Director Davide Livermore withdrew from the production of “Again 2024 Turandot” 24 hours before it opened in Seoul.

Per The Korea Herald, his reasons for pulling out included creative and contractual disputes with the creative team. Per the report, Livermore did not recognize the direction of the production as his own. He cited that the team continually made changes to the production and copied a choreography from Zhang Yimou’s 1997 staging of “Turandot” at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino.

“Such decisions diverted the production from the original concept and the high stands required of a director of my caliber,” Livermore said before noting that the entire process was plagued by “authoritarian impositions off an amateur and unprofessional level.”

Consequently, the “Turandot Again 2024” production company is considering legal action against the Italian director, accusing him of a “lack of commitment and excessive demands for compensation.” Per the producers, there were agreements on both sides months ago but that Livermore had repeated ignored requests from the team, which aimed to recreate the essence of the 2003 outdoor “Turandot” at the Seoul World Cup Stadium.  Instead, Livermore sought out his own direction. Moreover, they accuse Livermore’s collaborator Carlo Sciaccaluga of showing up on Nov. 27 but not providing any substantial input or contribution to the process. They claim that Livermore came later in the process, but did not provide assistance “while continuing to demand guarantees.” He also made “threatening remarks” that prompted “consideration of criminal charges.”

The production has a budget of $13.8 USD and features conductors Plácido Domingo, José Cura, Paolo Carignani as well as such singers as Maria Guleghina, Asmirk Grigorian, Brian Jagde, and Yusif Eyvazov.

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