Aspettando Turandot

Aspettando Turandot in Torre del Lago

Aspettando Turandot is the spring concert series promoted by the Fondazione Festival Pucciniano in agreement with the Municipality of Viareggio, in the province of Lucca, Tuscany. The series was created to guide the audience toward the summer season of the Puccini Festival and takes place in the intimate setting of the Enrico Caruso Auditorium, inside the Gran Teatro Giacomo Puccini in Torre del Lago Puccini, a district of Viareggio overlooking Lake Massaciuccoli, where the composer lived and wrote most of his works.

Three evenings with opera stars

The 2026 edition features three events curated by the artistic direction, bringing some of the most beloved voices of the contemporary opera scene to Torre del Lago. The 2026 series holds special significance, as it ideally anticipates the international atmosphere of the programming dedicated to the centenary of Turandot, Puccini's final, unfinished opera.

The inaugural concert featured tenor Vittorio Grigolo, one of the most internationally acclaimed Italian voices, accompanied by the Puccini Festival Orchestra conducted by maestro Plácido Domingo, in a program dedicated to Puccini and the great Tuscan composers of the 19th and 20th centuries, including works by Alfredo Catalani and Pietro Mascagni. The second event was a recital by soprano Jessica Pratt, one of the most authoritative interpreters of the bel canto repertoire, making her debut in Torre del Lago. The series concluded with Chilean tenor Jonathan Tetelman, one of the most prominent voices of the new generation, particularly appreciated for his Puccini and verismo repertoire.

Towards the Puccini Festival

These spring concerts are the natural prelude to the Puccini Festival, the major summer opera event held in the open-air Gran Teatro of Torre del Lago, the only festival in the world entirely dedicated to Giacomo Puccini in the places where the Maestro lived. Attending Aspettando Turandot means immersing oneself in the Puccini atmosphere as early as spring, in an intimate setting of high artistic quality, just steps away from the composer's house-museum and the shores of Lake Massaciuccoli.

An event for enthusiasts

The series is aimed at lovers of opera and bel canto, as well as those wishing to discover the magic of opera in a place that is a symbol of Italian music. Versilia, with Viareggio and Torre del Lago, combines musical culture with the charm of the Tuscan coast, making these spring concerts an ideal destination for a weekend of music, sea, and tradition.