This is my favorite of all operatic arias; indeed, it may be my favorite piece of vocal classical music, and it’s a good way to end a dreary week. The aria, a short one, is “O mio babbino caro” (“Oh, my dear father”), and comes from Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, first performed in 1918. It is of course very famous (I’m sure you’ve heard it) as it’s beautiful and short —too, short, in my view.
Wikipedia sets the scene:
It is sung by Lauretta after tensions between her father Schicchi and the family of Rinuccio, the boy she loves, have reached a breaking point that threatens to separate her from Rinuccio. It provides an interlude expressing lyrical simplicity and love in contrast with the atmosphere of hypocrisy, jealousy, double-dealing, and feuding in medieval Florence . It provides the only set piece in the through-composed opera.
I’ve listened to it enough times that I can sing along with it in Italian, though of course I wouldn’t want anyone to hear me.
The soprano here is the Norwegian singer Sissel Kyrkjebø (“Sissel” is the Norwegian version of “Cecilia”), who sings both classical and pop music (she sang the wordless music in the movie “Titanic”). My previous favorite version was by Kiri Te Kanawa, but I think this is at least as good. And this performance appears to be informal, though of course it was rehearsed. I like the “S” for Sissel on her tee-shirt.
You can find other renditions of the song by her on YouTube, but I like this one because of the tee-shirt. If you want to hear her handle another lovely song, but a popular one, go listen to her perform the traditional American folk song “Shenandoah,” accompanied by the Chieftains’ late Paddy Moloney on tin whistle. I posted that some time ago.
Here are the lyrics so you can sing along, too. But watch those high notes at the end!
O mio babbino caroMi piace, è bello, belloVo’ andare in Porta RossaA comperar l’anelloSì, sì, ci voglio andareE se l’amassi indarnoAndrei sul Ponte VecchioMa per buttarmi in ArnoMi struggo e mi tormentoO Dio, vorrei morirBabbo, pietà, pietàBabbo, pietà, pietà
Here’s Katica Illényi playing theremin— hey, don’t laugh til you hear it! —in an arrangement of O Mio .. with Győr Philharmonic in Budapest : https://youtu.be/sh4EQFVAE04?si=aiPe3gKvfKOFJJSr
[ life-goal using the “ő” : ACHIEVED ]
That’s a great version! The theremin is over a hundred years old now — such a shame it never took off more, though there have been a few concertos written for it.
Three famous places in Florence in this aria …
Porta Rosa — where you buy wedding rings.
Ponte Vecchio — important bridge.
Arno– river into which she will throw herself if Babbo does not permit her to marry her handsome penniless lover.
Excellent!
Absolutely spectacular. Thank you for leading me to such beauty.
When I want to be reminded of operatic greatness, I often listen to Pavarotti singing Nessun dorma from Turandot. https://youtu.be/cWc7vYjgnTs?si=0N1OvZp0HZ3S5UgB. I can’t watch and hear it enough.
But listen to Sissel first!
Pavarotti’s Nessun Dorma – I have the impression that if he knew he would die immediately after his performance would say “Fire up the orchestra!”
Have you seen Sissel sing Solveig’s Song? A thing of absolute beauty. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMO-E4dSuoE
Another truly wondrous performance to immerse yourself in is Kasey Chambers’ version of Eminem’s Lose Yourself. What she has done to a rap anthem is inspirational to me. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S70xek3x4ro
My own favourite version of Nessun Dorma is Jussi Björling, I much prefer him to Pavaroti. A tremendous singer lost far too young.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bUbA5y1hnFg
I also recommend listening to Björling’s Vesti la giubba https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AS9Dxvl2MwE the beauty of it hurts whenever I watch it. I forgot to include it in my list of favourite arias in my other comment.
Also Boris Christov singing The Song of the Flea, such a great voice. My dad used to sing it in Russian and do all the actions for us kids. I can’t hear the song without thinking of my dad cracking us all up. It was my introduction to political satire before I knew anything about politics. 😁
Lovely. It always reminds me of the movie of “A Room with a View”, where it’s used as the title music. Even more magical though is the use in that film of another Puccini aria, “Chi il bel sogno di Doretta” from La Rondine, in the scene of Lucy and George’s first kiss in a field overlooking Florence. Julian Sands striding through the wheat is one of the unforgettable moments of cinema.
Fabulous. Best use of opera in a movie, hands down!
I had never heard of Sissel before – but now I will never forget it. I went on from your link to listening to an hour’s worth of her singing. She has a marvellous singer and is beautiful to watch as well. Thank you for the introduction.
Yes, along with her perfect voice, I love the gentle expressions of her face.
I never heard of this singer before, but she is excellent. It’s a beautiful version of Shenandoah, which to me is by far the loveliest American folk song. The other version I’ve liked for some time is quite different, by Van Morrison and the Chieftains (with my last name, I have to love ’em) and a big orchestra. It’s on youtube here.. {How do some of you embed a youtube video in your posts?}
Thank you for the link. I agree that Shenandoah is the lovliest of American folk songs, and I too love Van Morrison’s version with the Chieftains (Irish Heartbeat is one of my Desert Island albums.)
There are occasions where music comes on, and my world stops since its something I’d never heard before and yet it pushes all the buttons for me. I have to have it. This was one of them:
I have that cd. GLorious!!
Actually I prefer Sissel’s version over Kiri Te Kanawa’s in part because it seems gentler–and, as someone trained in early music (pre 1750), Sissel doesn’t “slide around” between notes, one thing I never liked about opera singers’ interpretations.
That sliding is called “scooping.” Kiri does scoop slightly headed up to the initial A-flat. I forgive her. She’s #1 for this aria.
Thank you! I listened to more from Sissel.
Love this piece, too, but the rest of the opera is kinda “meh”.
I’ve got a funny story about this aria. Maybe 10 or so years ago, my bf and I were visiting Capitol Reef in Torrey, Utah, for some great hiking. The hotel we usually stayed at, which had a wonderful Irish wolfhound mix with “Dammit” on his collar (as in Dammit, get off the couch), was full, so we had to stay at a chain motel (can’t remember which one). Anyhoo, we were getting poorwi-fi in our room, so I went up to the front desk to use their computer. A bunch of middle-aged bikers were checking in (not Hells Angels) and onecouple said it was their anniversary. The young, maybe 20ish, girl at the front desk said something like “Wait a minute. I’ve got a surprise for you.” She went into the back for a moment, and came back and belted out a not bad version of O Mio Babbino!! The biker couple, and all the other biker couplesin the lobby were gob-smacked andWTF? I had to run back to our room and grab my bf, who’s a fellow opera lover. You could not make this up. Tiny small-town southern Utah motel. The girl said she had been studying opera on-line, I believe. I was sorry that Dammit was not there to howl along.
I saw a live performance of Gianni Schicchi several years ago. At the time I knew nothing about this opera and was amazed at how funny it was – in that production the dead patriarch was on stage the whole time and there was a distinct Weekend at Bernie’s vibe to the whole thing. Then in the middle of all the farcical goings-on you suddenly get this piece of brilliance. Definitely one of the greatest pieces in the operatic repertoire.
Lovely. Thank you for this, Jerry.
I first heard this aria as the opening to the movie “A Room with a View” and was captivated (even though I didn’t understand the lyrics).
I finally got a chance to see “Gianni Schicchi” at the Sydney Opera House two years ago and the aria was the high point, especially now that I understand the lyrics (the rest of that opera is meh).
I have many favourite arias, depending on my mood, including “O mio babbino caro”, “Au fond du temple saint” and “Un bel dì vedremo”, but the use of ‘Vissi d’arte’ in the final scene of the film Maria, about Maria Callas, was so powerful and emotional, even though the film was only worth watching to hear Callas.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NLR3lSrqlww
I lived for art
I lived for art, I lived for love
I never did harm to a living soul
With a furtive hand so many troubles I encountered, I soothed
Always with sincere faith, my prayer rose to the holy tabernacles
Always with sincere faith I gave flowers to the altars
In my hour of sorrow, why, why, Lord, why do you repay me so?
I gave jewels to the Madonna’s mantle and I gave my singing to the stars in heaven which then shined more beautifully
In my hour of sorrow why, why, Lord?
Oh, why do you repay me so?
Miss Kyrkjebø is really outstanding. Thanks. I’ve been listening to some other renditions today. What I really like is her portamento in “amassi indarno” and elision of the two “ee” sounds, like ee-(y)ee, starting @1:06. I just like the way she does it, better than Dame Kiri, if I may be so bold.
I agree, the only drawback with it is that it’s too short. But it was her big chance to win over her father, so she couldn’t make a short story long.