Ludwig van Beethoven had a visitor.

A young man stepped into the legendary composer's attic apartment in Vienna. He was introduced as Gioachino Rossini.

"Ah, Rossini," Beethoven said. "You, the composer of 'The Barber of Seville'? … It will be played so long as Italian opera will exist."

A century later, Rossini's fellow Italian composer Giacomo Puccini was almost done with his opera "Turandot," a dark romance about a queen who kills off her suitors like a black widow spider and the man who's trying to break the pattern. But the composer of "La Bohème" and "Tosca" had been diagnosed with throat cancer. Before departing for treatment in Belgium, he visited conductor Arturo Toscanini and begged, "Don't let my 'Turandot' die." Days later, Puccini had a fatal heart attack.

But "Turandot" didn't die. Another composer, Franco Alfano, completed the final scene. It premiered in 1926 and will be presented by the Minnesota Orchestra in a concert setting Thursday and Saturday. As for "The Barber of Seville," Beethoven was right, as evidenced by the fact that Minnesota Opera will stage it in a production that opens Saturday and runs through May 18.

One is a romance rooted in death and violence, the other a screwball comedy of love, trickery and narrow escapes. And, if you're the least bit interested in classical music, you should catch one of them.

But which one? We're here to help, with a little advice from the conductors of each: Minnesota Orchestra Music Director Thomas Søndergård and Minnesota Opera's principal conductor, Christopher Franklin.

Franklin on 'The Barber'

Perhaps you've heard Rossini's crafty servant singing of hearing his name everywhere — "Figaro! Figaro!" — as well as the overture that provided the foundation for the Looney Tunes cartoon "Rabbit of Seville." It might be the funniest thing on which Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd ever collaborated. But conductor Franklin says his favorite music lies elsewhere in the opera.

"The Act One finale, 'Mi par d'esser con la testa' — literally, 'my head is spinning' — is a classic example of the 'Rossini crescendo,'" Franklin said. "Meaning a subtle, continuous repetition of a musical idea in various tonalities that builds toward an explosive conclusion to end the act."

Franklin said that Rossini might even top that with the second-act quintet, which he described as "mass mayhem" that climaxes in "a breathtaking whirlwind finish, where the singers are stretched to the limits of their vocal technique with quick pitter-patter phrases."

Søndergård on 'Turandot'

You can thank tenor Luciano Pavarotti for making a smash hit of the aria "Nessun Dorma" in 1990, plucking that from "Turandot," placing it near the top of the pop charts, and helping make "The Three Tenors in Concert" classical music's largest-selling album ever.

Belting it out with the Minnesota Orchestra and Minnesota Chorale will be tenor Limmie Pulliam, who recently sang the role in Houston alongside star soprano Christine Goerke. She'll reprise the title role that she delivered to acclaim at New York's Metropolitan Opera in 2021.

"The first entry of Turandot is a magical moment," Søndergård said last week. "I can't wait to hear Christine Goerke fill our Orchestra Hall with her gorgeous sound."

But not all the vocal parts Søndergård loves in the opera are solos.

"Right at the beginning of the opera, the first big moment for the chorus is 'Perché tarda la luna?,'" he said. "I am looking so much forward to hearing our chorus sing this."

Also onstage at Orchestra Hall will be the winner of the 2023 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition, Adolfo Corrado, and Mané Galoyan in the heartbreaking role of Liu.

"I have always been very moved by the last minutes of Liu's life in this opera," Søndergård said. "In particular at the moment when Turandot asks her, 'Who put such strength in your heart?' And she answers, 'Love,' then sings 'Tanto amore, segreto. …' It's only a few minutes, but how he builds this beautiful theme with more and more strings is so touching."

Rob Hubbard can be reached at wordhub@yahoo.com.

Minnesota Orchestra performs 'Turandot'

When: 7 p.m. Thu. and Sat.

Where: Orchestra Hall, 1111 Nicollet Mall, Mpls.

Tickets: $45-$139, available at 612-371-5656 or minnesotaorchestra.org

Minnesota Opera's 'The Barber of Seville'

When: 7:30 p.m. Sat., 2 p.m. Sun.; through May 18.

Where: Ordway Music Theater, 345 Washington St., St. Paul.

Tickets: $25-$263, available at 612-333-6669 or mnopera.org.