Nessun Dorma

I was at the opera last night. Selected Puccini arias. Puccini's Greatest Hits, you could say.

The only reason I went was to hear Nessun Dorma, the tenor aria from the third act of Turandot, Puccini's opera about a princess who makes her suitors answer three riddles. If they answer all three correctly, they win her. If they err, they lose their heads. Talk about psycho bitch.

But anyway, back to Nessun Dorma.

The first time I heard the piece was on a hot summer day in Manhattan. I was wearing my outfit of choice: a worn CU shirt, ratty shorts, and old but really expensive driving shoes (I didn't want people to think I was super kawawa). I was lying on the grass, well, on a blanket I'd laid out and was drinking wine from a plastic cup while reading a book. My bicycle was resting against a nearby tree. I remember I was worried about spilling the wine on myself. I was preoccupied by the book I was reading, but was equally (if not more) immersed in the shiraz. A moist leaf was stuck on my leg.

In the summertime, live (and did I mention free?) music plays in the park almost everyday. All you had to do was get a calendar of activities and you could just camp out and listen with a book and a bottle of wine you brought from home. For the larger events they even sold beer. Think about it: beer and Verdi. Now that's a good time.

I don't recall who actually performed that day, but what I do remember was that I was moved by the music. There are some moments in your life that have a tremendous effect on you. Moments you don't expect. They just happen. Nessun Dorma, summer of 2003.

No, I didn't become an opera buff afterwards. I became a hardcore Beniamino Gigli fan for a little while, but that's about it. But the memory of that day in the park. That stayed.

Last night's performance was not remarkable, but it did bring back vivid memories of a summer day a couple of years ago. The warm sunlight, the lightheadedness, the heartbreaking beautiful music.