Beniamino Gigli (March 20, 1890 - November 30, 1957) was an Italian singer,… Read Full Bio ↴Beniamino Gigli (March 20, 1890 - November 30, 1957) was an Italian singer, widely regarded as one of the greatest operatic tenors of his time.
Gigli was born in Recanati, in the Marche, the son of a shoe-maker and an opera buff.
In 1914, Gigli won first prize in an international singing competition in Parma. His operatic debut came on October 15, 1914 when he played Enzo in Amilcare Ponchielli's La Gioconda in Rovigo, following which he was in great demand. Gigli made many important debuts, in quick succession and always in Mefistofele: Teatro Massimo di Palermo (March 31, 1915), Teatro San Carlo di Napoli (December 26, 1915), Teatro Costanzi di Roma (December 26, 1916), La Scala (November 19, 1918), and finally the Metropolitan (November 26, 1920).
Other roles Gigli became particularly associated with included Rodolfo in Giacomo Puccini's La Bohème and the title role in Umberto Giordano's Andrea Chénier, both of which he would later record in full.
Gigli rose to prominence after the death of Italian tenor Enrico Caruso in 1921. He was often called "Caruso Secondo", though he much preferred to be known as "Gigli Primo."
Gigli left the Met in 1932, ostensibly after refusing to take a pay cut. Giulio Gatti-Casazza, the Met's General Manager at the time, was furious at his company's most popular singer; he spread numerous lies to the press, e.g., that Gigli was the only singer not to accept the pay cut. There were several others, e.g., Lily Pons and Rosa Ponselle. And it is well-documented that Gatti-Casazza gave himself a large pay increase in 1931, so that after the pay cut in '32 his salary remained the same as it had been. Furthermore, Gatti was careful to hide Gigli's counteroffer to the press, in which the singer offered to sing five or six concerts gratis, which in dollars was worth more than Gatti's imposed pay cut.
After leaving the Met, Gigli returned again to Italy, and sang in houses there, elsewhere in Europe and in South America. He was criticized for being a favorite singer of Benito Mussolini, and toward the end of World War II was able to give few performances. However he immediately returned to the stage in 1945, and the audience acclaim was greater and more clamorous than ever.
In the last few years of his life, Gigli gave concert performances more often than he appeared on stage. Before his retirement in 1955, Gigli undertook an exhausting world tour of Farewell Concerts. This impaired his health in the two years that remained to him, during which time he helped prepare his Memoirs (based primarily on an earlier Memoir, fleshed out by a series of interviews). Gigli died in Rome in 1957.
Like many artists, Gigli was a man of contradictions. On the one hand, he gave more fundraising concerts and raised more money than any other singer in history -- one thousand benefit concerts! He was deeply and genuinely devoted to Padre Pio, his confessor, to whom he donated a huge amount of money. Also, Gigli sang an unusual amount of sacred music (especially in the 1950s), atypical of a leading operatic tenor. Additionally, he was throughout his life deeply devoted to the sacred music of Don Lorenzo Perosi.
On the other hand, Gigli's relationships with women were all tainted by scandal. He lied in his memoirs, saying that he was married six months earlier than he really was. This was to conceal that his wife Costanza was pregnant before reaching the altar. Gigli had two children with Costanza, Enzo and Rina. (The latter was a famous soprano in her own right.) Later, Gigli is well-known to have had a second family with Lucia Vigarani, producing three children. Gigli is rumored to have had at least three other children with as many different women. Like Caruso, Schipa, Björling, Tagliavini, and other of history's greatest tenors, Gigli's exact number of offspring will probably never be known.
There is little disagreement that Beniamino Gigli possessed the most beautiful lyric tenor voice of his time. It was also a large voice, which—with Gigli's extraordinary technique and vocal understanding—permitted Gigli to make frequent forays into repertoire normally reserved for spinto and dramatic tenors. Andrea Chénier was Gigli's favorite role. Another role in which he was unsurpassed was that of Des Grieux in Manon Lescaut. Both of these roles are supposedly for "heavier" voices, not lyric tenors.
Gigli's heart, which he infused into every phrase he sang, made him a natural in the realm of popular song. Whereas Caruso sang every song like it was his last, Gigli made each song or aria sound like he could sing twenty more with equal ease. And he sometimes did: Gigli's stamina was such that, after an opera, a piano would be wheeled onto the stage, and Gigli would sing an improvised concert of 10, 20, sometimes 30 encores. Virtually all of these post-opera concerts were fundraisers for which Gigli did not receive a penny. Gigli sang like this for 41 years without interruption. It is likely that neither Gigli's vocal longevity nor durability will ever be surpassed.
His remarkable singing can still be appreciated in the numerous recordings he made, both acoustical and electrical, primarily for RCA Victor (formerly known as the Victor Talking Machine Company). RCA even recorded Gigli's final performance in Carnegie Hall in 1955.
Gigli was born in Recanati, in the Marche, the son of a shoe-maker and an opera buff.
In 1914, Gigli won first prize in an international singing competition in Parma. His operatic debut came on October 15, 1914 when he played Enzo in Amilcare Ponchielli's La Gioconda in Rovigo, following which he was in great demand. Gigli made many important debuts, in quick succession and always in Mefistofele: Teatro Massimo di Palermo (March 31, 1915), Teatro San Carlo di Napoli (December 26, 1915), Teatro Costanzi di Roma (December 26, 1916), La Scala (November 19, 1918), and finally the Metropolitan (November 26, 1920).
Other roles Gigli became particularly associated with included Rodolfo in Giacomo Puccini's La Bohème and the title role in Umberto Giordano's Andrea Chénier, both of which he would later record in full.
Gigli rose to prominence after the death of Italian tenor Enrico Caruso in 1921. He was often called "Caruso Secondo", though he much preferred to be known as "Gigli Primo."
Gigli left the Met in 1932, ostensibly after refusing to take a pay cut. Giulio Gatti-Casazza, the Met's General Manager at the time, was furious at his company's most popular singer; he spread numerous lies to the press, e.g., that Gigli was the only singer not to accept the pay cut. There were several others, e.g., Lily Pons and Rosa Ponselle. And it is well-documented that Gatti-Casazza gave himself a large pay increase in 1931, so that after the pay cut in '32 his salary remained the same as it had been. Furthermore, Gatti was careful to hide Gigli's counteroffer to the press, in which the singer offered to sing five or six concerts gratis, which in dollars was worth more than Gatti's imposed pay cut.
After leaving the Met, Gigli returned again to Italy, and sang in houses there, elsewhere in Europe and in South America. He was criticized for being a favorite singer of Benito Mussolini, and toward the end of World War II was able to give few performances. However he immediately returned to the stage in 1945, and the audience acclaim was greater and more clamorous than ever.
In the last few years of his life, Gigli gave concert performances more often than he appeared on stage. Before his retirement in 1955, Gigli undertook an exhausting world tour of Farewell Concerts. This impaired his health in the two years that remained to him, during which time he helped prepare his Memoirs (based primarily on an earlier Memoir, fleshed out by a series of interviews). Gigli died in Rome in 1957.
Like many artists, Gigli was a man of contradictions. On the one hand, he gave more fundraising concerts and raised more money than any other singer in history -- one thousand benefit concerts! He was deeply and genuinely devoted to Padre Pio, his confessor, to whom he donated a huge amount of money. Also, Gigli sang an unusual amount of sacred music (especially in the 1950s), atypical of a leading operatic tenor. Additionally, he was throughout his life deeply devoted to the sacred music of Don Lorenzo Perosi.
On the other hand, Gigli's relationships with women were all tainted by scandal. He lied in his memoirs, saying that he was married six months earlier than he really was. This was to conceal that his wife Costanza was pregnant before reaching the altar. Gigli had two children with Costanza, Enzo and Rina. (The latter was a famous soprano in her own right.) Later, Gigli is well-known to have had a second family with Lucia Vigarani, producing three children. Gigli is rumored to have had at least three other children with as many different women. Like Caruso, Schipa, Björling, Tagliavini, and other of history's greatest tenors, Gigli's exact number of offspring will probably never be known.
There is little disagreement that Beniamino Gigli possessed the most beautiful lyric tenor voice of his time. It was also a large voice, which—with Gigli's extraordinary technique and vocal understanding—permitted Gigli to make frequent forays into repertoire normally reserved for spinto and dramatic tenors. Andrea Chénier was Gigli's favorite role. Another role in which he was unsurpassed was that of Des Grieux in Manon Lescaut. Both of these roles are supposedly for "heavier" voices, not lyric tenors.
Gigli's heart, which he infused into every phrase he sang, made him a natural in the realm of popular song. Whereas Caruso sang every song like it was his last, Gigli made each song or aria sound like he could sing twenty more with equal ease. And he sometimes did: Gigli's stamina was such that, after an opera, a piano would be wheeled onto the stage, and Gigli would sing an improvised concert of 10, 20, sometimes 30 encores. Virtually all of these post-opera concerts were fundraisers for which Gigli did not receive a penny. Gigli sang like this for 41 years without interruption. It is likely that neither Gigli's vocal longevity nor durability will ever be surpassed.
His remarkable singing can still be appreciated in the numerous recordings he made, both acoustical and electrical, primarily for RCA Victor (formerly known as the Victor Talking Machine Company). RCA even recorded Gigli's final performance in Carnegie Hall in 1955.
Se vuoi goder la vita
Beniamino Gigli Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Una casetta in campagna,
un orticello, una vigna.
Qui chi vi nasce vi regna
non cerca e non sogna la grande cittá.
Un dolce suon di zampogna
che tanto batte nel cuore.
Se Vuoi Goder La Vita
vieni quaggiú in campagna,
é tutta un
un orticello, una vigna.
Qui chi vi nasce vi regna
non cerca e non sogna la grande cittá.
Un dolce suon di zampogna
che tanto batte nel cuore.
Se Vuoi Goder La Vita
vieni quaggiú in campagna,
invito ad amar.
The lyrics of Beniamino Gigli's song Se Vuoi Goder La Vita describe an idyllic life in the countryside. The singer invites the listener to come and enjoy life in this tranquil setting, away from the big city. The imagery of a small house, a garden, and a vineyard paints a picture of a simple but fulfilling existence. The sound of a zampogna, a traditional Italian bagpipe, evokes a sense of joy and celebration. The overall message of the song is that one can find happiness in the simple pleasures of life, surrounded by nature and loved ones.
Line by Line Meaning
Una casetta in campagna,
A small house nestled in the countryside,
un orticello, una vigna.
a little garden, a vineyard full of life.
Qui chi vi nasce vi regna
Here, those born are masters of their domain,
non cerca e non sogna la grande cittá.
they do not seek nor dream of the bustling city.
Un dolce suon di zampogna
An enchanting sound of the bagpipes,
che tanto batte nel cuore.
which resonates deeply within the soul.
Se Vuoi Goder La Vita
If you wish to truly enjoy life,
vieni quaggiú in campagna,
come down here to the countryside,
é tutta un
it is all about a
Writer(s): Bixio Cherubini, Cesare Andrea Bixio
Contributed by Skyler M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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Antonio Pedro Lisboa
Una casetta in campagna,
un orticello, una vigna.
Qui chi vi nasce vi regna
non cerca e non sogna la grande cittá.
Un dolce suon di zampogna
che tanto batte nel cuore.
Se vuoi goder la vita
vieni quaggiú in campagna,
é tutta un'altra cosa
vedi il mondo color di rosa,
quest'aria deliziosa
non é l'aria della cittá.
Svegliati con il gallo,
specchiati nel ruscello,
bacia la tua compagna
che t'accompagna col somarello.
Ogni figliolo è un fiore nato sulla colina,
baciane una dozzina. Oh! Che felicitá.
Se vuoi goder la vita
torna al tuo paesello
ch'é assai piú bello della cittá.
Fasci lucenti di grano
sembra ogni falce un baleno,
tutto un sapore nostrano,
profumo di fieno di grappoli e fior.
E la sorgente pian piano
mormora un canto d'amore.
Se vuoi goder la vita
vieni quaggiú in campagna,
é tutta un'altra cosa
vedi il mondo color di rosa,
quest'aria deliziosa
non é l'aria della cittá.
Svegliati con il gallo,
specchiati nel ruscello,
bacia la tua compagna
che t'accompagna col somarello,
ogni figliolo è un fiore, nato sulla colina,
baciane una dozzina. Oh! Che felicitá.
Se vuoi goder la vita
torna al tuo paesello
ch'é assai piú bello della cittá
Mirco Barbaccia
questa canzone la canticchiava sempre mia nonna,mi trasmetteva allegria e leggerezza, gigli era del mio paese,era persona nota e stimata e capitava spesso sentirlo cantare anche al mare.
E grazie a lei che ho imparato ad apprezzarlo!
Mariastella Mirabelli
perche non c*e in karaokche
Antonio Pedro Lisboa
Una casetta in campagna,
un orticello, una vigna.
Qui chi vi nasce vi regna
non cerca e non sogna la grande cittá.
Un dolce suon di zampogna
che tanto batte nel cuore.
Se vuoi goder la vita
vieni quaggiú in campagna,
é tutta un'altra cosa
vedi il mondo color di rosa,
quest'aria deliziosa
non é l'aria della cittá.
Svegliati con il gallo,
specchiati nel ruscello,
bacia la tua compagna
che t'accompagna col somarello.
Ogni figliolo è un fiore nato sulla colina,
baciane una dozzina. Oh! Che felicitá.
Se vuoi goder la vita
torna al tuo paesello
ch'é assai piú bello della cittá.
Fasci lucenti di grano
sembra ogni falce un baleno,
tutto un sapore nostrano,
profumo di fieno di grappoli e fior.
E la sorgente pian piano
mormora un canto d'amore.
Se vuoi goder la vita
vieni quaggiú in campagna,
é tutta un'altra cosa
vedi il mondo color di rosa,
quest'aria deliziosa
non é l'aria della cittá.
Svegliati con il gallo,
specchiati nel ruscello,
bacia la tua compagna
che t'accompagna col somarello,
ogni figliolo è un fiore, nato sulla colina,
baciane una dozzina. Oh! Che felicitá.
Se vuoi goder la vita
torna al tuo paesello
ch'é assai piú bello della cittá
mario taetti
Gigli, uno dei migliori.
Vincenzo Galante
Non vi sono parole per esprimere ciò che canzoni come queste possono trasmettere
cacho ferraro
la alegria de nuestra descendencia nos muestra esta bella cancion, una delicia
Cayson Fletcher
I guess it is quite randomly asking but do anybody know a good place to stream new tv shows online?
Bruna Morari
che meraviglia di voce e la musica nella sua semplicità è meravigliosa
Claudio Costa
linda melodia
Adriano Leuzzi
Questa canzone la cantavamo in qualche occasione, forse all'oratorio o chissà dove. Ero piccolissimo, il ritmo mi dava grande allegria. Ora scopro che il contenuto ecologico è diventato attuale. Forse allora era un pretesto per rendere meno problematica la vita nelle campagne.