# The climax of Nessun Dorma



## tempo (Nov 8, 2012)

Obviously in Turandot, this blends straight into the next number, but when heard by itself, even when it's taken from a complete recording, such as the Pavarotti / Sutherland, it's got a full ending. Did this get recorded separately and mixed in later?


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

tempo said:


> Obviously in Turandot, this blends straight into the next number, but when heard by itself, even when it's taken from a complete recording, such as the Pavarotti / Sutherland, it's got a full ending. Did this get recorded separately and mixed in later?


I wish I could answer this for you, but I always fall asleep listening to this piece, and so I never heard the ending.


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

Will the spirit of Puccini ever forgive me?


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## MoonlightSonata (Mar 29, 2014)

I've never actually heard the opera, just a few of the arias.


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## Stavrogin (Apr 20, 2014)

SONNET CLV said:


> I wish I could answer this for you, but I always *fall asleep* listening to this piece, and so I never heard the ending.


...pun intended?


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## MoonlightSonata (Mar 29, 2014)

The climactic part is jolly catchy, though. Now I know how to inform Italians that I will win.


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## Stavrogin (Apr 20, 2014)

MoonlightSonata said:


> The climactic part is jolly catchy, though. Now I know how to inform Italians that I will win.


You can't imagine how many times that part has been used over sport reports by media here in Italy


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## MoonlightSonata (Mar 29, 2014)

Stavrogin said:


> You can't imagine how many times that part has been used over sport reports by media here in Italy


Is it so noisy and constant that (wait for it!) none shall sleep?


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## Tristan (Jan 5, 2013)

As far as I know, the "full ending" version is just an extension of the last note, instead of having it immediately transition into the next number. That's what I get from listening to the 1973 Pavarotti/Sutherland complete recording. Just checked out a couple more recordings, and they all "transition", so I'm not aware of any complete recordings of the opera that use the stand-alone version.

It's similar to Ride of the Valkyries. In the opera, it has no "ending" and just transitions into the next number. However, stand-alone versions have this separate ending tacked on, and it's always the same. Is this something Wagner wrote, so it could be performed by itself? Or did another composer do this? I've always been curious about that.


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## leafman (Dec 21, 2014)

I had the great honor not too long ago of seeing the entire opera at La Scala in Milano. The famous Nessun Dorma piece was performed pretty much just as stand-alone recordings have it with the dramatic ending. As you might expect, it drew a sustained standing ovation.


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## Azol (Jan 25, 2015)

leafman said:


> The famous Nessun Dorma piece was performed pretty much just as stand-alone recordings have it with the dramatic ending. As you might expect, it drew a sustained standing ovation.


This is the number one reason it is usually performed this way.


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## leafman (Dec 21, 2014)

The problem is also that we are accustomed to hearing recordings of the great Pavarotti do this, his signature song, and everyone else falls far short of our expectations.


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## Azol (Jan 25, 2015)

My wife is a huge Pavarotti fan (but not an opera fan in general) and, naturally, she loves when he performs Nessun dorma... so it's fair to say that, in her opinion, "everyone else falls far short of her expectations".
Then I made her listen to that famous Corelli/Nilsson recording and her immediate reaction to Nessun dorma was "Whoa, that was actually better than Pavarotti... I cannot even believe I am saying this..."


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## leafman (Dec 21, 2014)

Azol said:


> My wife is a huge Pavarotti fan (but not an opera fan in general) and, naturally, she loves when he performs Nessun dorma... so it's fair to say that, in her opinion, "everyone else falls far short of her expectations".
> Then I made her listen to that famous Corelli/Nilsson recording and her immediate reaction to Nessun dorma was "Whoa, that was actually better than Pavarotti... I cannot even believe I am saying this..."


Yes, the same thing. We hear the best of the best on recordings and then, when we go to a live performance, even in an esteemed place like La Scala, the performance falls a little short! We are spoiled by technology!


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