: Hi, Folks -

: Truly, he "owned" this song - or perhaps it owned
: him.

: --hobie
Thanks, hobie. BTW, of all people, Aretha Franklin sang it. Will see if it's on you tube.

Turandot is empress of Cathay and was raised by a bitter woman who taught her to hate and distrust men. To maintain the illusion of her availability, she poses three riddles to any suitor. Those who flunk the test are executed at dawn. So, this foreigner comes to town (I forget his name, so we'll call him Pavo), sees the empress and is smitten. Pavo presents himself as a suitor, despite warnings, and asks for the riddles. When he answers all three,
Turandot is beside herself. So, being a sporting man, and hoping to win her love, he tells her if she discovers his name by morning, he will withdraw his proposal and leave. Then he exits, and Turandot marshals her guards & tells them to find this stranger's name. And she also decrees that all her subjects in the city will join in the hunt. "No one sleeps" she commands, which in Italian is Nessun Dorma.

Near the beginning of his aria, Pavo sings that nobody shall discover his name--"No,no, no!" and in the finale he sings "vincera, vincera, vincera (I shall win...)!"
Hope all this chitchat doesn't spoil you pleasure.--oliver