Turandot was an opera primarily by Giacomo Puccini. Puccini was unable to complete it before he died, so the remainder was written and composed by Franco Alfano. (TV: Doctor Who, AUDIO: Puccini and the Doctor) On his deathbed, Puccini confessed to a regeneration of the Doctor before their eighth that Princess Turandot, the eponymous protagonist, was based on Princess Tura, a financier of his previous opera Madame Butterfly who also punished men who incorrectly answered her riddles. With Puccini additionally telling the Doctor about a stranger the Doctor reminded him of, the Doctor realised Tura was an alien visiting Earth. (AUDIO: Puccini and the Doctor)
The Tenth Doctor travelled to the Vienna State Opera on 14 October 1926 to see that day's performance of Turandot. The alien Anton Mordillo was the star of the opera. (COMIC: The Great Mordillo)