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.
Gianni Schicchi: O mio babbino caro
Giacomo Puccini Lyrics
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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!
O Dio, vorrei morir!
Babbo, pietà, pietà!
Babbo, pietà, pietà
Giacomo Puccini's song Gianni Schicchi: O Mio Babbino Caro is a heartfelt aria sung by the character Lauretta, the daughter of the titular character Gianni Schicchi. The song expresses Lauretta's desire to marry her beloved Rinuccio, and her despair over the possibility that her father may not approve of the match.
The first verse begins with the tender words "O mio babbino caro" which translates to "Oh my dear daddy". Lauretta expresses her love for her father, before stating that she wants to go to the Porta Rossa to buy a ring. She is determined to marry Rinuccio, even if her love is in vain. If her father would not allow the match, Lauretta declares that she would throw herself into the Arno River from the Ponte Vecchio. The final lines express her distress and her plea for her father's mercy.
Overall, the song is a poignant expression of a young woman's love and her desperation to be with the man she loves. The music itself is full of lush, romantic flourishes that enhance the emotional impact of the lyrics.
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 goes unrequited,
Andrei sul Ponte Vecchio,
I would go to Ponte Vecchio,
Ma per buttarmi in Arno!
But to throw myself into the Arno!
Mi struggo e mi tormento!
I am writhing in agony and torment!
O Dio, vorrei morir!
Oh God, I wish to die!
Babbo, pietà, pietà!
Father, have pity, have pity!
Babbo, pietà, pietà
Father, have pity, have pity
Writer(s): Giacomo Puccini, Helen M. Marrs
Contributed by Cooper O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.