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.
La Cumparsita
Roberto Alagna Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Que aún dentro de mi alma
Conservo aquel cariño
Que tuve para ti
Quién sabe si supieras
Que nunca te he olvidado
Volviendo a tu pasado
Te acordarás de mí
Abandonó a su viejita
Que quedó desamparada
Y loco de pasión, ciego de amor
Corrió tras de su amada
Que era linda, era hechicera
De lujuria era una flor
Que burló su querer
Hasta que se cansó
Y por otro lo dejó
La cumparsa
De miserias sin fin desfila
En torno de aquel ser enfermo
Que pronto ha de morir de pena
Quién sabe si supieras
Que nunca te he olvidado
Volviendo a tu pasado
Te acordarás de mí
Hoy ya solo, abandonado
A lo triste de su suerte
Ansioso espera la muerte
Que bien pronto ha de llegar
Y entre la triste frialdad
Que lenta invade el corazón
Sintió la cruda sensación
De su maldad
Quién sabe si supieras
Que nunca te he olvidado
Volviendo a tu pasado
Te acordarás de mí
The lyrics to Roberto Alagna's La Cumparsita tell the story of a man who still carries love for someone from his past. He wonders if she knew that he never forgot her and that she would remember him if she went back to her past. This love story is contrasted with the image of a man who abandoned his mother and chased after a woman who eventually left him for someone else. This man is now alone, waiting for death and feeling the slow creep of regret and self-awareness for his past mistakes.
The lyrics are full of emotion and paint a vivid picture of love, loss, regret, and despair. The man who never forgot his past love reflects on what could have been, while the man who abandoned his mother and lost his lover shows the consequences of selfish and impulsive actions. The cumparsa, or parade, of endless miseries that surrounds the dying man serves as a warning of what could happen if one does not treat their loved ones with care and respect.
Line by Line Meaning
Si supieras
If you knew
Que aún dentro de mi alma
That deep inside of my soul
Conservo aquel cariño
I still hold onto that love
Que tuve para ti
I had for you
Quién sabe si supieras
Who knows if you knew
Que nunca te he olvidado
That I have never forgotten you
Volviendo a tu pasado
Returning to your past
Te acordarás de mí
You will remember me
Abandonó a su viejita
He abandoned his little old lady
Que quedó desamparada
Who was left alone
Y loco de pasión, ciego de amor
And crazy with passion, blind with love
Corrió tras de su amada
He chased after his beloved
Que era linda, era hechicera
Who was pretty, she was enchanting
De lujuria era una flor
A flower of lust
Que burló su querer
Who mocked his love
Hasta que se cansó
Until he got tired
Y por otro lo dejó
And left him for another
La cumparsa
The parade
De miserias sin fin desfila
Of endless miseries parades
En torno de aquel ser enfermo
Around that sick being
Que pronto ha de morir de pena
Who will soon die of sorrow
Hoy ya solo, abandonado
Today, he is alone and abandoned
A lo triste de su suerte
In the sadness of his fate
Ansioso espera la muerte
He anxiously awaits death
Que bien pronto ha de llegar
Which will soon arrive
Y entre la triste frialdad
And amid the sad coldness
Que lenta invade el corazón
That slowly invades the heart
Sintió la cruda sensación
He felt the harsh sensation
De su maldad
Of his wrongdoing
Writer(s): Roberto Alagna, Contursi Matos Rodriguez, Enrique Pedro Maroni
Contributed by Leah H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@Cartas-do-oriente
Un de los Grandes Cantantes del mundo, se llama Roberto Alagna ...
Cantando una de las mejores canciones del compositor uruguayo - Gerardo Matos Rodríguez !!!!
Bravo Monsieur Alagna !!!
@rozamamutova7769
Всегда браво Роберто
@rozamamutova7769
Безумно люблю этот голос
@renatafriedenberg4292
Bravooo!!!
@user-jp7pw7bj6i
!!!!! Супер исполнение!!!!
@jaimehernancanohincapie8664
Magnífico.! Qué gran tenor.
@OlgaNejdanova
Знаменитое танго "Кумпарсита" в великолепном исполнении Роберто Аланьи:
Roberto Alagna "La Cumparsita Libertango" - Роберто Аланья "Танго Кумпорсита"
#танго #cumparsita #кумпарсита #Alagna #Аланья
@user-zc3fc7zt1y
Хорошее танго.
@nataliyapolyakova6649
Доброе утро, Ольга, у вас безукоризненный вкус. Аргентинское танго - жизнеутверждающее и вдохновляющее, как и безудержный темперамент гордых южаноамериканцев.
@user-xo2yc2xi8l
СПАСИБО, ОЛЯ, за доставленное удовольствие!