X

Join or Sign In

Sign in to customize your TV listings

Continue with Facebook Continue with email

By joining TV Guide, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy.

Turandot

Princess Turandot, beautiful daughter of Chinese Emperor Altoum, declares she will only marry a man of royal blood who can correctly answer three riddles. If the suitor fails to come up with the correct responses, he is put to death. Many princes have tried unsuccessfully to try and been beheaded when they gave wrong answers. The Prince of Persia has just lost his bid for the princess and is sentenced to die when the moon rises. Prince Calaf, son of Tartary's deposed King Timur, is in Peking. He spies his father accompanied by his faithful servant Liu. Calaf asks her the reason for her loyalty. She replies, "the prince once smiled at me." Then Calaf catches sight of Turandot. He is immediately smitten. Despite all the warnings from a trio of ministers and his father, he decides that he will win Turandot's hand. The challenge ceremony is set. Although Calaf appears stumped by each riddle, a burst of insight each time helps him find the right answer. Now Turandot is unhappy. She begs her father not to let this stranger take her. Her father says that sacred rules require her to honor his victory. Calaf, who truly loves Turandot, gives her an out. If she can discover his name by morning, he will forfeit his life. The Emperor and his staff are driven to learn his name. They capture Timur and Liu knowing that Calaf knew them. Even under dire threats, neither will disclose his name. The sun begins to rise. Calaf, in a moment of passion, tells Turandot his name. When the court and community assemble for the final outcome of Turandot's search for his name, what will she say?

Loading. Please wait...

Content not available in your region? ExpressVPN can help you stay connected wherever you are. Get 4 extra months FREE with TV Guide's exclusive offer.

Cast & Crew See All

James Levine
Self - Conductor
Eva Marton
Turandot
Plácido Domingo
Calaf

Awards

  • 1988 - Primetime Emmy - Outstanding Individual Achievement - Classical - winner

You May Also Like See All

Three Colors: Red
The Godfather
Fanny and Alexander
Rear Window

Popular Movies See all movies

The Ten Commandments

3 hr 40 mins
The Egyptian Prince, Moses, learns of his true heritage as a Hebrew and his divine mission as the deliverer of his people.
1956 Action & Adventure, Drama, Family, Documentary

The Passion of the Christ

2 hr 7 mins
A depiction of the last twelve hours in the life of Jesus of Nazareth, on the day of his crucifixion in Jerusalem. The story opens in the Garden of Olives where Jesus has gone to pray after the Last Supper. Betrayed by Judas Iscariot, the controversial Jesus - who has performed 'miracles' and has publicly announced that he is 'the Son of God' - is arrested and taken back within the city walls of Jerusalem. There, the leaders of the Pharisees confront him with accusations of blasphemy; subsequently, his trial results with the leaders condemning him to his death. Jesus is brought before Pontius Pilate, the prefect of the Roman province of Judaea, for his sentencing. Pilate listens to the accusations leveled at Jesus by the Pharisees. Realizing that his own decision will cause him to become embroiled in a political conflict, Pilate defers to King Herod in deciding the matter of how to persecute Jesus. However, Herod returns Jesus to Pilate who, in turn, gives the crowd a choice between which prisoner they would rather to see set free - Jesus, or Barabbas. The crowd chooses to have Barabbas set free. Thus, Jesus is handed over to the Roman soldiers and is brutally flagellated. Bloody and unrecognizable, he is brought back before Pilate who, once again, presents him to the thirsty crowd - assuming they will see that Jesus has been punished enough. The crowd, however, is not satisfied. Thus, Pilate washes his hands of the entire dilemma, ordering his men to do as the crowd wishes. Whipped and weakened, Jesus is presented with the cross and is ordered to carry it through the streets of Jerusalem, all the way up to Golgotha. There, more corporal cruelty takes place as Jesus is nailed to the cross-suffering, he hangs there, left to die. Initially, in his dazed suffering, Jesus is alarmed that he has been abandoned by God his father. He then beseeches God. At the moment of his death, nature itself over-turns.

Crucify

1 hr 19 mins
A neon noir thriller that descends into a maze of nightmares as two teens trapped in a haunted crime scene are forced to confront their demons.
2020 Fantasy, Horror, Suspense, Drama

Tamil Rockers

1 hr 38 mins
Four Major characters running for the Money facing more challenges by forgetting the same fact !!.
2021 Action & Adventure, Drama

Bittu

0 hr 17 mins
A close friendship between two girls is eclipsed by an accidental poisoning at school.
2020 Other, Drama

The Housemaid

2 hr 11 mins
Millie arrives at a wealthy household seeking stability after instability. The Catalyst appears in the uneasy dynamic between Nina and Andrew, where generosity carries control beneath it. Millie responds by reading the room and using charm as survival instinct. As the Collision builds, attention, jealousy, and shifting alliances turn the home into a tense psychological arena. A Moral Pivot arrives when Millie must choose whether to remain pliant or assert herself within a system that rewards manipulation, and the cost of either path presses directly on her sense of identity.
65   Metascore
2025 Drama, Suspense