Pavarotti’s family tells Trump to stop using beloved aria

ROME (Reuters) – Luciano Pavarotti’s family says the late opera singer would not have approved of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s use of his recording of Giacomo Puccini’s aria “Nessun Dorma”, or “None Shall Sleep”, in his election campaign.

After the Rolling Stones, Adele and R.E.M and other artists asked Trump to stop using their music, Pavarotti’s family in Italy made the same request about the maestro’s work, according to a statement.

“As members of his immediate family, we would like to recall that the values of brotherhood and solidarity which Luciano Pavarotti expressed throughout the course of his artistic career are entirely incompatible with the world view offered by the candidate Donald Trump,” the statement said.

“Nessun Dorma” has frequently been played at Trump rallies.

Pavarotti’s performance became the tenor’s signature aria, helping to make him one of the most popular opera singers of all time. Pavarotti died of pancreatic cancer in 2007 at the age of 71.

The lyrics of the aria from Puccini’s Turandot are supposed to be the words of the “unknown prince” in the opera who falls in love with Princess Turandot and aims to win her hand in marriage.

Pavarotti’s performance climaxes as he repeats the Italian word “Vincero”, or “I will win”, three times in a powerful crescendo as the unknown prince expresses his certainty that he will marry the princess.

(Reporting by Steve Scherer; Editing by Angus MacSwan)