Puccini was born in Lucca, Italy into a family with a long history of music. After the death of his father when he was only five years old, he was sent to study with his uncle Fortunato Magi, who considered him to be a poor and undisciplined student. Later, he took the position of church organist and choir master, but it was not until he saw a performance of Verdi's Aida that he became inspired to be an opera composer. He and a friend walked an entire 18.5 miles (30 Kilometers) to see the performance in Pisa. In 1880, Puccini travelled to the Conservatory of Music in Milan to begin his career by studying composition with Amilcare Ponchielli.
In 1880, the Messa composed at the age of 21, marked the end of Puccini's apprenticeship as a composer and the culmination of his family's long association with church music in his native Lucca. (Note: This name normally applies only to a "Gloria" mass, setting the opening two prayers of the Catholic Mass, the Kyrie and the Gloria. However, the Messa is a setting of the full Catholic Mass.) The work offers fascinating glimpses of the dramatic power that Puccini was soon to unleash on Milan's stages; the powerful arias for tenor and bass soloists are certainly more operatic in feel than is usually encountered in church music. The orchestration and the overall feeling of drama conveyed by his music establish a dialogue with Verdi's Requiem and perhaps already constitute a prediction of the future operatic career Puccini would embrace for life.
From 1880 to 1883 he studied at the Milan Conservatory under Ponchielli and Antonio Bazzini. In 1882, Puccini entered a competition for a one-act opera. Although he did not win, Le Villi was later staged in 1884 at the Teatro dal Verme; it also caught the attention of Giulio Ricordi, head of G. Ricordi & Co. music publishers, who commissioned a second opera, Edgar (1889).
From 1891 on, Puccini passed more and more of his time at Torre del Lago, in the Tuscan countryside. In this place on the border of the Massaciuccoli lake, where he passed lots of time hunting, he found refuge from the crowded city. Later he built a villa and moved there definitively in 1900. It was to remain his home and workplace until the very last years of his life. He is buried in the villa's chapel.
O mio babbino caro
Giacomo Puccini Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
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,
The song O mio babbino caro (Oh my dear papa) is a soprano aria from Giacomo Puccini's opera, Gianni Schicchi. The opera is set in Florence, Italy, and tells the story of the wealthy Buoso Donati, whose death sparks a family feud over his inheritance. The aria is sung by Lauretta, daughter of the titular character Gianni Schicchi, who is in love with Rinuccio, the son of a rival family. In the aria, Lauretta begs her father to allow her to marry Rinuccio by offering to throw herself into the river if he refuses.
The lyrics are straightforward and simple, but the aria is emotionally charged and powerful due to the soaring melody and the poignant orchestration. The opening lines, "O mio babbino caro, mi piace, è bello, bello," convey Lauretta's love for her father and her desire to convince him to let her marry. The subsequent lines, "Vo'andare in Porta Rossa a comperar l'anello!" express her eagerness to purchase a ring as a symbol of her commitment.
The second stanza is more despairing, as Lauretta pleads with her father to be merciful. When she says, "andrei sul Ponte Vecchio, ma per buttarmi in Arno!" she is not only expressing desperation but also invoking the iconic location where people go to commit suicide. The aria ends with the repeated plea "Babbo, pietà" ("Father, have mercy"), which showcases the depth of Lauretta's emotions and the urgency of her plea.
Line by Line Meaning
O mio babbino caro,
Oh my dear father,
mi piace, è bello, bello.
I like him, he is handsome, handsome.
Vo'andare in Porta Rossa
I want to go to Porta Rossa
a comperar l'anello!
to buy the ring!
Sì, sì, ci voglio andare!
Yes, yes, I want to go there!
e se l'amassi indarno,
And if my love is in vain
andrei sul Ponte Vecchio,
I would go to Ponte Vecchio
ma per buttarmi in Arno!
But to throw myself in the Arno!
Mi struggo e mi tormento!
I am consumed with longing and torment!
O Dio, vorrei morir!
Oh God, I wish to die!
Babbo, pietà, pietà!
Father, have pity on me, have mercy!
Babbo, pietà
Father, have mercy
Contributed by Colin D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.