"Nessun dorma" (Italian: [nesˌsun ˈdɔrma]; English: "Let no one sleep")[1] 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. 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. Any man who wishes to wed Turandot must first answer her three riddles; if he fails, he will be beheaded. In the aria, Calaf expresses his triumphant assurance that he will win the princess.
Although "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 World Cup, which captivated a global audience.[2] Both Pavarotti and Plácido Domingo released singles of the aria, with Pavarotti's reaching number 2 in the UK,[3][4] and it appeared on the best selling classical album of all time, The Three Tenors in Concert.[5] The Three Tenors, which includes José Carreras, performed the aria at three subsequent World Cup Finals, in 1994 in Los Angeles, 1998 in Paris, and 2002 in Yokohama.[2] Since 1990, many crossover artists have performed and recorded it. The aria has been sung often in movies and on television.
"Nessun dorma" achieved pop status after Luciano Pavarotti's 1972 recording of it was used as the theme song of BBC television's coverage of the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy.[7] It subsequently reached no. 2 on the UK Singles Chart.[8] Although Pavarotti rarely sang the role of Calaf on stage, "Nessun dorma" became his signature aria and a sporting anthem in its own right, especially for football.[7][8] Pavarotti notably sang the aria during the first Three Tenors concert on the eve of the 1990 FIFA World Cup Final in Rome. For an encore, he performed the aria again, taking turns with José Carreras and Plácido Domingo. The image of three tenors in full formal dress singing in a World Cup concert captivated the global audience.[2] The album of the concert achieved triple platinum record status in the United States alone[9] and went on to outsell all other classical recordings worldwide.[5] The number became a regular feature of subsequent Three Tenors concerts, and they performed it at three subsequent FIFA World Cup Finals, in 1994 in Los Angeles, 1998 in Paris, and 2002 in Yokohama.[2]
In what the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences called "the greatest last-second substitution act in Grammy history", Aretha Franklin sang a "soul-infused" version of the aria in place of Luciano Pavarotti when throat problems caused him to withdraw from the 1998 40th Annual Grammy Awards show