<Li> Pavarotti Forever (Decca) </Li> <Li> The Essential Plácido Domingo (Deutsche Grammophon) </Li> <P> "Nessun dorma" achieved pop status after Luciano Pavarotti's 1972 recording of it was used as the theme song of BBC television's coverage of the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy . It subsequently reached #2 on the UK Singles Chart . Although Pavarotti rarely sang the role of Calaf on stage, "Nessun dorma" became his signature aria and a sporting anthem in its own right, especially for football . Pavarotti notably sang the aria during the first Three Tenors concert on the eve of the 1990 World Cup final . For an encore, he performed the aria again, taking turns with José Carreras and Plácido Domingo . The album of the concert achieved triple platinum record status in the United States alone and went on to outsell all other classical recordings worldwide . The number became a regular feature of subsequent Three Tenors concerts . </P> <P> Pavarotti gave a rendition of "Nessun dorma" at his final performance, the finale of the Opening Ceremony of the 2006 Torino Winter Olympics, although it was later revealed that he had lip - synched the specially pre-recorded performance (at the time of his Winter Olympics appearance, Pavarotti was physically incapable of performing as he was suffering from pancreatic cancer, to which he succumbed the following year). His Decca recording of the aria was played at his funeral during the flypast by the Italian Air Force . In 2013, the track was certified gold by the Federation of the Italian Music Industry . </P>

Who sang nessun dorma in the sum of all fears