Nessun dorma

Nessun dorma (English: None shall sleep)^[1] is an aria from the final act of Giacomo Puccini's opera Turandot,^[2] 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.

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, "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 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:

"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!"

("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!"

("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!"

("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!"

("Vanish, o night! Set, stars! Set, stars! At dawn, I will win! I will win! I will win! ")

In performance, the final "Vincerò!" features a sustained B4,^[3] followed by the final note, an A4 sustained even longer—although Puccini's score did not explicitly specify that either note be sustained.^[4] In the original score, the B is written as an eighth note while the A is a quarter note. Both are high notes in the tenor range. The only recording to follow Puccini's score exactly was the very 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 appear 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)

Jakie Evancho

Cultural references and adaptations

Luciano Pavarotti

Nessun dorma achieved pop status after Luciano Pavarotti's 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 #2 on the UK Singles Chart^[5] Although Pavarotti rarely sang the role of Calaf on stage, Nessun dorma became his signature aria and, in turn, a sporting anthem in its own right, especially for football.^[5] 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 as he was very ill.^[6] His Decca recording of the aria was played at his funeral during the flypast by the Italian Air Force.^[7]

Other artists

Nessun dorma has been performed (often in adapted versions of the score) by singers such as Aretha Franklin, Manowar, Sarah Brightman, Vitas, David Phelps, Mina, Paul Potts, Russell Watson, Gardar Thor Cortes, Michael Bolton, Jackie Evancho, Prince Poppycock and Donald Braswell II. Scott Foppiano, American Theatre Organ Society's Organist of the year for 2007,^[8] released a theatre pipe organ transcription of the aria on his album, Beyond the Blue Horizon.^[9] In 2009, singer Antony Hegarty, lead singer of Antony and the Johnsons recorded the aria with the Roma Sinfonietta Orchestra, which was released for free by the Italian coffee company, Lavazza. While the orchestration of the recording is Puccini's original, Hegarty performs the song with his famous, quavering delivery.^[10] British guitarist 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.^[11] In 2007, trumpeter Chris Botti covered "Nessun Dorma" on his album Italia.^[12][13].

In films

Nessun dorma has been used in many films,^[14] 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,^[15] New York Stories, ^[16] Mar adentro,^[17] The Sum of All Fears,^[18] The Mirror Has Two Faces,^[19] and Bend It Like Beckham.^[14] Nessun Dorma is also the title of a short film by Ken Russell included in the 1987 film Aria.^[20] (Aria consists of ten segments by a variety of directors; each one features the director's visual accompaniment to arias and scenes from operas. The films have minimal or no dialogue, with most of the spoken content coming from the words of the aria itself.) Nessun Dorma is also sung by Pavarotti himself as part of his fictional role in Yes, Giorgio.^[21]

References

Notes

1. ^ Puccini, Giacomo; Adami, G., & Simoni, R. (1978). "Act III, Scene I" (in English, Italian). Turandot. Opera Vocal Score Series. Milano, Italy: Ricordi. p. 291. OCLC 84595094. "None shall sleep tonight!" 
2. ^ The libretto and score are © BMG Ricordi S.p.A.
3. ^ Note: this article uses scientific pitch notation; e.g., B4 is the B above Middle C
4. ^ 'Puccini scores' (musical and contextual analysis of 'Nessun Dorma'), National Review, July 23, 1990 (accessed 8 October 2007)
5. ^ ^{a b} 'Nessun Dorma put football back on map' The Telegraph, September 7, 2007 (accessed 8 October 2007)
6. ^ 'Pavarotti, Revered Even When Lip-Synching' The New York Times, April 7, 2008 (accessed 7 April 2008)
7. ^ BBC News coverage of Pavarotti's final performance (accessed 8 October 2007); BBC News coverage of Pavarotti's funeral (accessed 8 October 2007)
8. ^ Scott Foppiano on The American Theatre Organ Society's website
9. ^ Scott Foppiano on theatreorgancds.com
10. ^ Antony & Lavazza
11. ^ Perusse, Bernard, "Beck in a reflective mood", Ottawa Citizen, 17 April 2020
12. ^ "Italia overview". Allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r1187619. 
13. ^ "Chris Botti". JazzMonthly.com. http://www.jazzmonthly.com/artist_ag/botti_chris/reviews/botti_review.html. 
14. ^ ^{a b} Blank, Christopher (13 October 2007). "High Note", Commercial Appeal
15. ^ Stephen Holden, Eloquent Movies With Eloquent Soundtracks, New York Times, January 30, 1994
16. ^ LoBrutto, Vincent (2008). Martin Scorsese: A Biography, p. 293.Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0275987051
17. ^ Nelson Pressley, 'The Sea Inside': A Quest for Death, The Washington Post, December 17, 2004; Page C05
18. ^ Gloria Goodale, 'Sum' signals change since 9/11, Christian Science Monitor, May 31, 2002
19. ^ Jay Carr, Barbra Streisand looks into her 'Mirror' and discovers she's still a funny girl, Boston Globe, November 10, 1996. Retrieved via subscription 14 June 2008.
20. ^ Richard Corliss, Opera for The Inoperative, Time Magazine, May 02, 1988.
21. ^ Maslin, Janet (24 September 1982). "Pavarotti in 'Giorgio'". New York Times

External links

• Mark D. Lew (1997). "Commentary on Symbolism, Poetry, and 'Nessun Dorma'". http://home.earthlink.net/~markdlew/comm/turandot.htm. 
• Nessun Dorma sung by Sarah Brightman - (Live Earth, 2007)