A listening guide
A listening guide to the arias
Six well-known Italian opera arias you may hear at a recital like Santa Monaca's, with the story, the composer and what to listen for in each.
Reserve a seat at the recital ↗Quick answer
The programme at Santa Monaca changes with the date, so no aria is promised. The booking page names Verdi, Rossini, Puccini, Bellini and Mascagni. This guide covers six well-known arias by those composers, so that a first-time listener knows the story and the voice type before the piano starts. Treat it as preparation, not as a set list.
How to use this guide
An aria is a solo number, complete in itself, normally part of a larger opera. In an opera the plot moves in speech-like recitative and then pauses for an aria in which a character expresses a feeling. At a recital, the singers lift the arias out of the operas, so the evening is a sequence of short, complete pieces. You need no prior knowledge. The six below are among the best known by the composers the concert is billed around, but your date may bring other pieces entirely.
Rossini: Largo al factotum
This is Figaro's entrance song in The Barber of Seville, which Rossini first presented in 1816 to a libretto by Cesare Sterbini. Figaro, the title character, announces himself as the town's factotum. It is sung by a baritone, and Wikipedia calls it one of the most difficult baritone arias to perform. Listen for the speed and swagger of the line. At a piano recital the energy rests on the singer alone.
Bellini: Casta diva
This is the cavatina in Act 1, Scene 1, of Bellini's Norma, which premiered at La Scala, Milan, on 26 December 1831 to a libretto by Felice Romani. Norma is the high priestess of the druids, and this cavatina is a celebrated 19th-century aria. Listen for the long, slow phrases that the singer has to sustain. It is quiet music, so a small room suits it.
Verdi: Libiamo ne' lieti calici
This is the brindisi, a drinking song, from La traviata, listed as 1853. Wikipedia describes it as a lively song that encourages the drinking of wine, sung by Alfredo and Violetta, with the company joining in. At a recital the chorus is absent, so a duet carries it. Listen for the way the tune passes between the two voices. Wikipedia describes the piece as a brindisi, a lively song that encourages the drinking of wine.
Puccini: O mio babbino caro
This is the soprano aria that Lauretta sings in Gianni Schicchi, which premiered at the Metropolitan Opera in New York on 14 December 1918, to a libretto by Giovacchino Forzano. The opera is set in Florence in 1299 and draws on Dante's Inferno. Lauretta pleads with her father after a quarrel that threatens her love for Rinuccio. The aria lasts about two and a half to three minutes and is a favourite encore. Listen for its simple, singing line, a moment of tenderness in a comedy built around a dead man's will.
Puccini: Che gelida manina
This is the tenor aria in Act 1 of La bohème, which premiered in Turin in 1896. On Christmas Eve in the Latin Quarter of Paris, Mimì's candle goes out, and she and Rodolfo search in the dark for her key. Rodolfo finds it, hides it, touches her cold hand and begins to sing, introducing himself as a poet. Wikipedia calls it one of the most recorded arias by tenors, and almost 500 tenors recorded it between 1900 and 1980. Listen for the aria's three musically distinct sections.
Mascagni: Cavalleria rusticana
Mascagni's one-act opera is set in a Sicilian village, and Rome's Teatro Costanzi staged its first performance on 17 May 1890. It won first prize in a competition for one-act operas run by the publisher Sonzogno. Its most famous music, the Intermezzo, is orchestral, so at a piano recital you are more likely to hear a vocal number from one of the roles, such as the peasant girl Santuzza, created by Gemma Bellincioni. Listen for how compact the work is: the whole opera fits into a single act.
Frequently asked questions
Will they sing these six arias?
Not necessarily. Programmes and singers vary from one date to the next, so these are examples of the repertoire, not a set list.
Do I need to know the plots?
No. An aria is a solo number, complete in itself, and the printed programme names each piece.
In which language are the arias sung?
These six are in Italian, the language of the operas named on the booking page.
Sources