Song that you wouldn't think I'd like: 'Nessun Dorma'

Most of the people who know me well (online and in real life) are aware that my musical tastes run toward (a) classical music, (b) movie and Broadway show tunes, and (c) standards, mellow jazz, and oldies rock (particularly doo wop, Beatles songs, stuff by Billy Joel and similar artists).

That having been said, there are certain categories of classical music/film scores that I'm not particularly fond of. These include non-symphonic film scores with electronic or heavy rock music, movie soundtracks comprised mainly of hip hop songs, and many operas.

Call me a barbarian (I've been called worse), but the only opera I've watched and enjoyed is George Bizet's Carmen. I don't know why, but even though I like a few arias and incidental music from other operas (Aida, The Ring Cycle), I'm not keen on opera.

Now, I've never seen or listened to Giaccomo Puccini's opera Turandot in its entirety. I don't know the libretto, the characters, or its themes. And given my reluctance to embrace opera as a genre to enjoy, it's not likely that I ever will.

However, I love one of Turandot's arias, "Nessun dorma," which in Italian means "None shall sleep." It's one of the most popular tenor arias yet written, and it was often performed by one of the greatest tenors of our times, Luciano Pavarotti.

I heard "Nessun dorma" many times when I used to listen to South Florida's WTMI-FM classical radio station. It was often aired during the afternoon "drive time" between 3 and 6 p.m., which coincided with my busiest writing hours. I liked it enough to stop typing away at my computer and soak it in, even though I did not understand the lyrics and was ignorant of its context within the opera.

Years later, I heard "Nessun dorma" at the tail end of Phil Alden Robinson's adaptation of The Sum of All Fears. (This was the first attempt to reboot the Jack Ryan film series based on Tom Clancy's novels. You know, the one with Ben Affleck.)

I won't spoil The Sum of All Fears for you if you have not seen it; suffice it to say that "none shall sleep" perfectly fits what director Robinson shows us visually.

Bonus song: In addition to Puccini's "Nessun dorma," The Sum of All Fears features a hauntingly beautiful main title song composed by the late, great Jerry Goldsmith. Its lyrics are in Latin (another language I don't speak), and even though it was written in 2002, it sounds like classical music.