Welsh tenor stuns stag-do party with extraordinary performance of ‘Nessun dorma’

23 June 2025, 13:13 | Updated: 23 June 2025, 16:43

A surprise Puccini performance took place in an Estonian pub last month.

‘Nessun dorma’ is one of the most well known operatic tunes. From the final act of Puccini’s Turandot to Pavarotti’s performance at the 1990 FIFA World Cup, it has been heard by audiences around the world.

Last month, the aria found a new stage in a pub in Tallinn, Estonia.

A video of Welsh tenor Timothy Richards has gone viral after he performed ‘Nessun dorma’ to a packed crowd of Brits in the Satumaa Karaoke Bar in Tallinn.

Man belts out perfect ‘Nessun dorma’ at Estonian karaoke bar

In the video, people around him wave their arms in the air and join in as he reaches the climax of the piece, and cheer when it ends and he – seemingly – runs away.

Read more: Freddie De Tommaso breaks down what exactly makes ‘Nessun dorma’ the greatest aria of all

The video was uploaded by Sam Stride, who was on his stag do in the city. He said the moment was completely unexpected, telling the MailOnline: “I’ve seen Fulham get promoted and a lot of other big things. But this was better than all of that together.”

Richards also could not believe how popular the video had been, saying that, in the moment he just “went with it”, left the building straight away and forgot about it.

He told MailOnline: “I only heard about the video from children who use TikTok. I was ecstatic and flabbergasted to see the response and I am still pinching myself.”

Timothy Richards, the singer in the video, is a Welsh lyric/spinto tenor based in Lower Saxony in Germany. He studied at the Royal Northern College of Music and as a student won the Towyn Roberts Scholarship at the Royal National Eisteddfod, one of Wales’ most prestigious singing competitions.

In May, Timothy made his debut singing the title role of Lohengrin by Wagner at the Estonia National Opera. You can find him on Instagram here.