’s leading opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera, Chicago Lyric Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Ft. Worth Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, Florentine Opera, Austin Opera, Utah Opera, and Michigan Opera Theater. He served on the staging staff of the Metropolitan Opera from 2005-2020. While on the staff, he collaborated on over forty productions ranging from standard repertoire to world premieres.

He holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Opera Directing & Voice Performance from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music.

About Marjorie Owens, Soprano
A former member of the Sächsische Staatsoper in Dresden and a Grand Finals Winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, soprano Marjorie Owens is receiving a great deal of acclaim as one of the most exciting dramatic sopranos to have recently come to the public’s attention.

This season Owens makes her debut at the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa in an exciting new role, Isolde in Tristan und Isolde. She will also reprise her celebrated Senta in Der fliegende Holländer with Opera at Artpark in Lewiston, New York.

Last season Marjorie Owens joined the Theater Erfurt for a new role: Santuzza in a new production of Cavalleria Rusticana, which she reprised for a concert at the Canadian Opera Company.

Recently Marjorie Owens made debuts with the Dallas Opera as the title-role in Elektra, with the Pittsburgh Opera as Senta in Der fliegende Holländer and with the Washington Opera as the title-role in Turandot. She also returned to the Canadian Opera Company in one of her signature roles, Senta in Der fliegende Holländer, a role she also sang for the Vancouver Opera.

In recent seasons, Owens made her Canadian Opera Company and role debuts as the title-role in Turandot; she also made her Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra debut as Aida. Last season she also appeared in a concert with Pittsburgh Concert Opera.

Read more about the artists:

Carl St.Clair, conductor
Eric Einhorn, stage director
Pacific Chorale

Turandot: Marjorie Owens
Calaf: Limmie Pulliam
Liu: Alisa Jordheim
Timur: Raymond Aceto
Ping: Hunter Enoch
Pang: Nicholas Nestorak
Pong: David Blalock
Mandarin: David Crawford
The Reader: Jayden Guarneri

About Carl St.Clair, Pacific Symphony Music Director Laureate
For more than 35 years, Carl St.Clair led Pacific Symphony, making him the longest-tenured American-born conductor of a major American orchestra. He was honored with the lifetime role of Music Director Laureate in December 2025 during the orchestra’s 47th season, as well as inducted into the Orange County Hall of Fame by the Orange County Board of Supervisors. Under his leadership, Pacific Symphony has grown into the largest-budgeted orchestra founded in the past half-century, recognized nationally for its artistic, innovative programming, and community impact. St.Clair also helped catalyze the vision to build a 2,000-seat Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall in 2006, the Symphony’s permanent home and one of the nation’s finest concert venues.

St.Clair has guided the Symphony through many landmark achievements. In 2018, he led its sold-out Carnegie Hall debut celebrating Philip Glass’s 80th birthday, which The New York Times praised as proof that Pacific Symphony is “a major ensemble!” That same year, he conducted the orchestra’s first tour of China. Earlier, in 2006, he led the Symphony on its European debut, performing in nine cities across three countries, including Vienna, Munich, Cologne, and Lucerne, to capacity audiences and widespread acclaim. He also conducted the orchestra’s national PBS debut on Great Performances with Peter Boyer’s Ellis Island: The Dream of America. His artistic initiatives include the long-running American Composers Festival and Symphonic Voices, the orchestra’s acclaimed opera-in-concert series.

A champion of new music, St.Clair has commissioned and premiered dozens of works. Recent highlights include the 2024–25 premieres of Viet Cuong’s Marine Layer and Adolphus Hailstork’s Piano Concerto No. 3 (“The Way Things Are”). In 2024, Pacific Symphony released the world-premiere recording of Sir James MacMillan’s Fiat Lux. Other notable commissions include works by Philip Glass, Michael Daugherty, William Bolcom, Richard Danielpour, John Wineglass, and Elliot Goldenthal. His discography also includes collaborations with Yo-Yo Ma, Lukas Foss, and others.

Internationally, he was appointed Music Director of the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra in 2025 and holds honorary posts with the National Symphony of Costa Rica and Germany’s Sinfonieorchester Wuppertal. Earlier positions include General Music Director of Berlin’s Komische Oper and of the German National Theater and Staatskapelle in Weimar.

Equally committed to education, St.Clair has overseen the development of one of the country’s most comprehensive orchestra-based education networks, reaching more than 50,000 participants annually. Pacific Symphony’s award-winning Class Act program, arts-X-press, Youth Ensembles, Heartstrings, and Symphony on the Go bring music to schools and communities across Southern California. He has also taught at Chapman University, the University of Texas, Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, and the USC Thornton School of Music, where he has served for more than three decades as Artistic Leader and Principal Conductor of orchestral programs.

About Pacific Symphony
Pacific Symphony is the largest orchestra formed in the United States in the past 50 years and is ranked among the top orchestras in the U.S. by the League of American Orchestras. In 2024, Alexander Shelley was appointed to become Pacific Symphony’s third artistic leader, taking the title of Artistic and Music Director, beginning in the 2026-27 season. He is serving as Artistic and Music Director Designate during the 2025-26 season, which marks Pacific Symphony’s 47th season. Founded in 1978, the Symphony was led for 35 years by Carl St.Clair, who is honored with the title of Music Director Laureate starting in the 2025-26 season.

In its 47-year history, Pacific Symphony has gained national and international recognition, with recent highlights including a 2018 Carnegie Hall debut in celebration of composer Philip Glass; a five-city tour of China; and a PBS Great Performances broadcast of Peter Boyer’s Ellis Island: The Dream of America. In 2024, Pacific Symphony released the world-premiere recording of Fiat Lux, a stirring new commission by composer Sir James MacMillan performed with long-time artistic partner Pacific Chorale. The Symphony has been recognized with multiple ASCAP Awards for Adventurous Programming and included among the country’s five most innovative orchestras by the League of American Orchestras.

With a purpose to lift the human spirit through the power of music, the Symphony is a cornerstone of the cultural landscape of Southern California, enriching lives and bringing communities together through creative and diverse programming. As the resident orchestra of the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, the Symphony presents more than 100 concerts and events each year and a rich array of education and community engagement programs, reaching more than 300,000 residents of all ages.

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