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| "Nessun dorma" at the RNC | |
| Last Edit: Alcindoro 01:41 am EDT 08/29/20 | |
| Posted by: Alcindoro 01:35 am EDT 08/29/20 | |
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| The aria "Nessun dorma" is from Giacomo Puccini's final opera TURANDOT, with a text by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni, after a play by Carlo Gozzi. The opera takes place in the Chinese capital of Peking during mythical times. The beautiful young princess Turandot has declared that she will marry no man unless he can answer three riddles. All those who fail are executed. At the point in the opera when "Nessun dorma" is sung, the foreign prince Calaf, whose identity is a secret to all but a few, has answered the riddles correctly but has given the princess the chance to escape marriage and take his life by discovering his name before dawn. The Princess threatens torture and death to all unless the secret is revealed. The terrified people spend a sleepless night ("No one shall sleep...") trying to discover the name, but Prince Calaf says he will never tell her, and with the dawn he will win the Princess for his own ("Vincerò!" : I will win!). It has been my experience that the general public, if they even bother to listen to opera, rarely bother to find out what the usually foreign words of opera arias actually mean (and I say this as a lifelong opera lover who believes the words are just as important as the music) but are content to enjoy the dazzling "surface" effect of the music and the singer without bothering to understand the true meaning of the text and the context in which it is uttered. Although "Nessun dorma" has absolutely nothing to do with patriotism and the United States, it's rather ironic that it's about keeping secrets and withholding vital information from the public in order to win, and the threat of death for discovering the truth. |
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| re: "Nessun dorma" at the RNC | |
| Posted by: Chromolume 01:41 am EDT 08/29/20 | |
| In reply to: "Nessun dorma" at the RNC - Alcindoro 01:35 am EDT 08/29/20 | |
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| Yes, but we can be sure that trump knows none of the above. | |
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| re: "Nessun dorma" at the RNC | |
| Posted by: AlanScott 06:36 pm EDT 08/30/20 | |
| In reply to: re: "Nessun dorma" at the RNC - Chromolume 01:41 am EDT 08/29/20 | |
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| Yet he has praised the Western classical-music tradition, although the speech in which he did that doesn't sound anything like the way he speaks off the cuff. I'm sure he didn't write it. I can't imagine that he actually listens to classical music except when forced to, with the possible exception of some popular arias and famous excerpts and particularly popular pieces, like "Flight of the Bumblebee" and "Bolero" (although I'd think he'd get bored during the latter). Indeed, the speech in which he praised the Western symphonic tradition was dumb in its way, as discussed by Anthony Tommasini in the linked piece. Many people on the right love classical instrumental music and opera. (I'm a member of a classical music list-serv in which political discussions had to be completely banned because of fights that got nasty.) Antonin Scalia was an opera lover, and Giuliani (even typing the name disturbs me) is an opera lover. Obviously, there's a big difference between DT and the other guys I mentioned (at least before the latter guy went completely bonkers). But we shouldn't forget that you can be a fascist or a Nazi and love listening to string quartets. |
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| Link | DT Is Wrong (surprise!) if He Thinks Symphonies Are Superior |
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| re: "Nessun dorma" at the RNC | |
| Posted by: singleticket 07:43 pm EDT 08/30/20 | |
| In reply to: re: "Nessun dorma" at the RNC - AlanScott 06:36 pm EDT 08/30/20 | |
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| Antonin Scalia was an opera lover... Justices Scalia and Ginsberg were opera buddies, adorably enough. There's even an opera about it. |
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| Link | Scalia/Ginsburg, an opera by Derrick Wang |
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| re: "Nessun dorma" at the RNC | |
| Posted by: AlanScott 08:57 pm EDT 08/30/20 | |
| In reply to: re: "Nessun dorma" at the RNC - singleticket 07:43 pm EDT 08/30/20 | |
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| I thought about mentioning that they were opera buddies but I didn't. I'd heard about the opera but hadn't forgotten it. | |
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| re: "Nessun dorma" at the RNC | |
| Posted by: singleticket 09:50 pm EDT 08/30/20 | |
| In reply to: re: "Nessun dorma" at the RNC - AlanScott 08:57 pm EDT 08/30/20 | |
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| I'd never heard of the opera. I found it when I was googling "Scalia Ginsberg opera buddies". I would have liked to have been a fly on the wall for those opera-dates. | |
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| re: "Nessun dorma" at the RNC | |
| Posted by: AlanScott 10:22 pm EDT 08/30/20 | |
| In reply to: re: "Nessun dorma" at the RNC - singleticket 09:50 pm EDT 08/30/20 | |
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| To quote from one of the best episodes of Frasier: "She's no Renata Tebaldi." | |
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| re: "Nessun dorma" at the RNC | |
| Posted by: Pokernight 01:38 pm EDT 08/29/20 | |
| In reply to: re: "Nessun dorma" at the RNC - Chromolume 01:41 am EDT 08/29/20 | |
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| I'd guess that the donald thinks it means 'the women's dorms are empty.' | |
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| re: "Nessun dorma" at the RNC | |
| Posted by: sirpupnyc 10:23 am EDT 08/29/20 | |
| In reply to: re: "Nessun dorma" at the RNC - Chromolume 01:41 am EDT 08/29/20 | |
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| Wait...did I wander back into Opera-L? :D (Where I just read these exact two messages.) |
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| re: "Nessun dorma" at the RNC | |
| Posted by: Alcindoro 12:27 pm EDT 08/29/20 | |
| In reply to: re: "Nessun dorma" at the RNC - sirpupnyc 10:23 am EDT 08/29/20 | |
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| It's called cross-pollination. | |
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| re: "Nessun dorma" at the RNC | |
| Posted by: sirpupnyc 12:50 pm EDT 08/29/20 | |
| In reply to: re: "Nessun dorma" at the RNC - Alcindoro 12:27 pm EDT 08/29/20 | |
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| A honeybee must be free and all. | |
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| re: "Nessun dorma" at the RNC | |
| Posted by: Chromolume 04:39 pm EDT 08/29/20 | |
| In reply to: re: "Nessun dorma" at the RNC - sirpupnyc 12:50 pm EDT 08/29/20 | |
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| Tell that to Mark and Patricia McCloskey... | |
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| re: "Nessun dorma" at the RNC | |
| Posted by: Snowgrace 01:27 pm EDT 08/29/20 | |
| In reply to: re: "Nessun dorma" at the RNC - sirpupnyc 12:50 pm EDT 08/29/20 | |
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| Of course, the irony is that Calaf is determined to be the one to uncover all the secrets. Trump is likely drawn to the fighting spirit the glorious aria inspires. | |
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| re: "Nessun dorma" at the RNC | |
| Posted by: Alcindoro 04:00 pm EDT 08/29/20 | |
| In reply to: re: "Nessun dorma" at the RNC - Snowgrace 01:27 pm EDT 08/29/20 | |
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| Most likely the only reason he likes the aria (if he even actually does like it) is that it builds up to a loud, rousing finish and always gets a roar of approval from the audience. THAT'S something he can understand. |
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| re: "Nessun dorma" at the RNC | |
| Posted by: larry13 01:48 pm EDT 08/29/20 | |
| In reply to: re: "Nessun dorma" at the RNC - Snowgrace 01:27 pm EDT 08/29/20 | |
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| Also of course, Calaf, filled with this fighting spirit, needlessly both risks his father's life and does cause the death of the woman who loved him, Liu. Of course, we're only discussing fictional operatic characters. | |
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