Metropolitan Opera presents semi-staged `Turandot’ after stage malfunction

NEW YORK (AP) — The Metropolitan Opera was forced to stage a semi-staged performance of Puccini’s “Turandot” on after a stage elevator jammed. Met general manager Peter Gelb made an announcement Wednesday night from the stage before the show. The Met usually has sets for four different operas in the house at any given time, and Gelb said the malfunction occurred as sets were moved following a daytime rehearsal of Puccini’s “La Rondine.” Ticket holders were given the option of refunds. Franco Zeffirelli’s staging premiered in 1987 and has among the most lavish sets in Met history, recreating an imperial throne room with 199 people on stage.