Nessun dorma (nadie duerma). Spanish and English version

Who said opera is boring? Opera is a form of theatre, with a plot, in which the actors are singers, and everything is sung. The plots can be intriguing, exciting, fun...

In this case we will watch a fragment of an opera called Turandot, released in 1926, two years after his composer, Puccini, died.

The plot of Turandot

Turandot is a beautiful but cruel Chinese princess and she doesn't want to get married, so decides she will only marry to the man who guess the three enigmas she suggests. The enigmas are very complicated, of course. If the pretender doesn't guess them, he will die. But if the pretender guess them, se will have to marry him.

One after another, all the pretenders fail and die and Turadont enjoys showing that spectacle. But, suddenly, one day a misterious man called Calaf arrives and solves the enigmas.

Turandot is afraid of marrying a stranger. Calaf who is a good person and is conscious of Turandot's suffering, decides to suggest her a challenge: if Turandot guess his name before the sunrise, she will be free and won't be forced to marry him, and he will die. But if she doesn't guess it, she will marry him. 

As you can suppose, the cruel princess orders no one in the kingdom sleep that night until the stranger´s name is discovered. Citizens, soldiers, farmers, young people, children... are forced to get out of their homes and try to discover Calaf´s name.

During the night, Calaf and Turandot, that doesn't know his name yet, spend some time alone, and Calaf falls in love with Turandot. He feels pity for her, because she is nervous and scared, so he decides to tell her his name. Now, he knows that she has won and he will die.

The next morning, Turandot has to decide what to do. She knows Calaf´s name, but no one in the kingdom has discovered it, so she could hide the secret, order Calaf´s death, and live calm and happy. But, when she is asked about the name of the stranger by a member of her government, she finally says: "His name is Love and he is going to live because I've fallen in love with him". 

The fragment you can see beyond is an aria of the opera Turandot called "Nessum Dorma" (nadie duerma) sung by Calaf the night she orders nobody in the kingdom can sleep.

You can watch two videos: the first one is a performance of Pavarotti, and the second one is a fragment of the opera sung by Plácido Domingo, a well known spanish tenor.

¿Quién dijo que la ópera era aburrida? La ópera es una representación con argumento enteramente cantada, y muchas veces esos argumentos son intrigantes, emocionantes o divertidos.

En este caso veremos un fragmento de una ópera llamada Turandot, estrenada en 1926, dos años después de que su compositor, Puccini, muriese.

El argumento de Turandot

Turandot es una bella pero cruel princesa china que decide que solo se casará con aquel que adivine los tres enigmas que ella propone. Si el pretendiente no los adivina, morirá. Uno por uno, todos los pretendientes fracasan y mueren hasta que llega el príncipe Calaf, que para sorpresa de Turandot, resuelve los tres enigmas.

Turandot se aterra ante la certeza de tener que casarse con un desconocido, y Calaf, al verla asustada, decide proponerle un reto: si Turandot adivina su nombre antes de que amanezca, podrá librarse del matrimonio y Calaf morirá. Si no lo averigua, deberá casarse con él. Por eso, Turandot ordena que nadie en el reino duerma esa noche, a fin de averiguar el nombre del príncipe.

Turandot, que aun no sabe el nombre, y el príncipe, se quedan solos, ante lo que éste decide besarla, para intentar aplacar su crueldad, momento en el que le susurra al oído su nombre.

A la mañana siguiente, cuando el pueblo le pregunta si ha averiguado el nombre del príncipe, ella dice "se llama Amor". Y es con el amor entre ambos como termina la ópera.

El fragmento en concreto es un aria de Turandot titulado Nessun Dorma (nadie duerma) que es lo que canta Calaf ante el mandato de Turandot.

Os dejo con dos vídeos, uno de una interpretación del gran Pavarotti en  y un fragmento de la ópera con un Calaf muy conocido para nosotros: Plácido Domingo.