By Kim Mayer

What would you do for love? Calaf of Turandot would risk his life.

Opera Columbus will present Turandot, the story of the unknown prince Calaf’s quest to woo the cold Princess Turnadot, at the Ohio Theatre on Feb. 20 at 8 p.m. and Feb. 22 at 2 p.m.

The story begins in China with the declaration of the law of the land – anyone interested in marrying the beautiful Princess Turnadot must answer three riddles. If he succeeds, he wins her hand. But one wrong answer and the man will be put to death.

Many have failed in their attempts, but when Calaf lays eyes on the princess, he immediately falls in love and accepts the challenge that has killed the men that came before him. After he answers Turandot’s questions, the princess finds the riddle turned on her, and Calaf discovers that his true test is to warm Turandot’s cold heart.

Turandot is the last opera composed by Giacomo Puccini, whose Madame Butterfly and La Bohème have long graced the opera stage. The opera is a dark fairy tale, adapted from a Persian story.

“The opera features an enormous cast of singers and supernumeraries (non-singing roles) as well as lavish sets, costumes and, of course, Puccini's amazing score which manages to capture the darkness of Turandot,” says Eric McKeever, cirector of education and community programming at Opera Columbus.

"With glorious choruses and a brilliant orchestral score, Puccini manages to capture the excitement, fear, pain and passion of his characters,” McKeever adds. The final act features the famous Nessun Dorma (None Shall Sleep Tonight), one of opera’s most passionate arias.

The second of three productions in Opera Columbus’ 2008-09 season, Turandot will be performed in Italian with English supertitles. To order tickets, call 614-469-0939 or visit www.ticketmaster.com.

For more information, visit www.operacolumbus.org.

Kim Mayer is a contributing writer for CityScene.