Nessum Dorma

Of course, my parents were great aficcionados of classical music so I probably heard classical music in the womb. We also heard much opera and classical music through the "vents" at night. My father had his "music lair" in the cellar and in the winter we could hear his music faintly through the vents at night. My mother was a fine church soprano and she sang broadway melodies, Christmas songs and folk songs with us and to us. So I liked music but I can't say that in my very early years I really had a passion for classical music. But gradually this passion developed. My parents were good friends with Bill Tabbert the lyrical tenor who orginated the role of Lt. Cabel in South Pacific on Broadway. His signature song was "Younger than Springtime". Tabbert was a great friend of Ezio Pinza and he enjoyed opera and operatic arias though he was not known for this kind of singing. He used to come to parties at my parent's house in Livingston, NJ where he lived with his wife and children Chris and Cappie (who were all friends to us). He was very gracious and would sing with us. One time he began talking classical music and opera with my father. They both were partial to Italian opera and my father asked if Bill knew any arias. He said he did as he had studied them in schoo. He asked my mother to hit a a few chords on the Hamiliton upright and he began to warm up. The song he sang was NESSUM DORMA from the final act of Puccini's opera Turandot. He sang it acapella for us, right in our living room. I was completely spellbound. I think we all were. It has such grace, such lyricism such emotional power, such beauty. It seemed to me I had discovered the very limits of art. It was really a great performance. We have recordings of Mr. Tabbert and we saw him sing with Robert Merrill but it is too bad he never made any recordings of concert classics. Soon after this I began to show more interest in classical music. My parents took me to see Fantasia and I was fascinated by the music especially the tocatta and fugue in D Minor. I began collecting all the Bach I could especially Archiv and Deutche Grammaphon records. They had such wonderful notes and commentaries! Helmut Wacha, E. Power Biggs and Ralph Kirkpatrick were my favorites and I had virtually every record they recorded espeically Bach keyboard works on the organ, clavichord, piano and harpsichord. I still enjoy my LP's to this day and of course I have updated my collection with the new Archiv and DGG CD's. But it all started with Bill Tabbert, the lyrical broadway tenor and Puccini's NESSUM DORMA. Nessun dorma! 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, no, sulla tua bocca lo dirò quando la luce splenderà! Ed il mio bacio scioglierà il silenzio che ti fa mia! (Il nome suo nessun saprà!... e noi dovrem, ahime, morir!) Dilegua, o notte! Tramontate, stelle! Tramontate, stelle! All'alba vincerò! vincerò, vincerò! Nobody shall sleep!... Nobody shall sleep! Even you, o Princess, in your cold room, watch the stars, that tremble with love and with hope. But my secret is hidden within me, my name no one shall know... No!...No!... On your mouth I will tell it when the light shines. And my kiss will dissolve the silence that makes you mine!... (No one will know his name and we must, alas, die.) Vanish, o night! Set, stars! Set, stars! At dawn, I will win! I will win! I will win!

12/12/09 by Auld Munro