Saturday, February 09, 2008

Nessun Dorma

"It was Grammy night, 1998. Luciano Pavarotti was scheduled to perform Nessun Dorma at Radio City where he was being honored with a Grammy Award for Lifetime Achievement. Twenty-five minutes before his performance, the maestro was in a state of panic; he knew he could not go on stage; he had been stricken with laryngitis. Aretha Franklin agreed to step in with one stipulation: all the air conditioning must be turned off. True to form, Aretha—a 17-time Grammy Award winner—performed a rendition of Nessun Dorma that was so electrifying it moved Pavarotti to tears and led to one of the greatest ovations I've ever heard. This marked one of the most memorable moments in Grammy history."

Phil Ramon & Danielle Evin, Dog Ears: Grammy Awards 50th Anniversary Edition, The Huffington Post (1/25/08)

[Thanks Matt!]