The
Unknown Prince in the
opera Turandot. The son of the exiled
Timur, King of
Tartary, he sees the cruel
Princess Turandot having another
suitor beheaded in
Beijing, and naturally falls in love with her instantly.
Despite the dissuasions of the Chinese ministers Ping, Pang, and Pong, and his father's faithful slave girl Liù, he strikes the gong indicating he wishes to try his life against Turandot riddles.
Naturally he gets them right, and the princess is furious. He offers to let her off her oath if she can guess his name. In the end of course love triumphs, though I suspect happily ever after is pushing it a bit, as he's a bozo and she's a termagant.
Anyway, his big songs are Non piangere Liù in Act One, the Riddle Scene in Act Two, and Nessun dorma in Act Three.