"O mio babbino caro" ("Oh My Beloved Father") is a soprano aria from the opera Gianni Schicchi (1918), 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. It provides a contrasting interlude expressing lyrical simplicity and single-hearted love in the atmosphere of hypocrisy, jealousy, double-dealing and feuding in medieval Florence of Puccini's only comedy, and it provides the only set-piece in the through-composed opera.
The aria was first performed at the premiere of Gianni Schicci on 14 December 1918 at the Metropolitan Opera in New York by the popular Victorian English soprano Florence Easton. It has been sung subsequently by many sopranos. Dame Joan Hammond won a Gold Record in 1969 for 1 million sold copies of this aria.[1]
The aria is frequently performed in concerts and as an encore in recitals by many popular and crossover singers; it is used in films and several bands cover the aria in their own style.
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The short aria consists of 32 bars and takes between 2½ and 3 minutes to perform; it is written in A-flat major with the time signature of 6/8 and a tempo indication of andantino ingenuo (=120). The vocal range extends from E♭4 to A♭5 with a tessitura of F4 to A♭5. The 5-bar orchestral prelude, in E-flat major and 3/4 time, consists of octave tremolos by the strings; in the opera, these five bars are Gianni Schicchi's words ("Niente!") at the end of his preceding dialogue with Rinuccio. Many recital arrangements start with a presentation of the melodic theme; the remaining accompaniment uses strings and a harp playing broken chords.
| Italian | Literal translation | Singable English |
|---|---|---|
|
O mio babbino caro, |
Oh my dear papa, |
Oh my beloved father, |