Luciano Pavarotti would not have approved of his recording of Giacomo Puccini's aria 'Nessun Dorma', or 'None Shall Sleep', being used by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in his election campaign, the late opera singer's family says.
After the Rolling Stones, Adele and R.E.M and other artists asked Mr Trump to stop using their music, Mr Pavarotti's family in Italy has made the same request about the maestro's work.
"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," a family statement said.
'Nessun Dorma' has frequently been played at Mr Trump's rallies.
Mr Pavarotti's performance became the tenor's signature aria, helping to make him one of the most popular opera singers of all time. Mr Pavarotti died of pancreatic cancer in 2007 at the age of 71.
The lyrics of the aria from Mr 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.
Mr 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.
Reuters
