A terrible misfortune befell the Astrakhan king Timur, his family and power: the ferocious sultan of Khorezm defeated the army of Astrakhan and, breaking into the defenseless city, ordered to capture and execute Timur, his wife Elmaz and son Kalaf. Those under the guise of commoners managed to escape to neighboring lands, but even there they were haunted by the revenge of the winner. The royal family wandered for a long time across the Asian expanses, suffering unbearable deprivations; Prince Kalaf, in order to feed his elderly parents, took up any dirty work.

Kalaf tells this sad story to his former educator, Barah, whom he accidentally meets at the gates of Beijing. Barach lives in Beijing under the name of the Persian Hassan. He is married to a good widow named Skirina; his stepdaughter Zelima is one of the slaves of Princess Turandot.

Prince Calaf arrived in Beijing with the intention of enlisting in Emperor Altoum. But first, he wants to see the festival, preparations for which seem to be going on in the city.

However, this is not being prepared for the celebration, but the execution of the next failed contender for the hand of Princess Turandot - Tsarevich of Samarkand. The fact is that the vain hard-hearted princess forced her father to issue such a decree: every prince can get married to Turandot, but with the fact that in a meeting of the Divan of the Wise she will solve three riddles to him; who unraveled them will become her husband, unraveled - will be beheaded. Since then, the heads of many glorious princes have adorned the walls of Beijing.

Out of the city gates comes the heartbroken teacher of the newly executed prince. He throws it to the ground and tramples on the ill-fated portrait of Turandot, whose glance was enough for his pupil to fall in love with a heartless proud woman and thereby doom himself to death.

No matter how Barah Kalaf holds, he, confident in his own sanity, picks up a portrait. Alas! Where did his sanity and dispassion go? Burning with love, Calaf rushes into the city to meet happiness or death.

Emperor Altoum and his ministers Tartaglia and Pantalone grieve with all their hearts about the cruelty of the princess, tearfully mourning the unfortunate, fallen victim to her inhuman vanity and unearthly beauty. Upon the news of the appearance of a new seeker of the hand of Turandot, they make rich sacrifices to the great Bergingudzin, so that he would help the loving prince to stay alive.

Presenting himself before the emperor, Calaf does not name himself; he promises to reveal his name only if he solves the mysteries of the princess. The good-natured Altoum and the ministers plead with Calaf to be prudent and back down, but the prince stubbornly replies to all persuasion: "I crave death - or Turandot."

Nothing to do. Solemnly opens the meeting of the Sofa, at which Calaf will have to compete wisdom with the princess. She is accompanied by two slaves - Zelima and Adelma, the once Tatar princess. Both Turandot and Zelima Kalaf immediately seem more worthy of previous applicants, because he surpasses all of them with their noble appearance, circumvention and speech. Adelma, on the other hand, recognizes Calaf — not as a prince, but as a minister in the palace of her father, King Khorasan; already then he conquered her heart, and now she decides at all costs to prevent his marriage to Turandot and herself to capture the love of the prince. Therefore, Adelma tries to harden the princess’s heart, reminding her of pride and glory, while Zelima, on the contrary, prays to her mercy.

To the delight of the emperor, ministers and Zelima, Calaf solves all three riddles of Turandot. However, the princess flatly refuses to go to the altar and demands that she be allowed the next day to solve three new puzzles to Calaf. Altoum opposes such violation of the decree, unquestioningly executed when it was necessary to execute unsuccessful seekers, but the noble lover Calaf meets Turandot: he himself suggests that she guess what kind of father and son who had everything and everyone lost; if the princess guesses their names tomorrow, he is ready to die; if not, to be married.

Turandot is convinced that if she fails to guess the names of her father and son, she will be dishonored forever. The conviction of this with insinuating speeches fuels Adelma in her. With her sharp mind, the princess realized that under her son the mysterious prince means himself. But how to find out his name? She asks for advice from her slaves, and Zelima suggests a obviously hopeless way - to turn to fortunetellers and Kabbalists. Adelma, however, reminds Turandot of the prince's words that there is one person in Beijing who knows him and offers not to spare gold and diamonds, so that overnight, turning the whole city upside down, to find this person.

Zelima, in whose soul the feeling struggled for a long time with debt, finally reluctantly tells the lady that, according to her mother Skirina, her stepfather, Hassan, is familiar with the prince. The delighted Turandot immediately sends eunuchs led by Truffaldino to track down and seize Hassan.

Together with Hassan-Barah, eunuchs grab his overly talkative wife and some old man; they take all three to seraglio. It is not familiar to them that the unfortunate ragged old man is none other than the Astrakhan king Timur, the father of Calaf. Having buried his spouse in a foreign land, he came to Beijing to find his son or find death. Fortunately, Barakh manages to whisper to the gentleman so that he does not under any circumstances give his name. Calaf, meanwhile, is being escorted to special apartments guarded by imperial pages and their superior Brigella.

Seral Turandot. Here, the princess interrogates those bound to the columns of Barakh and Timur, threatening them with torture and brutal death if they do not name the mysterious prince and his father. But both Calaf are more precious than their own lives. The only thing Timur involuntarily says is that he is the king and father of the prince.

Turandot already gives the eunuchs a sign to begin reprisal against Barah, when suddenly Adelma appears in the sera with the news that Altoum is going here; prisoners are hurriedly taken to the dungeon of seraglio. Adelma asks the princess not to torment them anymore and promises, if she is allowed to act on her own, to find out the names of the prince and the king over night. Turandot is completely trusted by an approximate slave.

Meanwhile, a messenger from Astrakhan arrives at Altoum. The secret message he brought says that the Sultan of Khorezm died and that the Astrakhan call Timur to take his rightful throne. According to the detailed signs described in the message, Altoum understands who this unknown prince is. Wanting to defend the honor of her daughter, whom, he is convinced, can’t guess the names she’s searching for, as well as preserve Calaf’s life, the emperor offers her to reveal the secret - but on the condition that, having flashed in the Sofa of the wise, she will then agree to become the wife of the prince. Pride, however, does not allow Turandot to accept his father's offer; in addition, she hopes that Adelma will fulfill her promise.

Brigella, who guards Calaf’s chambers, warns the prince that, they say, since the guards are bonded people, and besides, everyone wants to postpone money for old age, ghosts may come to him at night.

The first ghost is not long in coming. This is the one sent by Adelma Skirin. She informs Calaf about the death of his mother and that his father is now in Beijing. Skirina asks the prince to write a few words to the old man's father, but he unravels the trick and refuses.

As soon as Skirin withdrew with nothing, Zelim appears in the prince's chambers. She tries a different approach: in fact, the slave says, Turandot does not hate the prince, but secretly loves. Therefore, she asks him to reveal the names so that in the morning she will not be ashamed in front of the Sofa, and she promises to give her hand to him there in the Sofa. The astute Calaf does not believe in Zelima either. The third is Adelma herself. She opens herself to Calaf in her love and begs to run away together, because, according to her, the insidious Turandot still ordered to kill him at dawn, without waiting for the meeting of Divan. Calaf resolutely refuses to flee, but, defeated in despair by the cruelty of his beloved, half-delirious pronounces his and his father's name.

Behind such conversations the night passes. The next morning, Calaf is forwarded to the Sofa.

The sofa is already assembled, only Turandot and her suites are missing. Altoum, confident that the princess has not managed to find out the name of the father and son, sincerely rejoices and orders here in the meeting room to build a temple.

The altar is already set when Turandot finally appears in the Sofa. The view of the princess and retinue is mourning. But, as it turns out, this is just a cruel vengeful joke. She knows the names and, triumphantly, proclaims them. The emperor and ministers are heartbroken; Calaf is preparing for death.

But here, to everyone’s joy and amazement, Turandot transforms - the love of Calaf, in which she did not dare even confess to herself, takes precedence over cruelty, vanity and man-hating. Loudly she announces that Calaf will not only not be executed, but will become her husband.

Not only Adelma is not happy. In tears, she throws Turandot a bitter reproach that, having previously taken away freedom, now she takes her love. But then Altoom enters: love is not in his power, but in order to console Adelma, he returns her freedom and the Khorasan kingdom of her father.

Finally, cruelty and injustice end. Everyone is happy. Turandot wholeheartedly asks heaven to forgive her stubborn aversion to men. The upcoming wedding promises to be very, very joyful.