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.
Ti Voglio Tanto Bene
Beniamino Gigli Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Dimmi, che non mi sai ingannare il sogno mio d'amore per sempre sei tu Cara,
ti voglio tanto bene non ho nessuno al mondo più cara di te.
T'amo, sei tu il mio grande amore la vita del mio cuore sei solo tu.
Cara, ti voglio tanto bene non ho nessuno al mondo più cara di te.
T'amo, sei tu il mio grande amore la vita del mio cuore sei solo tu.
Cara, ti voglio tanto bene.
The lyrics to Beniamino Gigli's song Ti voglio tanto bene express a powerful and unwavering love that the singer feels towards a woman who he cherishes more than anyone else in the world. The first stanza suggests that he wants reassurance from her that her love is as strong as his own and that she would never deceive him. The metaphor of the "golden sun" not dying represents the eternal nature of their love.
In the second stanza, Gigli declares his love for the woman, calling her his "great love" and the life of his heart. He repeats the line "Cara, ti voglio tanto bene" which translates to "My dear, I love you so much" to emphasize the depth of his feelings for her. The repetition of this phrase acts as a chorus, reinforcing the theme of a love that knows no bounds.
Overall, the song is a romantic ode to a special person who holds a unique place in the singer's heart. It speaks of a love that is pure and enduring, and asks for nothing in return except for the assurance that this love is reciprocated. The emotions conveyed through the melody and lyrics are timeless and continue to resonate with listeners, making it a classic love song.
Line by Line Meaning
Dimmi, che l'amore tuo non muore è come il sole d'oro non muore mai più
Please tell me that your love never dies, just like the golden sun that never sets.
Dimmi, che non mi sai ingannare il sogno mio d'amore per sempre sei tu
Tell me, you’re not deceiving me and that you’re forever my dream come true.
Cara, ti voglio tanto bene non ho nessuno al mondo più cara di te.
My dearest, I love you so much and there’s no one else in this world more precious than you.
T'amo, sei tu il mio grande amore la vita del mio cuore sei solo tu.
I love you, you’re my great love, the one who gives life to my heart.
Cara, ti voglio tanto bene non ho nessuno al mondo più cara di te.
My dearest, I love you so much and there’s no one else in this world more precious than you.
T'amo, sei tu il mio grande amore la vita del mio cuore sei solo tu.
I love you, you’re my great love, the one who gives life to my heart.
Cara, ti voglio tanto bene.
My dearest, I love you so much.
Writer(s): Ernesto de Curtis, Domenico Furno
Contributed by Jacob C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@dannieLeaf
Non una stella brilla in mezzo al cielo
La stella mia sei tu sul mio cammino
Tu m'accompagni e segui il mio destino
Tu sei la vita e la felicità
Dimmi
Che l'amor tuo non muore
È come il sole doro
Che non muore mai più
Dimmi
Che non sai ingannare il cuore
Che il sogno mio d'amore
Per sempre sei tu
Cara
Ti voglio tanto bene
Non ho nessuno al mondo
Più cara di te
T'amo
Il sogno mio d'amore
La vita del mio cuore
Sei solo tu
Cara,
Ti voglio tanto bene
Non ho nessuno al mondo
Più cara di te
T'amo
Il sogno mio d'amore
La vita del mio cuore
Sei solo tu!
@ohornospaz
Dimmi che l'amor tuo non muore
È come un sole d'oro
Non muore mai più
Dimmi che non mi sai ingannare
Il sogno mio d'amore
Per sempre sei tu
Cara, ti voglio tanto bene
Non ho nessuno al mondo
Più cara di te
T'amo, sei tu il mio grande amore
La vita del mio cuore
Sei solo tu
Cara, ti voglio tanto bene
Non ho nessuno al mondo
Più cara di te
T'amo, sei tu il mio grande amore
La vita del mio cuore
Sei solo te
@giusypollina7915
Una voce che si sviluppa dolcemente senza mai alcuno sforzo apparente ,essendo naturale cantare anziché parlare ! Ricordiamo questo grande cantante e le canzoni di un tempo .
@hrbooksmusic7878
Incredibly soulful lyrics and one of the most beautiful (and best!) voices EVER ... I guess I‘m close to heaven right now... ⭐️💖 💖⭐️
Thank you for sharing this gem! 💎💎💎
@GiovdeMartino
I AM IN HEAVEN, NOT CLOSE
@hrbooksmusic7878
@@GiovdeMartino
Sounds heavenly!!! ✨✨✨
@evandrovilasboascardoso5757
Gigli, Il Tenore Del cuore!!! É Bravíssimo per sempre!!!
@hashatz
Gigli was and remains a phenomenon.
@GiovdeMartino
THE GREATEST EVER.
@rikirojastucuman
maravilloso Beniamino!!!!!!
@ramongutierrez7830
pasara un largo rato antes que aparesca una voz como esta espectacular gracias gigli maravillosa
@penhaemerick7040
Exato!