Eileen Gilligan & Alex Raineri – O Mio Babbino Caro

The Story

O Mio Babbino Caro comes from Puccini’s one -act comic opera Gianni Schicchi,set in Florence in 1299. Lauretta is desperately in love with Rinuccio,but their families are opposed to the marriage. In this famous aria she turns to her father,Gianni Schicchi,pleading with him to help the young couple.Her appeal is tender, but also wonderfully dramatic – she tells him that if she cannot marry Rinuccio, she would rather throw herself into the Arno. Her emotional plea finally wins her father over, setting in motion the clever scheme at the heart of the opera.

Behind the beautiful melody,therefore,is a charming mixture of love, persuasion, comedy,and a little theatrical mischief – something that is easy to miss when the aria is heard simply as a stand-alone piece.

Knowing the story helps us with context and empathy in our interpretation. This skill changes tone, colour and expression

The Aria 

This Aria is so beautiful and fantastic to learn from. It has so much to offer. There is a story to tell, the words are expressive and open up space in the mouth for tonal production . They also enable a subtle elasticity in the phrasing and musical expression. I found this to be ideal to bridge the gap between the voice and the flute so they are one. When I achieve this there is a noticeable difference in the tone, expression and resonance. I avoid blowing the flute at all times ,it is a mental approach more than anything that enables the switch.

This aria is not in the Tone Development Through Interpretation but could easily be. So many of the arias in there and very detailed and controlled but there are some that have this lovely elasticity to them. Numbers 2,6,24,33,35,38,39,40,48,69,71 . Many of them don’t lend themselves naturally to space and elasticity they demand a more detailed and exact beauty of expression which is also fabulous.

 Here are the words:

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!

The words you will find open up space in the mouth and a natural openness of the nasal cavity which is terrific for tone and resonance. You still need all the foundation tools and warm ups but this is a great addition for me to my routine.

Listening to the singers and then singing yourself with the words and the flute is an awesome experience and really brings a wonderful result that just keeps on and on when you get the hang of it. I have found my voice has developed rather amazingly through this process as well. I can actually sing the aria without breaking the windows.

“O mio babbino caro” is a soprano aria from the one act opera Gianni Schicchi by Giacomo Puccini to a libretto by Giovacchino Forzano. 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. This is a great opportunity to practice telling a story of her pleading for her father to help her marry the love of her life.

Montserrat Caballé – O mio babbino caro

Montserrat Caballe -Superb space and elasticity.