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7 July 1990 was the eve of the World Cup final in Rome between West Germany and Argentina.

At the ancient ruined Baths of Caracalla, an orchestra of 198 musicians and three tenors shared a stage. Amidst a programme of operatic and popular tunes, Pl谩cido Domingo, Jos茅 Carreras and Luciano Pavarotti performed Nessun Dorma ("None shall sleep") from Puccini鈥檚 Turandot to an audience of 6,000 people.

1990 was the year when an aria written in 1926 became synonymous with the beautiful game. But it was the 麻豆官网首页入口 that first brought Nessun Dorma to unsuspecting British football fans. Phil Bernie, a young producer, heard Pavarotti singing the aria on Desert Island Discs. Bernie fitted the climactic "Vincero" ("I will win") to iconic goal-scoring footage - Pel茅, Maradonna, Klinsmann and Tardelli - and this became the much-celebrated opening and closing sequence of the 麻豆官网首页入口鈥檚 coverage of Italia 90.

In the UK, Italia 90 was a slow-burning summer drama that rode on the back of violent poll tax riots marking the end of the Thatcher era. And it followed one of football鈥檚 darkest hours: the horrific 1989 Hillsborough disaster. English football in the 1980s was associated with tragedy, ugliness and intimidation. But Italia 90 seemed to mark a turning point.

With Nessun Dorma swirling around spectators' heads, the semi-final between England and West Germany became a theatrical spectacle. It was a prelude to hope and expectation and, as Gazza鈥檚 tears fell, an elegy. When Pearce and Waddle missed their semi-final penalties, it became a requiem as the dream shattered. It was as if all the drama of our national game had returned: the joy, the pain, the glory and the heartbreak.

Did Nessun Dorma turn football fans into opera fanatics? No. But many of the 26m England supporters who had watched the semi-final shoot-out were left wanting more bite-sized opera. Italia 90 may not have been the most memorable World Cup for the quality of the football, but it launched the worldwide phenomenon of The Three Tenors and secured a permanent place for opera in popular culture.

This is one of 100 significant musical moments explored by 麻豆官网首页入口 Radio 3鈥檚 Essential Classics as part of Our Classical Century, a 麻豆官网首页入口 season celebrating a momentous 100 years in music from 1918 to 2018. Visit bbc.co.uk/ourclassicalcentury to watch and listen to all programmes in the season.

This is an excerpt from a recording by The Three Tenors with Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Orchestra delo Teatro dell'Opera and conductor Zubin Mehta.

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