“Nessun Dorma” from the opera "Turandot" by Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924) is one of the best-known and most successful opera arias of all time. This rendition was performed in 2023 by tenor Jorge Puerta at the Opera Gala for the German AIDS Foundation in Bonn. He was accompanied by the Beethoven Orchestra Bonn, directed by Dirk Kaftan.

JORGE PUERTA | Tenor
BEETHOVEN ORCHESTER BONN
DIRK KAFTAN | Conductor

"Turandot" was Puccini's last opera, and was left unfinished due to the composer’s death. Franco Alfano completed the work posthumously based on Puccini's notes and sketches. The world-famous conductor Arturo Toscanini premiered the work on 25 April 1926 at La Scala in Milan.

The opera tells the story of the Chinese princess Turandot, who poses three riddles to all of her suitors. Whoever solves them will win her hand in marriage, whoever fails to will be executed. The young Prince Calaf manages to solve all three riddles, but Turandot refuses to marry him. He offers the princess a way out: if she can guess his name by sunrise, he will put his life in her hands. The princess tries everything, no matter how cruel, to find out his name, but her resistance to her feelings for Calaf eventually breaks down. In an intimate moment, he reveals his name to her as the two sink happily into each other's arms.

"Nessun Dorma" (Let no one sleep) comes from a scene in the third act, when Turandot orders that no one shall sleep until the name of the unknown prince has been discovered. This aria became known to a wide audience primarily through Luciano Pavarotti's interpretation.

Jorge Puerta was born in Venezuela. Thanks to his outstanding voice, he was accepted into the Simón Bolívar National Youth Choir of Venezuela. He later studied at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Madrid. In 2020, he won the International Rotary Special Prize at the International Lyric Singing Competition in Ravello. In 2021, he took third place at the III European Opera Competition – Torino in the World. Jorge Puerta will be a member of the Deutsche Oper Berlin ensemble from the 2022/2023 season.

© 2024 Deutsche Welle

Listen to more arias in our opera playlist:
[ Ссылка ]

Enjoy more concerts in your personal concert hall:
[ Ссылка ]

Subscribe to DW Classical Music:
[ Ссылка ]

#Opera #operaarias #arias

свернуть