Nessun dorma

"Nessun dorma" (Italian: [nesˌsun ˈdɔrma]; English: "Let no one sleep")^[1] 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, il principe ignoto (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,

In performance, the final "Vincerò!" features a sustained B₄, followed by the final note, an A₄ sustained even longer—although Puccini's score did not explicitly specify that either note be sustained.^[6] 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.^{[citation needed]}

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.)

• The Very Best of Beniamino Gigli (EMI Classics)
• The Very Best of Jussi Björling (EMI Classics)
• Richard Tucker
  in Recital (Columbia Masterworks/Myto)
• The Very Best of Franco Corelli (EMI Classics)
• Pavarotti Forever (Decca)
• The Essential Plácido Domingo (Deutsche Grammophon)

Cultural references and adaptations

Luciano Pavarotti

"Nessun dorma" achieved

Pavarotti gave a rendition of "Nessun dorma" at his final performance, the finale of the 2006 Winter Olympics opening ceremony, 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).^[10] His Decca recording of the aria was played at his funeral during the flypast by the Italian Air Force.^[11] In 2013, the track was certified gold by the Federation of the Italian Music Industry.^[12]

Crossover and adapted versions

"Nessun dorma" (often in adapted versions of the score) has been performed by many pop and crossover singers and instrumentalists.

• The 1989 song "
  A Love So Beautiful", co-written by Roy Orbison and Jeff Lynne, borrows the aria's melody.^[13]
• In what the
  National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences called "the greatest last-second substitution act in Grammy history", Aretha Franklin sang a "soul-infused" version of the aria in place of Luciano Pavarotti when throat problems caused him to withdraw from the 1998 Grammy Awards show.^[14][15]
• The 2002 album Warriors of the World by the band Manowar features a version of the aria.^[16]
• In 2004 Ruggero Scandiuzzi inserts his version in the album Io le canto così (I sing them like this) (Joker, MC 20089).
• In 2007, Chris Botti recorded a trumpet version of "Nessun dorma" for his album Italia.^[17][18]
• Antony and the Johnsons, recorded the aria with the Orchestra Roma Sinfonietta, as part of an advertising campaign for the Italian coffee company Lavazza in 2009.^[19][20]
• Jeff Beck's 2010 album, Emotion & Commotion, includes an instrumental version of this aria where the guitar takes the place of the human voice to an orchestral accompaniment.^[21]
• Jennifer Hudson sang the aria with the New York Philharmonic at the "We Love NYC: The Homecoming Concert" in Central Park on August 21, 2021.^[22]

The Spanish Band

In other media

"Nessun dorma" has been used in many films,^[23] 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

"Nessun dorma" has also accompanied climactic scenes in various television shows. For example, the piece is played at the conclusion of episode 4 of the Korean drama Vincenzo.^[37] The aria is seemingly being broadcast over the radio, and the episode ends dramatically with the titular character speaking the final words of the song as Pavarotti sings them, “Tramontate, stelle! All'alba vincerò! Vincerò! Vincerò!” Similarly, the aria was featured in the final episode of the Season 1 of Daredevil, the 2015 American television series set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

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.^[38]

A reinterpretation of Nessun Dorma by Marco D'Ambrosio, titled "Dio's Theme" is present in the 1993 OVA of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, with the whispering of the lyrics "All'alba vincerò", denoting the looming threat in the context of the adapted part of the manga, and the connection to the fatal weakness of vampires towards sunlight.

References