‘Nessun Dorma’: Puccini’s epic opera aria

"Nessun Dorma,” from the final act of Giacomo Puccini’s Turandot, has become (thanks largely to one man) one of the best-known, and best-loved, arias in all opera. How did this piece, which translates to “Let no one sleep,” become so popular?

First, here’s the aria’s importance to the opera’s story. It is sung by Calaf, the unknown prince, who is in love with the beautiful Princess Turandot. She has decreed that any man who wishes to wed her must answer her three riddles or risk being beheaded. In the aria, Calaf expresses his surety that he will triumph — “Vanish, o night! Fade, you stars! At dawn, I will win! I will win! I will win!” That dramatic declaration coincides with the climactic high B that has thrilled audiences.  

The aria had been included in opera recitals since its composition, but it achieved stratospheric status when tenor Luciano Pavarotti’s 1972 recording was used by the BBC as the theme song to the 1990 FIFA World Cup, reaching No. 2 on the U.K. singles chart. Pavarotti had rarely played the role of Calaf on stage, but “Nessun Dorma” soon evolved into his trademark aria.

He and the other members of the Three Tenors, José Carreras and Plácido Domingo, took turns singing the aria on the eve of that 1990 World Cup final. The album recorded that night (Carreras Domingo Pavarotti in Concert) reached triple platinum status in the United States and outsold all other classical recordings worldwide that year. The tenors performed it at three subsequent World Cup finals, in 1994, 1998 and 2002.

Pavarotti made the aria famous, but it has had many notable moments.

Andrea Bocelli serenaded the crowd at Queen Elizabeth’s 70th Jubilee Party in 2022. Instrumental versions include a 2007 trumpet solo by Chris Botti and a 2010 guitar rendition by Jeff Beck. Are you watching the second season of Squid Game? It’s there! Films that used “Nessun Dorma” in include The Killing Fields, The Sum of All Fears, Bend It Like Beckham and Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation. And, yes, Pavarotti sang it as part of his fictional role as the titular tenor in Yes, Giorgio.

Perhaps the most famous non-Pavarotti version occurred at the 1998 Grammy Awards, when Aretha Franklin, replacing the ailing tenor at the 11th hour, burst forth with a stirring rendition that only the Queen of Soul could deliver. The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences called it “the greatest last-second substitution act in Grammy history.”

Here is Pavarotti with his greatest hit.