Nessun dorma

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Nessun Dorma (None Shall Sleep) is an aria from the final act of Giacomo Puccini's opera Turandot,^[1] and is 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. However, any man who wishes to wed Turandot must first answer her three riddles. If he fails, he will be beheaded.

In the previous act, Calaf has correctly answered the three riddles put to all of Princess Turandot's prospective suitors. Nevertheless, 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 Il mio nome non sai!.) If she does so, she can execute him, but if she does not, she must marry him. The cruel and emotionally cold princess then decrees that none of her subjects is to 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:

"Nessun dorma! Nessun dorma! Tu pure, o Principessa, nella tua fredda stanza, guardi le stelle che tremano d'amore, e di speranza!"

(English translation: "None shall sleep! None shall sleep! Even you, o Princess, in your cold bedroom, watch the stars that tremble with love and with hope")

"Ma il mio mistero è chiuso in me; il nome mio nessun saprà! No, No! Sulla tua bocca lo dirò quando la luce splenderà!"

(English translation: "But my secret is hidden within me; none will know my name! No, no! On your mouth I will say it when the light shines!")

"Ed il mio bacio scioglierà il silenzio che ti fa mia!"

(English translation: "And my kiss will dissolve the silence that makes you mine!")

Just before the climactic end of the aria, a chorus of women is heard singing in the distance:

"Il nome suo nessun saprà... E noi dovrem, ahimè, morir, morir!"

(English translation: "No one will know his name... and we will have to, alas, die, die!")

Calaf, now certain of victory, sings:

"Dilegua, o notte! Tramontate, stelle! Tramontate, stelle! All'alba vincerò! Vincerò! Vincerò!"

(English translation: "Vanish, o night! Set, stars! Set, stars! At daybreak I shall win! I shall win! I shall win!")

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. ^[2] These are two of the highest notes in the tenor range.

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 Berio's later completion (this having been an expressed intention of Puccini's) but in a more subdued orchestration.

[edit] Selected recordings

This is a selection of tenor aria recordings which include 'Nessun dorma' sung by some of its most famous interpreters. For full length recordings of the opera from which it comes, see Turandot: Selected recordings

The Very Best of Beniamino Gigli (EMI Classics)
The Very Best of Jussi Björling (EMI Classics)
The Very Best of Franco Corelli (EMI Classics)
Pavarotti Forever (Decca)
The Essential Plácido Domingo (Deutsche Grammophone)

[edit] Cultural resonance outside opera

Nessun dorma achieved pop status after Luciano Pavarotti's recording of it was used as the theme song of the BBC television coverage of the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy. It subsequently reached #2 on the UK Singles Chart, the highest placing ever by a classical recording. ^[3]

It went on to become both Pavarotti's signature aria and a sporting anthem in its own right, especially for soccer.^[4] Pavarotti sang 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 performance.^[5] His Decca recording of the aria was played at his funeral during the flypast by the Italian Air Force. ^[6]

Nessun Dorma has also 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 the aria's rich emotional impact symbolic meaning. This use in film has added to the cultural resonance of the aria outside of opera. Films in which the aria is used include: The Island, The Killing Fields, Mar adentro, The Sum of All Fears, No Reservations, The Mirror Has Two Faces, Chasing Liberty, Man on Fire, Bend it like Beckham, Toys,^[7] The Witches of Eastwick, The West Wing and the short film of the same name by Ken Russell included in the 1987 film, Aria.

For recorded renditions of Nessun Dorma by vocalists from outside the opera world see: One Chance by Paul Potts, The Voice by Russell Watson, Jewels in the Crown by Aretha Franklin, The Winner's Journey by Damien Leith, and My Secret Passion by Michael Bolton.

Adaptations of the aria to other musical genres include a heavy metal version by Manowar in their album, Warriors of the World,^[8] and Vincero an opera/disco fusion by Fredrik Kempe. Kempe's Vincero is also used for the popular line dance, Trust me!.^[9]^[10]