When Paul Potts sang “Nessun Dorma” in his first audition on Britain’s Got Talent in 2007, it captured the world’s attention, but it wasn’t just because he was a working man who had incandescent talent. It was because it was God’s announcement of the Great Awakening. It is not a stretch to say that because it is how He works. God throws signs into the earth when He is about to do something, and if He uses people for that, they seldom know it. Giacomo Puccini didn’t know what he was composing when he wrote the opera Turandot in the early 1920s before his death, and Paul Potts didn’t know his audition would become the clarion call to begin a generational sea change. “Nessun Dorma” means “No one (be) asleep,” and the climax towards the end of the song is a declaration of the victory that will come at dawn. That is the very zeitgeist that has been developing and gaining momentum to replace lies and darkness since the announcement was made. The dual message of the song is: “Wake up!” (because) “Victory is certainly coming with the dawn!” (It seems significant that President Trump had it sung from the White House balcony during a public event.)
It should be noted that the signs God gives are missed by the majority of people. They are for those who have eyes to see them, but they become memes that embed His message even into the consciousness of those who have yet to see. Of course, not all events or mysterious happenings are signs from God, and it is a mistake to chase after them, but if you have sharp spiritual senses and keep your eyes open you will see them when they come. Trump is a prime example of a sign the sleeping missed. His very name was a signal that the trumpets were sounding in heaven, and that God was on the move to undo His enemies on the earth.
So Pavarotti having performed Nessun Dorma for years doesn't figure into it? It is a familiar piece to those of us with a formal music education, and very familiar to Italian football fans as it became kind of their anthem for over a decade. In fact, Pavarotti's last performance of it was at the 2006 winter games in Turin. (which is when it became really known to the common man world wide).
(Sorry, close to my heart. Took my eldest to one of Pavarotti's last concerts during his farewell tour for her tenth birthday. There are simply no words for the feeling of hearing him sing it in person. When a ten year old is reduced to sobs amongst an audience of strangers...it is more than music).
I get it. I've heard many beautiful renditions of that song, but the reason Paul Potts' audition was significant is because of the buzz it created among people who sit at home, waiting for the next new thing to watch on TV. Believe it or not, there are a lot of people who never heard that song before that performance, and it got their attention. I had stopped watching television by that time, and I heard about the performance from a friend of my son's, a young man who wasn't exactly into opera. He was deeply moved, and was telling everyone about it. I stand by my contention. It makes no difference that the song had been sung many times before or that it is familiar to a small formally-educated subset of the general population. Something unique happened in that performance. There was a spiritual component that I do not sense to be present when Pavarotti or Bocelli sing it, regardless of how beautiful their performances are or how much they move me, and I knew the moment I saw it that God was speaking.