His aria begins with an echo of their cry and a reflection on Princess Turandot: In the distance, he hears Turandot's heralds proclaiming her command. Calaf is alone in the moonlit palace gardens. If they fail, all will be killed.Īs the final act opens, it is now night. The cruel and emotionally cold princess then decrees that none of her subjects shall sleep that night until his name is discovered. She can execute him if she correctly guesses his name but if she does not, she must marry him. As he kneels before her, the 'Nessun dorma' theme makes a first appearance, to his words, ' Il mio nome non sai!' (My name you do not know!). Calaf offers her another chance by challenging her to guess his name by dawn. Nonetheless, she recoils at the thought of marriage to him.

In the act before this aria, Calaf has correctly answered the three riddles put to all of Princess Turandot's prospective suitors. The aria has been sung often in films and on television. Since 1990, many crossover artists have performed and recorded it. The Three Tenors, which includes José Carreras, performed the aria at three subsequent FIFA World Cup Finals, in 1994 in Los Angeles, 1998 in Paris, and 2002 in Yokohama. 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.

In the aria, Calaf expresses his triumphant assurance that he will win the princess.Īlthough '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 FIFA World Cup, which captivated a global audience. Any man who wishes to wed Turandot must first answer her three riddles if he fails, he will be beheaded. 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. ' Nessun dorma' ( Italian: 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.

For other uses, see Vincerò (disambiguation). For the album by Amaury Vassili, see Vincerò (Amaury Vassili album).

Nessun dorma lyrics