Everyone Shall Sleep

Okay, two things I shouldn't be doing right now because I'm on a deadline...

1) I was watching AMERICA'S GOT TALENT (which I've never seen before but Howard Stern is one of the judges now).

2) I'm writing a blog entry during serious writing hours.

Quick comment...

One of the contestants was this male nurse. A middle-aged chap, Brazilian immigrant. Saved up money for 6 months to travel from Utah to San Francisco with his wife and daughter to audition for AMERICA'S GOT TALENT. They really laid it on thick with the editing to build up his backstory and how much this means. He was going to sing opera. Howard speaks first, admitting that he's never been a fan of opera but that he was looking forward to someone changing his mind about it. The crowd goes silent and the frumpy male nurse with the thick accent begins to sing...

What's he sing...?

"Nessun dorma" from Puccini's TURANDOT.

The crowd goes nuts. The judges eat it up. His wife and daughter are in tears in the wings. He gets moved onward in the competition.

Here's my question: what's he going to follow it up with when he has to perform again?

Why?

Because EVERYONE sings "Nessun dorma".

"Nessun dorma" is the one opera song that everyone is familiar with, even if they don't know the name. It gets used everywhere. It is the opera song for people who don't like opera. It's definitely the only opera song that I'm familiar with. (And I've actually seen the entirety of TURANDOT at the Metropolitan Opera House: IT IS THE ONLY OPERA I'VE EVER SEEN.)

At least Susan Boyle had a wealth of Broadway showtunes to pick from after her big Les Miz cover broke her through. What's foreign-man male nurse going to do for a follow-up?