Puccini, Nessun dorma
A snazzy style of television “talent” contests gained popularity some years back. Either the audience or a panel of judges I didn’t know would vote thumbs up or down on a steady stream of musical acts trying to achieve instant stardom. I didn’t watch these shows as they unfolded, and I’ll spare you the rant about what’s wrong with the entertainment industry and its detrimental effects on the aspirations of young musicians.
But clips of individual acts do pop up online, so I see an instructive scene unfolding multiple times. First a contestant is ridiculed for his or her lack of visual appeal. That’s important since pop music became primarily a visual medium . . . oh, wait! I said I would spare you the rant. Next the contestant, to the surprise of all, proves he or she can actually sing as the judges sit dumbstruck and teary-eyed.
On more than one such occasion, the music that stuns them is Puccini’s Nessun dorma, from the opera Turandot.
I can only conclude that it has been a very long time since any of them has had a real encounter with beauty. And yes, I’m on the edge of a rant here, but I’ll stick to the positive side. Nessun dorma is by any measure a great aria—perhaps the most popular aria in the opera repertoire—and it is powerful and stunningly beautiful. But it is not unique. It is not stunning as a result of being rare. The repertoire is loaded with works of stunning beauty. For far too many people, however, such works are rarely encountered.
Every now and then, a piece of serious music breaks into the popular realm, often by being featured in a film. General audiences embrace it as something special, and then reserve it for special occasions. Would it not be so much better if they drew a different lesson? Such encounters with beauty need not be rare. They are easy to find, and it would be reasonable to set a goal of having such an experience daily. But artistic creations of beauty are the product of hard work. The people like acclaimed tenor Jonas Kaufmann who bring us beautiful art have made an enormous investment honing their skills. Similarly, the people who get the most out of great art are those who practice taking it in.
