Italy. A country filled with passion. And that passion floods their beautiful music. Today I bring you a very popular and very lovely aria, O Mio Babbino Caro, from the opera Gianni Schicchi by the famed composer Giacomo Puccini. The opera takes place in Florence – one of my favorite cities in Italy. This aria is sung by a Lauretta, a young woman who is being kept from her lover. She pleads with her father to let her marry Rinuccio or she will jump off the famed Ponte Vecchio bridge and drown herself in the Arno river. So, nothing melodramatic here. 😉 But it is a beautiful melody that takes place in a charming town and is well worth listening to. I picked out my favorite version of the song, sung by the Norwegian soprano Sissel. As a bonus, it has the English translation in the subtitles. Enjoy!
Have you been to Florence and seen the Ponte Vecchio? What’s your favorite version of this song?
O mio babbino caro,
mi piace, è bello, bello.
Vo’andare in Porta Rossa
a comperar l’anello!
Sì, sì, ci voglio andare!
e se l’amassi indarno,
andrei sul Ponte Vecchio,
ma per buttarmi in Arno!
Mi struggo e mi tormento!
O Dio, vorrei morir!
Babbo, pietà , pietà !
Babbo, pietà , pietà !
