Nessun dorma

"" (; English: "Let no one sleep") is an aria from the final act of Giacomo Puccini's opera "Turandot" (text by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni) and one of the best-known tenor arias in all opera. It is sung by Calaf, (the unknown prince), who falls in love at first sight with the beautiful but cold Princess Turandot. Any man who wishes to wed Turandot must first answer her three riddles; if he fails, he will be beheaded. In the aria, Calaf expresses his triumphant assurance that he will win the princess.
Although "Nessun dorma" had long been a staple of operatic recitals, Luciano Pavarotti popularised the piece beyond the opera world in the 1990s following his performance of it for the 1990 World Cup, which captivated a global audience. Both Pavarotti and Plácido Domingo released singles of the aria, with Pavarotti's reaching number 2 in the UK, and it appeared on the best selling classical album of all time, "The Three Tenors in Concert". The Three Tenors, which includes José Carreras, performed the aria at three subsequent World Cup Finals, in 1994 in Los Angeles, 1998 in Paris, and 2002 in Yokohama. Since 1990, many crossover artists have performed and recorded it. The aria has been sung often in movies and on television.
Context and analysis.
In the act before this aria, Calaf has correctly answered the three riddles put to all of Princess Turandot's prospective suitors. Nonetheless, she recoils at the thought of marriage to him. Calaf offers her another chance by challenging her to guess his name by dawn. As he kneels before her, the "Nessun dorma" theme makes a first appearance, to his words, "" (My name you do not know!). She can execute him if she correctly guesses his name; but if she does not, she must marry him. The cruel and emotionally cold princess then decrees that none of her subjects shall sleep that night until his name is discovered. If they fail, all will be killed.
As the final act opens, it is now night. Calaf is alone in the moonlit palace gardens. In the distance, he hears Turandot's heralds proclaiming her command. His aria begins with an echo of their cry and a reflection on Princess Turandot:
Just before the climactic end of the aria, a chorus of women is heard singing in the distance:
Calaf, now certain of victory, sings:
In performance, the final "Vincerò!" features a sustained B, followed by the final note, an A sustained even longer—although Puccini's score did not explicitly specify that either note be sustained. In the original score, the B is written as a sixteenth note while the A is a whole note. Both are high notes in the tenor range. The only recording to follow Puccini's score exactly was the first, sung by Gina Cigna and Francesco Merli, conducted by Franco Ghione.
In Alfano's completion of act 3, the "Nessun dorma" theme makes a final triumphal appearance at the end of the opera. The theme also makes a concluding reappearance in Luciano Berio's later completion (this having been an expressed intention of Puccini's), but in a more subdued orchestration.
Recordings.
"Nessun dorma", sung by some of the most famous interpreters of Calaf, appears on the following compilation recordings. (For full-length recordings of the opera, see "Turandot" discography.)
Cultural references and adaptations.
Luciano Pavarotti.
"Nessun dorma" achieved pop status after Luciano Pavarotti's 1972 recording of it was used as the theme song of BBC television's coverage of the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy. It subsequently reached no. 2 on the UK Singles Chart. Although Pavarotti rarely sang the role of Calaf on stage, "Nessun dorma" became his signature aria and a sporting anthem in its own right, especially for football. Pavarotti notably sang the aria during the first Three Tenors concert on the eve of the 1990 FIFA World Cup Final in Rome. For an encore, he performed the aria again, taking turns with José Carreras and Plácido Domingo. The image of three tenors in full formal dress singing in a World Cup concert captivated the global audience. The album of the concert achieved triple platinum record status in the United States alone and went on to outsell all other classical recordings worldwide. The number became a regular feature of subsequent Three Tenors concerts, and they performed it at three subsequent FIFA World Cup Finals, in 1994 in Los Angeles, 1998 in Paris, and 2002 in Yokohama.
Pavarotti gave a rendition of "Nessun dorma" at his final performance, the finale of the Opening Ceremony of the 2006 Torino Winter Olympics, although it was later revealed that he had lip-synched the specially pre-recorded performance (at the time of his Winter Olympics appearance, Pavarotti was physically incapable of performing as he was suffering from pancreatic cancer, to which he succumbed the following year). His Decca recording of the aria was played at his funeral during the flypast by the Italian Air Force. In 2013, the track was certified gold by the Federation of the Italian Music Industry.
Leicester City Football Club.
On 7 May 2016, Andrea Bocelli sang "Nessun dorma" in the King Power Stadium, home of Leicester City Football Club, before Leicester City's final home match of the 2015–16 Premier League season against Everton F.C.. Leicester's manager Claudio Ranieri stood beside Bocelli for the performance. After the game, Leicester were presented with the Premier League trophy for the first time in their history.
Crossover and adapted versions.
"Nessun dorma" (often in adapted versions of the score) has been performed by many pop and crossover singers and instrumentalists.
In other media.
"Nessun dorma" has been used in many films, often appearing at a central moment in the film—sometimes with the aria's moment of musical resolution aligned with the film's narrative climax, giving symbolic meaning to the aria's rich emotional impact. Films in which the aria plays a significant role in the soundtrack include "The Killing Fields", "New York Stories", "The Sea Inside", "The Sum of All Fears", "The Mirror Has Two Faces", "Bend It Like Beckham", "No Reservations," and "" (with the scene set within a performance of "Turandot" itself). It was sung by Pavarotti himself as part of his fictional role in the film "Yes, Giorgio". "Nessun dorma" is also the title of a short film by Ken Russell included in the 1987 film "Aria". Nessun dorma is the title of a football podcast, hosted by "The Guardian" journalist Lee Calvert and featuring sports writers past and present, that celebrates 1980s and 1990s football. When all of Italy was under lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a video of opera singer Maurizio Marchini performing "Nessun dorma" from his balcony in Florence went viral.
External links.
 