The Classical Music Minute

Nessun dorma Part I: The Plot of Puccini's Turandot

June 20, 2022 Steven Hobé, Composer & Host Season 1 Episode 61
The Classical Music Minute
Nessun dorma Part I: The Plot of Puccini's Turandot
Show Notes Transcript

Description
I wanted to do a special two-part episode on the famous aria Nessun dorma. First the plot and lead up to the aria itself. Take a minute to get the scoop!

Fun Fact
Although "Nessun dorma" had long been a staple of operatic recitals, Luciano Pavarotti popularized 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.

About Steven
Steven is a Canadian composer living in Toronto. He creates a range of works, with an emphasis on the short-form genre—his muse being to offer the listener both the darker and more satiric shades of human existence. If you're interested, please check out his website for more. Member of the Canadian League Of Composers.

A Note To Music Students et al.
All recordings and sheet music are available on my site. I encourage you to take a look and play through some. Give me a shout if you have any questions.

Got a topic? Pop me off an email at: TCMMPodcast@Gmail.com 

Support the show

I wanted to do a special two-part episode on the famous aria Nessun dorma. First the plot and lead up to the aria itself.

Our hero, Calaf, is one of three suitors for the hand of the feisty Princess Turandot. To win her hand in marriage, her suitors must solve three riddles, with any single wrong answer resulting in execution. Yikes!

Calaf manages to solve all three riddles but Turandot still refuses to marry him. Really? 

So Calaf comes up with a challenge. If the Princess is able to guess his name before dawn the next day, she may execute him. Sounds reasonable to me…

However, if she can’t guess his name correctly, she must marry him. Ahh…makes sense.

So, she declares “Nessun dorma” loosely translated as “None shall sleep” in the entire kingdom until Calaf’s name is discovered. 

If no one can figure out his name by morning, everybody will be executed. Seems a little extreme!

But Calaf is hopeful that he will win the wager and begins to sing one of the best-known tenor arias in all of opera.