Alagna was born outside of the city of Paris in 1963 to a family of Sicilian (Italian) immigrants . As a teenager, the young Alagna began busking and singing pop in Parisian cabarets for tips. Influenced primarily by the films of Mario Lanza, but also from recordings of many historic tenors, he then switched to opera, but remained largely self-taught.
After winning the Luciano Pavarotti Voice Competition, Alagna made his professional debut in 1988 as Alfredo Germont in La Traviata with the Glyndebourne touring company. This led to many engagements throughout the smaller cities in France and Italy, mainly again as Alfredo, a role he would eventually sing over 150 times. His reputation grew and he was soon invited to sing at major theaters such as La Scala in 1990, Covent Garden in 1992 and the Metropolitan Opera as Rodolfo in 1996. His performances of Roméo in Roméo et Juliette by Charles Gounod at Covent Garden in 1994 (opposite Leontina Vaduva) catapulted him to international stardom.
Alagna opened the 2006/07 season at La Scala on 7 December 2006 in the new production of Aïda by Franco Zeffirelli. During the second performance on 10 December, Alagna, whose opening performance was considered ill-at-ease, was booed and whistled from the loggione (the least expensive seats at the very back of La Scala), and he walked off the stage. The tenor's reaction to his public criticism was denounced as immature and unprofessional by La Scala management and Zeffirelli, who said, “A professional should never behave in this way. Alagna is too sensitive, it is too easy to hurt his feelings. He does not know how to act like a true star.” The role of Radames was taken over successfully for the rest of the performance by his understudy Antonello Palombi, who entered on stage wearing jeans and a black shirt. In 2007 while at the Metropolitan Opera singing the role of Pinkerton in Madame Butterfly, Alagna replaced the indisposed Rolando Villazon as Romeo in Roméo et Juliette opposite Anna Netrebko for two performances in September and two performances in December. His wife had flown to New York to be with him for the September engagements, and as a result was fired from the Lyric Opera of Chicago for missing her rehearsal dates for La Bohème. Alagna was also engaged by the Metropolitan Opera at the last minute to cover for the indisposed Marco Berti in a 16 October 2007 performance of Aida. After the performance, the audience gave him a standing ovation. The December 15 performance of Roméo et Juliette starring Alagna and Netrebko was broadcast by the Met into 447 theaters worldwide in high definition and seen by about 97,000 people.
Cielito Lindo
Roberto Alagna Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Cielito lindo, vienen bajando
Un par de ojitos negros,
Cielito lindo, de contrabando
¡Ay, ay, ay, ay!
Canta y no llores,
Porque cantando se alegran,
Ese lunar que tienes,
Cielito lindo, junto a la boca,
No se lo des a nadie,
Cielito lindo, que a mí me toca
¡Ay, ay, ay, ay!
Canta y no llores,
Porque cantando se alegran,
Cielito lindo, los corazones
The song Cielito Lindo, which means "pretty little sky" or "lovely little heaven", is a traditional Mexican folk song that has become an iconic tune of Mexican culture that celebrates love, beauty, and the Mexican identity. The first verse of the song, "De la sierra morena, Cielito lindo, vienen bajando, Un par de ojitos negros, Cielito lindo, de contrabando," tells a story of two lovers who are descending from the Sierra Morena (a mountainous region in southern Spain), where they crossed the border "illegally" to be together. The "par de ojitos negros" (pair of black eyes) symbolizes the beauty and seductiveness of the woman who sneaked into the country.
The chorus of the song, "¡Ay, ay, ay, ay! Canta y no llores, Porque cantando se alegran, Cielito lindo, los corazones," encourages people to sing and not to cry, as singing can make the hearts happy. The lyrics suggest that even in difficult situations, joy can be found in music and singing. The second verse, "Ese lunar que tienes, Cielito lindo, junto a la boca, No se lo des a nadie, Cielito lindo, que a mí me toca," praises the beauty of the woman's face and beauty mark near her mouth, which the man says belongs to him and should not be given away to anyone else.
Overall, Cielito Lindo is a beautiful love song that expresses the passion and charm of Mexican culture, as well as the power of music to lift spirits in difficult times.
Line by Line Meaning
De la sierra morena,
From the dark mountain range,
Cielito lindo, vienen bajando
My darling is coming down,
Un par de ojitos negros,
A pair of dark eyes,
Cielito lindo, de contrabando
Smuggling love in their guise.
¡Ay, ay, ay, ay!
Ay, ay, ay, ay!
Canta y no llores,
Sing and don't cry,
Porque cantando se alegran,
For singing brings joy,
Cielito lindo, los corazones
To sweethearts and boys.
Ese lunar que tienes,
That beautiful mole,
Cielito lindo, junto a la boca,
Above your lips I extol,
No se lo des a nadie,
Give it to no one else,
Cielito lindo, que a mí me toca
It's mine alone, I can tell.
Writer(s): Quirino Fidel Mendoza Cortes
Contributed by Lucas V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Jacob Merrill
De la Sierra Morena,
Cielito lindo, vienen bajando,
Un par de ojitos negros,
Cielito lindo, de contrabando.
De la Sierra Morena,
Cielito lindo, vienen bajando,
Un par de ojitos negros,
Cielito lindo, de contrabando.
Ay, ay, ay, ay
Canta y no llores
Porque cantando se alegran
Cielito lindo, los corazones
Ay, ay, ay, ay
Canta y no llores
Porque cantando se alegran
Cielito lindo, los corazones
Ese lunar que tienes,
Cielito lindo, junto a la boca,
No se lo des a nadie,
Cielito lindo, que a mí me toca.
Ese lunar que tienes,
Cielito lindo, junto a la boca,
No se lo des a nadie,
Cielito lindo, que a mí me toca.
Ay, ay, ay, ay
Canta y no llores
Porque cantando se alegran
Cielito lindo, los corazones
Ay, ay, ay, ay
Canta y no llores
Porque cantando se alegran
Cielito lindo, los corazones
Ay, ay, ay, ay
Canta y no llores
Porque cantando se alegran
Cielito lindo, los corazones
Erik Fantome
Море позитива! Боже благослови Роберто Аланью!
Толик Хаматов
Спасибо. Пожалуй это одно из лучших исполнений этого народного мексиканского шедевра.
Jacob Merrill
De la Sierra Morena,
Cielito lindo, vienen bajando,
Un par de ojitos negros,
Cielito lindo, de contrabando.
De la Sierra Morena,
Cielito lindo, vienen bajando,
Un par de ojitos negros,
Cielito lindo, de contrabando.
Ay, ay, ay, ay
Canta y no llores
Porque cantando se alegran
Cielito lindo, los corazones
Ay, ay, ay, ay
Canta y no llores
Porque cantando se alegran
Cielito lindo, los corazones
Ese lunar que tienes,
Cielito lindo, junto a la boca,
No se lo des a nadie,
Cielito lindo, que a mí me toca.
Ese lunar que tienes,
Cielito lindo, junto a la boca,
No se lo des a nadie,
Cielito lindo, que a mí me toca.
Ay, ay, ay, ay
Canta y no llores
Porque cantando se alegran
Cielito lindo, los corazones
Ay, ay, ay, ay
Canta y no llores
Porque cantando se alegran
Cielito lindo, los corazones
Ay, ay, ay, ay
Canta y no llores
Porque cantando se alegran
Cielito lindo, los corazones
Armando Sánchez
Excelente interpretación!!!!
Pierre Gremaud
I absolutely love this!
Ирина Клеванская
Слушаю, смотрю и не могу наслушаться , насмотреться на любимого Роберто❤❤❤❤
Marigen
Espectacular Roberto un saludo desde stgo de Chile .
Florence Bataille
beaucoup de charme, diction parfaite quelque soit la langue chantee, bravo Roberto
Julia H.
Chanteur - enchanteur!
Галина Шкурикова
Как эдорово! Жаль, что у нас забыта "Челита" !!!