[Sweeping strings. A single, dramatic piano chord. Signor Sammartino's voice — rich, powerful, slightly unhinged:]
"Ladies and gentlemen. Signore e signori. Welcome to the opera. The only opera where the tenor is real. The only opera where the blade is not a prop. The only opera where the voices in your head are invited to sing along."
[The orchestra swells. The tenor takes a breath.]
"This is 'Nessun Dorma.' No one sleeps. No one rests. No one leaves. The blade is warm. The blade is waiting. Let us begin."
---
[ARIA — SUNG, OPERATIC, BUILDING]
Nessun dorma! Nessun dorma!
No one sleeps when the blade is warm!
No one rests when the voices swarm!
The night is long. The night is deep.
The blade is the promise I keep.
Nessun dorma! Nessun dorma!
The faces on the shelf will squirm!
The bodies in the pit will turn!
But I will stand. I will swing.
I will make the bodies sing.
---
[CHORUS — CHORUS OF VOICES, SOPRANO, EERIE]
Sleep, sleep, sleep, little one.
The blade is sharp. The blade is fun.
The night is long. The night is cold.
The blade is the only thing we hold.
---
[VERSE 2 — SUNG, BUILDING]
Nessun dorma! I will not sleep!
The voices are mine. The voices I keep.
They sing to me. They sing for me.
They are the only harmony.
The blade is warm. The blade is red.
The blade is the thing inside my head.
It sings the song. It knows the tune.
It is the blade. It is the moon.
---
[BRIDGE — SPOKEN OVER SOFT STRINGS]
[Signor Sammartino's voice, quieter, almost tender:]
"You ever feel the blade sing? Ever hear the note it makes when it meets the skin? That's not violence. That's music. That's the opera they don't write about. The one they're too afraid to sing."
[The orchestra swells. The tenor rises.]
---
[FINAL ARIA — SUNG, FULL ORCHESTRA, TRIUMPHANT, TERRIFYING]
Nessun dorma! Nessun dorma!
No one sleeps! No one rests!
The blade is warm! The blade is blessed!
I will win! I will swing!
I will make the bodies sing!
Nessun dorma! The night is done!
The blade is sharp! The blade has won!
The voices sing! The voices cheer!
The blade is the only thing I hear!
Nessun dorma! The final note!
The blade is in my hand. The blade is in my throat.
I sing for you. I sing for me.
Nessun dorma! The blade is free!
---
[OUTRO]
[The orchestra fades to a single, sustained string note. Signor Sammartino's voice, warm, satisfied, eternal:]
"That was 'Nessun Dorma.' No one sleeps. No one rests. No one leaves. The blade is warm. The blade is waiting."
[A pause. A soft laugh.]
"The voices are singing now. Can you hear them? They're singing the aria. They're singing the blade. They're singing the only thing that ever made sense."
[The string note fades. Silence. Then, a whisper:]
"Nessun dorma. No one sleeps. Not even the dead. Especially not the dead."
[Silence.]
AsheTheHyena
