Turandot: Christopher Tin Finale


A COMPLETION OF GIACOMO PUCCINI'S FINAL OPERA

Turandot: Christopher Tin Finale is Christopher's bold debut in the opera world: a completion of the most famous unfinished work in the opera canon, Giacomo Puccini's Turandot. The original commission came from Washington National Opera, who premiered the work at the Kennedy Center in May of 2024. With a libretto by Susan Soon He Stanton (best known as the writer/producer of HBO's Succession), the Tin/Stanton ending is an attempt to create a more plausible conclusion to a problem that vexed Puccini to his deathbed: how to make the audience believe that the two main characters, Turandot and Calàf, could fall in love by the final curtain.

 


Released February 6, 2026
Tracklist
1. Turandot: Christopher Tin Finale (Concert Suite)
2. Turandot, Act III: Principessa di morte!
3. Turandot, Act III: Il profumo dei boccioli
4. Turandot, Act III: La luna d’argento risplende
5. Turandot, Act III: In questa bella notte
6. Turandot, Act III: Che oggi sia l’alba
7. Turandot, Act III: Il sole è sorto
8. Turandot, Act III: Il corpo della schiava Liù
9. Turandot, Act III: Che oggi sia l’alba (“Nessun Dorma” Finale)

Christopher's First Opera Commission
Turandot is one of the most famous operas in the entire cannon, largely due to its showstopper aria "Nessun Dorma", made famous by Luciano Pavarotti. It was left uncompleted at the time of Puccini's death in 1924, however, and is generally performed with an ending composed by his contemporary Franco Alfano that features a markedly different musical language than Puccini's. Over the past century a handful of composers have received commissions to compose a better-fitting ending; Christopher and his librettist, Susan Soon He Stanton, are only the fourth.
Opera All Stars
Christopher assembled an all-star cast to make his record: GRAMMY-winning soprano Christine Goerke in the role of Turandot, Richard Tucker award-winner Clay Hilley as Calàf, and the English National Opera Chorus and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Also making brief appearances in the ministrial roles are Ethan Vincent and Jonathan Pierce Rhodes, who debuted their roles in the original Washington National Opera production, as well as Nicholas Huff, a Cafritz Young Artist also from the WNO.

From Video Games to Opera
Christopher's entry into the opera world came about in an unusual way: through his video game music. Francesca Zambello, Artistic Director of Washington National Opera, was at home one day when she heard some choral-orchestral music coming from her teenage son's bedroom. Intrigued, she knocked on his door to ask him what he was listening to. As it turns out, it wasn't an opera he was listening to: it was Christopher's theme to the popular video game Civilization VI, "Sogno di Volare". After listening more to Christopher's work, she invited him to meet with her, and asked if he'd be interested in writing opera.
Winter Olympic Games 2026
Christopher's first opera recording was also produced for a very special occasion: the Winter Olympic Games 2026 Milano-Cortina. Japan's top men's figure skater Yuma Kagiyama selected his Turandot completion for his free skate, elevating its profile on an international stage, coincidentally on the 100th-anniversary of the world premiere of Puccini's opera, and in the city in which it was first premiered. Christopher's enthusiastic collaboration with Yuma's choreographer Lori Nichol and coach Carolina Kostner was widely celebrated in the figure skating community, with Lori Nichol and Carolina Kostner coming to the Abbey Road recording sessions, and Christopher attending the Olympics with his family to cheer on Yuma Kagiyama.

 

 

 

 

 

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REVIEWS OF THE ORIGINAL PRODUCTION

Its sound and attitude, while contemporary, grow organically from Puccini’s original, like a savvy modern addition on a historic building. Mr. Tin launches their confrontation with a fiercely dramatic duet; the sound is edgier than Puccini but still tonal, and Turandot’s initial insistence on power through violence is Wagnerian in scope and accompanied by blaring brass.
The Wall Street Journal
Even without the new ending — and Tin’s splendid musical additions, which draw sensibly from Puccini’s score while applying an entirely new emotional finish — Zambello’s “Turandot” crackles with fresh energy and some truly extraordinary singing.
Washington Post
Tin’s score is exceptional... Tin is a master of musical embroidery and subtle Puccini references abound, connecting the final scene convincingly to what goes before... Christopher Tin should be reflecting on this success. He has established his opera street cred and it’s time for him to commit to a full work. It is talent like his that will lead the next generation into opera houses around the world.
Reaction

[Translated from Italian]: Christopher Tin succeeded in the balancing act between respecting the Puccini of the two previous acts, the Puccini of the incomplete sketches and his own personality as a composer of today... In my opinion, this ending does not look out of place alongside Alfano's (first or second) and could very well enter the repertoire as a variant of the classical standard.
OperaClick
Composer Christopher Tin is a two-time Grammy award winner. Perhaps that gave him the courage to compose new music in juxtaposition to some of Puccini’s greatest when this is his first opera composition... My hearing was that it was a job well done, interesting in orchestration, pleasing to the ear, and working well coupled to the vocals containing the new libretto.
OperaGene
Musically, Tin incorporates the same fragments Puccini left at his death, though often in novel ways—for instance, the tune for “Mio Fiore,” usually Calaf’s insistent love song, becomes a part of Turandot’s memory of her assault. The neo-romantic mode of Tin’s orchestration feels broadly continuous with the main score, though Tin adds some interesting details from traditional Chinese music and instrumentation.
Parterre Box

This new World Premiere also adds the enticing music of composer Christopher Tin to the finale of this production---so we have the ravishingly soaring music of the revered composer Giacomo Puccini as well as the contributions of this refreshing modern composer.
Broadway World
But Tin, who is best known for his film and video game soundtracks, prides himself on making his work accessible. "To me if you've come up with a great melody, boy, you've done 80% of the work, right there," he says. "A great tune lasts forever."
NPR
In 2024, Tin made an impressive debut in the opera world when he was commissioned to compose a new ending for the reimagined production of Giacomo Puccini’s venerable opera Turandot, which premiered at The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Fulbright Review

To craft new music for this revised story, Zambello turned to Tin, a Grammy award-winning composer who has written for film, TV and video game soundtracks.
Associated Press
Tin is wise not to mimic the master and he does an interesting job of rearranging motifs and building a new kind of musical finale.
Metro Weekly
Tin’s music is muscular and modern without losing satisfying, even gorgeous melodic lines.
DC Theater Arts

Puccini died just before he could finish writing the opera, so the Washington National Opera enlisted a pair of powerhouses to write the last 10 minutes of the piece: Grammy-winning composer Christopher Tin (the video game “Civilization IV”) and acclaimed playwright and screenwriter Susan Soon He Stanton (HBO’s “Succession”).
WTOP
... this reimagining of “Turandot” is a perfect example of opera’s power to cross time and appeal to a modern audience. From its new time period to its complex and riveting tale about nature and the power of love, this production is sure to please everyone from the seasoned opera buff to the first-time viewer.
Maryland Theatre Guide
[Tin's] music convincingly extends Puccini’s idiom to encompass these new dramatic ideas, and draws out shades of meaning that the libretto implies... Zambello and the WNO deserve credit for taking a risk here, and Stanton and Tin deserve kudos for making it pay off.
Washington Classical Review

A triumph for this marvelous cast and creative team.
The Zebra

 

 

 

 

 

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DONORS AND EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS

This album was made with the support of the following individuals:

 

DONORS
Tomonori Tani
Jacqueline Mars
Yuma Kagiyama
David and Penny Yao
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS
Swagata "Ban" Banerjee (of Ban Brothers)
Piotr Michalak
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER
David M W Byard