“Nessun dorma” from Turandot
- Composed by: Puccini
- Composed: 1929
- Duration: about 5 minutes
Orchestration: 2 flutes, piccolo, 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 4 trombones, timpani, percussion (bass drum, Chinese gong), 2 harps, celesta, and strings, plus tenor
Text by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni
PRINCE CALAF (TENOR)
Nessun dorma!
Tu pure, o Principessa,
nella tua fredda stanza
guardi le stelle che tremano
d’amore e di speranza!
Ma il mio mistero è chiuso in me,
Il nome mio nessun saprà!
No, sulla tua bocca lo dirò,
quando la luce splenderà!
Ed il mio bacio scioglierà
il silenzio che ti fa mia!
Dilegua, o notte!
Tramontate, stelle!
All’alba vincerò!
Let no one sleep!
You too, oh Princess,
in your cold room,
regard the stars that twinkle
with love and with hope!
But my secret is locked within me;
no one will ever know my name!
No, I will speak it on your lips,
when the light shines.
And my kiss will break
the silence that makes you mine!
Vanish, oh night!
Fade, stars!
At dawn, I will triumph!