I’m not the least bit surprised that Welsh chap got the attention of the American Idol judges by singing Nessun Dorma. It was the last opera aria written that has broad appeal and staying power. (It dates from 1926.) Too much of opera then wandered off into the deserts of modernism and experimentalism, leaving those of us who love beautiful melodies clinging folornly to our Puccini, Verdi, and Mozart.

And you can’t get much more pop-romantic than this opera. The deal is, that the mysterious stranger–the guy singing the song–will let the icy man-hating princess chop off his head if she can discover his name by dawn. Then, just before dawn, he deliberately TELLS her his name, handing her the victory. The princess runs off to her dad (Emperor of China) and cries out: “I know the stranger’s name! His name is …. love!” Well, you have to be there.

And while on the opera theme: If you want to know why we’re all so nuts about Anna Netrebko, here are several answers, all neatly packaged in one video clip.