(AGI) Milan, April 23 - Everything is ready for Turandot, thelast opera by Giacomo Puccini with a final scene composed byLuciano Berio, which will open Milan Expo 2015 at Milan's LaScala Theatre on May 1. It will also be the official debut ofRiccardo Chailly as the theatre's principal conductor. TheItalian composer Berio's ending to the unfinished operatic workof Puccini will be performed for the first time at La Scala.Berio wrote it in 2001, using 23 of the 30 partial compositionsleft by Puccini when he died. The new ending to the opera wasconducted by Riccardo Chailly at the 2002 Festival of theCanaries. Chailly explained the choice for the ending writtenby Berio. "The version that we perform expresses the magnitudeof the genius of Berio, a great composer who was able to get'under the skin' of Puccini. With him, the Turandot performedon the day of the Expo will be a masterpiece." Perhaps Berio'sending is not as well known as the ending composed by FrancoAlfano. Stephane Lissner, former art director of La Scala,explained: "This is because Berio's ending is more difficult toperform. It is also very demanding vocally." Berio started hiscomposition by studying the original fragments of Puccini'swork and unlike Alfano, he set out to use most of those pieces.In the end, he inserted 23 of a total of 30 found fragments,combining them with a series of references to themes alreadypresent in the rest of the work, starting with "Nessun Dorma",which was also used by Alfano. The cast that will perform theopera is well established: Nina Stemme is Turandot, AleksandrsAntonenko is Prince Calaf, Maria Agresta is Liu, and AlexanderTsymbalyuk is Timur. Chailly himself proposed Nikolaus Lehnoffas the director. Lehnoff introduced some novelties in hisversion of Turandot. For example, the body of Liu stays onstage after her death in the final scene. And Turandot willwear a dress that will make her look like "a large insect"."The setting is unique throughout the evening," the directorexplained. "At first it looks like a prison where no one canunravel the puzzles. And in the end, when Turandot abandons hercostume, light enters from a series of windows. It will be sostrong that the audience will be dazzled." Turandot opens LaScala programming for the Milan Expo, when the theatre will beopen for 122 evenings of opera, 62 evenings of ballet and 90concerts. On May 2, the Berlin Philharmonic will inaugurate theFestival of International Orchestras for the Expo, which willcontinue until Oct. 27. And May 16 will be the start of CO2, anopera on climate change commissioned by La Scala Theatre. Theopera will be recorded by RAI and broadcast live on RAI5television and on Radio 3. On May 21 people can see it in filmtheatres. The live broadcast will also be aired at the SanVittore prison in collaboration with the Municipality of Milanand the Quartieri Tranquilli Association. A specialreproduction of the original booklet of the Turandot opera atLa Scala Theatre in 1926 will be released at the opening ofMilan Expo 2015.. .