Patrizia Ciofi : "O mio babbino caro" (Gianni Shicchi)

[Rhisiart1985]

La Ciofi ha un timbro molto bello, ma questa bellezza vien meno a causa di alcuni difetti che fossi in lei eliminerei seduta stante. Ci sono dei portamenti nei registri gravi che poi si traducono in mancanza di omogeneità e break cordali, pericolosi e anti-estetici. In secondo luogo, se si mantenesse all'interno di ruoli con estensione DO3-DO5, evitando i sovracuti, credo ne gioverebbe molto. Gilda, Lucia, Amina, Marie non le sono per niente congeniali, secondo me. Complimenti in ogni caso =)

[Loganberrymusic]

This is truly exquisite singing IMO. This is by far my favorite performance of this piece that I've seen on YT.

[henriktini]

Bet ever performance of this aria.

[Sebastian94338]

I enjoyed this performance, however i strongly believe that anna netrebko and maria callas,especally are the leading masters in this aria. Callas had the talent to feel the role, apart from having a very wide voice register allowing her to sing the low and the high notes perfectly.

[glukupikron]

The best I ever heard. Great interpretation! Every word had a sense....beautiful

[tblanl]

WOW, HIS NOSE.

She's great, by the way!

[Serinia4melodic]

She has a brilliant voice, but her facial expressions kill me. I have her Lucia on DVD and I just can`t understand why she makes her mouth sooo weird.

[motete001]

See I Told You She Has A Really Great Voice!!

[irenehoogveld]

LOVED it! Wow, this is how it should be sung. like a manipulative, but infatuated little girl, really really good!

[wholetthedoggo]

perfect version, maybe the best version I've ever listened... very hard to say the best as I found several very good from other singers like...Maria Callas, Carmen Monarcha Angela Gheorghiu..to quote a few names that are worth to listen to ...after all this music it self is a master piece.

[Etnecserc]

@wholetthedoggo You may be right. But as for me, I like the Sally Matthews rendition in the Glyndebourne production better. Matthew's facial expressions and body language effectively convey both the cloying amorousness and coy deviousness of Lauretta in setting up her father to do something nefarious. Sally has nice legs too. And of course, the voice.

[mizougue]

Magnifique Patrizia, la vraie Loretta, enfin!

[LordHettrick]

I don't like how she separates the notes in the octave. She changes register, which is bad. It should be one continuous movement. However, her emotion is great.

The best for me is, curiously, Kiri Te Kanawa, this summer, at Hyde Park Last Proms, which I saw in cinema along with the Last Night of the Proms. The voice and the emotion.

[cantatore11]

@LordHettrick ihre stimme ist schon zerstört,alle noten sind falsch,keine idea von gesang!

[Julian21L]

Wow !

La mejor interpretación que encontré.

:'-)

Ojalá hubiera conciertos de Opera en mi pais, no me los perdería por nada del mundo.

[philhealey1]

LOVE her!

[frarimol]

very nice



[naylorfriend]

Hilarious! I guess you do have to be Italian to sing it right.

[Tipledan]

I appreciate the gestures and she is wonderful.

[guviudes]

I think I found the perfect version of this song (L)!

[montralia]

Merci beaucoup pour les sous-titres en Francais. Comme c'est beau!

[arpeggio1358]

I'm sorry, she doesn't come across as a innocent young girl.

[Lauraentiu]

where can i find a dvd or sommething whith this opera? can sommeone tell me ?

[jewelmarkess]

@Lauraentiu On amazon probably. You could also try Metropolitan Opera website - they sell DVDs of some of the past performances in their Opera Shop (Opera Shop->Music->DVDs). An alternative is to use Met player feature, also of the Metropolitan Opera website (click on Watch and Listen).

[flowersings]

@Lauraentiu No, I've asked about things before and most opera fans are rude and arrogant and ignore questions from others. They think because we don't possess the knowledge they have, that we are not worth their time. I have news for them, their knowledge was not innate. They all had to begin somewhere. It would seem as if they wanted to keep the art form like an exclusive club. Such snobbery!!! Good luck! The opera is Gianni Schicci by Puccini. If you google it, you can find a DVD.

[SDCmorg]

@flowersings While much of what you say is true (many opera fans are obnoxious snobs and quite rude on Youtube comments), I note that someone had tried to answer her question 4 months ago (and the opera's and performer's name are included in the clip info section). This just doesn't seem called for.

Unfortunately this performance is not yet released commercially, but there are many good DVD of the same opera on Amazon.

[andygorn]

This performance is really great. But there is this young, german soprano Inga Lisa Lehr. Her voice has a tremendous effect on the hearts of the audience.

[cheverisimo1234]

i wish the lyrics shown were translated into english in addition to the french shown.... sorry, but i can't appreciate comedic writing in a language i do not speak

[jewelmarkess]

@cheverisimo - there are videos here with subtitles in English. The scene from Gianni Schicchi Met production with Olga Mykyntenko has English subtitles - a longer scene that continues after this aria; also a scene from an older more traditional production with Renata Scotto. Not the best subtitles, but give an idea.

I like this excellent performance better than other two, but others are good too and also treat it with humor. Scotto is not in her top form vocally but her acting is great.

[winnie24444]

Looking forward to see you in Barcelona in a two weeks time... Ciao Patrizia

[Trompicavalas]

This is the best performance I've ever seen of this aria. Unfortunately people usually think that this aria is a top of dramatism (remember the scene at the market in Mr Beam's film). But It's an comic aria. The girl shows a phony desperation to her father. Lauretta knows her father can not deny anything she ask if she exaggerates his plea. The story of "Gianni Schicci" is not dramatic but an ironic comedy. The problem is that most people think that just the tragic operas are good ones.

[MaryJoDeLaTorre7]

Brava Ciofi, brava!!!

(Is his nose really like that?... )

[rogerneon]

No, the big nose is a plot device that comes into play later. I'm not an opera expert, but I just happen to know this one detail.

[coringax]

i just absolutely love this piece

[belchiss]

Quién es ese Gianni Shicchi? Se parece a Álvarez...

[youfeda]

eccellente

[chocomacaron]

tres bien! je vais aller au leur concert a Paris!

[elamigosanti]

even though her acting is being comedy her singing takes it very seriously and is on an extremely high level. beautiful rendition.

[walchiria08]

PROPRIO LA SUA VOCE NN MI DICE NULLA

[runnerba]

Beautiful!!!

[youjib]

patrizia always brings life to an interpretation

she could be an actress

[baird292]

She has one of the best voices on opera, so good!

[22clodius]

maybe the first time you listen ,its better to close your eyes and just listen,cause if you judge to the video ,you can t see its a great interpretation

[sillyboydeux]

You know I'm gay to the bones, but I might reconsider for this lady. Total class, and excellent bel canto schooling, which means even the fingertips have music in them!

[CandyHam]

much better than i was expecting

and holy shit that guy's nose is crazy

[davidmariuzzo]

beautiful

[dvdgrog]

she does this perfectly

[paulelastic]

I think nitpicking on the pronunciation of a native Italian speaker detracts from the fact that she did a very good job with the interpretation -- I thoroughly enjoyed this.

That said, I'm going to be a prick here and correct some of the spelling errors in the summary so that folks googling this piece will end up here. (this version deserves wider attention).

It's Gianni Schicchi, not Shicchi.

It's Seiji Ozawa, not Osawa.

It's Lauretta, not Loretta.

[amoxtlacatl]

I always thought this was the one serious aria in Gianni Schicchi...

It's nice to see it in a more comical -albeit somewhat cynical- light.

Even if Puccini did not concieve GS this way, playing this one aria like this Lauretta gives the whole opera a new -again cynical- reading.

[kevin86h]

I feel like it is a comical aria. It's girl trying to get her way with her father, like a clever tantrum.

[cleanears]

This is just horrible!

[Yaouzer]

Well maybe your ears aren't clean enough

[djseo1]

Bravo!

[cantodolce]

She is very natural!!! i like this interpretation :))

[Ethesuperbo]

Bravissima Patrizia, bella voce e in più sei l'unica ad avere inquadrato perfettamente ciò che Puccini voleva...cavolo! siamo in un'opera comica!

[marauderville]

Her intonation on the word caro is the only stipulation I would make about this video with a few other dialectic faus pax's, however her comical interpretation of the role is how I think the role was to be played and a refreshing one to see amongst a sea of Stern faced morose looking strumpets concerned only with how they perform vocally and delivering an acting role worthy of emmerdale

[DonRolini]

Excellente!!!

[antontsai]

brava, thanks for uploading

[luisamiller]

Une très jolie Lauretta encore que la mise en scène de Pelly ne soit pas géniale

[mylittlepony34]

I enjoy listening to it.

[Fulk3000]

siete fuori di testa? is playbackkk

[abcabc123456123456]

brava! bellissima!!!!

[vinemp]

Let her sing this...and never more Monteverdi. Here, she an entirely different voice--a better one!

[opricnik]

Lauretta, non Loretta :-)

[ErktheEngineer]

Wow, very expressive. Great version

[homocorpus]

very very nice

[HCFan39]

Excellent voice - Hear Patrizia for the first time

and wanna hear more of her from now on.<3

[Kudegitsune]

haha k nariz!!!! Genial interpretacion

[primadonnaworld]

great performance.

[TheTearsOfAutumnDrea]

severa nariz no ? jaja

hermosa cancion hermosa interpretación y actuacion muy hp me hizo llorar

[supersirenia]

THIS is emoting the songs REAL meaning. playful and sad, in the typical teenage melodrama.

[Katja144]

@supersirenia Precisely! I always say I love this song because in a way it IS sort of funny...your typical teenage angst and obviously it hasn't changed over the centuries. You can almost see Lauretta posting this on Myspace about her mean dad.

[youfeda]

10 e lode

[horacioibd]

There has to be a distinguishing pronunciation between "Rosa" and "Rossa" just try to get it dear!

[marcmomus]

So you're telling an Italian how to pronounce correctly?

[CDkillerdudeAP]

marcmomus

is that how opera ppl have internet flame wars?

thats hilarious.

[daniellesoprano]

you're kidding, right? She does it right!

[Camboglanna]

@horacioibd

Not sure I understand what you mean, but... I am Italian and her pronounciation of "rossa" sounds perfectly OK to me. Also, "rosa" has a totally different pronounciation and you couldn't possibly mistake one for the other.

[54spiritedwill54]

Beautiful

[kumaneko3jp]

Fantastic voice

[maurrizio]

Scenicamente è simpatica. Peccato che la voce si come dire... felpata

[gomongio]

felpata?

non chiedo discuttire ma non so quella parole.... e scusa, non parlo bene l'italiano

è vero, scenicamente è simpatica ma non comprendo "felpata"

[Boy192]

If I don't die... I should go watch an opera some time...

[elisarocci]

bravissima Patrizia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!­!!

[anonymousdivo]

Direi bene, pero pensando che questo è il massimo che puo fare la Ciofi con questa voce rauca e stanca !

[ocurro]

how romantic =) i very much like Gheorghiu's, Sissel's and Hayley Westenra's performances in that order.

[marcmomus]

I recommend Callas in Paris in 1964 (not later) or Bidu Sayou also.

[redwinepouring]

WOW Thanks for uploading. Are the subtitles real?

[carveido]

funny and powerful.

[serranopugliesi]

Wordless....i watch it also on mute, so i could paid atention, and i noticed the huuuuuuuge nose of the babo character...geez, it gotta be fake! Does anybody knows the name of the actor/tenor?

[SDCmorg]

Alessandro Corbelli

[diegoloukota]

Best on youtube

[operaholic001]

O sarcasm! that's what Puccini really intended HAHAHAH... yes!

[Shadowfeet09]

a brilliant performance from patricia ciofi. very well executed, very watchable, very interesting. she made me like this aria again, considering how overdone and repetitive it has become over the years

[thechinadesk]

Dear Shadowfeet09,

I agree.

Ciofi seems to have wiped the slate clean by asking herself what the aria was all about.

It was about a pouty teen cajoling her daddy in a comic scene.

By not thinking only about how to make it sound pretty, she brought new life into the piece.

As my own voice teacher says, one sings with one's mind, not with one's throat.

[Onegin65]

Wonderful rendition. Ciofi, one few sopranos who understand this aria

[Arashi110]

At last someone sings this aria as a comical one, not some Giulietta-like epic tragedy!

[JTmusicguy]

Weird, my other comment didn't send...

Well, I just love this performance. Although it was initially intended to be performed quite solemnly and dramatically, and still is today, there is a comedic demonstration with how this girl is acting very innocently and childlike with her daddy in a very loving way. With the seriousness of things such as threatening to commit suicide, Patrizia delivers comedic action.

[JTmusicguy]

OH! And I'd also like to add that I just love the way she acted very affectionately like a child with her father to gain her father's approval of the marriage.

Hahaha, that's brilliant.

[Jaydoggy531]

Hilarious, brilliant acting, and gorgeous singing all throughout.

[podkivanok]

I love her acting, too :) 5 stars

[3peepsandacamera]

can you say "drew barrymore?"

[glaeserc]

Best high notes out there! She uses all colors for the a flat... Just gorgeous!

[mountmo]

LOL! This is hilarious!

[mecsings]

I love her acting.

I hate the high notes; I can't decide exactly why yet. The best I can come up with is that they are disconnected from the rest of the voice. They aren't high enough for a soprano to have to sacrifice pretty tone (isn't it a B flat?)

Anyway, her interpretation is awesome, and I'd believe it if someone told me the offending high notes were due to the recording quality :)

[zehtesko]

It's an A flat

[dewhistle]

I've been listening to different versions of this as I suppose a lot of us do, trying to find the one that sounds just the way we want it to sound... And the one thing I didn't expect was all the nasty arguments going on in the comments below the clips. It's a beautiful melody, how could it spark so much anger?

And this is the best one so far. Not too hurried, too clipped, or too mushy (sounding, like Charlotte Church).

[andresansregret]

Well, when you also consider the acting, it probably is the best one so far; even better than the one by Carmen Monarcha with Andre Rieu orchestra.

[noncondition]

No está mal. Pero hay otras muchísimo mejores.

[benstudd]

Beautifully sung but I think the acting performance was missing some pathos. I know it's a comedy but the repeats of Steptoe and Son remind me how great comedy can have you close to tears one second and howling with laughter the next.

[2007nc]

Lovely! Great singing and acting. True, this is the best rendition I have heard on youtube. Does anyone know if there is a transcribed version for guitar?

[billy1983yes]

I think this is the best "O Mio Babbino Caro" Ive ever heard. We have to remember this is a COMEDIC opera, facial expression is VERY important in singing this song, and in fact the facial expression also helps for creating a more "comedic" tone quality in singing.

[jorgepoveda]

He escuchado todos los videos de esta pieza (desde las consagradas hasta las neofitas ). Expresar cual es la mejor es un error. No es posible comparar acompañamiento, condiciones acusticas,tecnicas vocales,dicciones, gestos,vestuario ,edad y otras condiciones distintas.Lo que si es posible reafirmar es que si algunas gustan mas que otras,deben serlo independiente de la edad, nacionalidad y otros aspectos secundarios.Solo la objetivad permite la critica constructiva y sana.

[cobberkat]

I have spent the last 2 hours watching every version of this aria I can find...and from the aspect of the actual opera--this is the best version I've been able to find...and her pronunciation is the best...probably because she's ITALIAN :) Yay!

[doddsalfa]

haha,you are true.

[dannywatt90]

the only word for this is PERFECT simply PERFECT

[singstar8]

You must be one narrow-minded idiot! You cannot say that Carmen Monarcha is better than all of the sopranos that you have listed. I think Carmen has a nice voice but it's a bit weak. She doesn't compare to singers such as Fleming, Callas, Gheorghiu, Netrbebko, Church, or Caballe. Kanawa, Katherine Jenkins and other sopranos sing this a lot better than Carmen in my opinion. Don't be so narrow-minded.

[nivekclarinet]

one of my favorite makes me cry always..hehehe

[0607k58914]

a true performance, singing, acting and facial expression.

[AnteojosdeFanny]

Beautiful

[ptrzAlyson823]

What's her nationality? I like it!

[SDCmorg]

Ciofi is Italian. :)

[samaisa]

I always watch it on Mezzo channel.. I love it!!

[coy6642126]

Simply fantastic!

[dolcevita2180]

mealagro secondo me e' molto carciofo il tuo orecchio!

[dolcevita2180]

Grande interpretazione!!

[Drelnis]

Wonderful, you must all remember than Gianni Scicchi is actually a comedy opera!

Other famous sopranos tend to sing it seriously in their concerts but, though Ciofi doesn't ahve the best voice, has the best feeling of the way it is meant.

[Drelnis]

Wonderful, never forget that Gianni Shicchi is actually a comic opera!

[gerdan100]

Nice voice, but weak control on the high notes. And, the acting, rather over-acting, does not add emotion to the voice!

[billjriv1]

Wow Mr.Bean looks just like a woman.

[mayhem001boats]

Great performance!

[tosca31]

amazing! she's always a great actress and has a beautiful voice!

[mayhem001boats]

Great Stuff!

( What a nose on the bloke! )

[renethel]

i like how Gianni Shicci was modernized here! great acting with a beautiful soprano voice!

[gigione88]

Wonderful!! Fantastica!! Recitazione da manuale per originalità ed espressività!! Voce esemplare!

[DrthBunnySliprs]

Excellent acting!

[tributevocalist]

Nit-picking (hope I spelled that right) reminds of me being in voice masterclass again

[Iareto]

She does have a pretty voice. The faces are odd, but she does produce a lovely tone. Her vibrato brings a tad sharp in a few parts, but overall it's quite nice.

[ErnestoPetti]

purtroppo meleagro non capisci un cazzo

[dolcevita2180]

ahahah bravo!

[Snarkymom]

Wow! She has a beautiful voice and amazing control.

[SDCmorg]

What do I have to do to bring her to sing in the USA? The gal's awesome!

[Meleagro]

Ma fa vomitare!!! I car-Ciofi fanno schifo!

[egrosz]

It is the best version of this aria !

[PrimaDonna280]

But, it is written to sing it fast...the first two notes are 8th notes

[Thokozani23]

Have you heard Bidu Sayao's rendition. She does not start with a fast pace in the bebinning with the opening senctence "O Mio Babbino." I like that. It sounds familiar.

[PrimaDonna280]

This is truly one of the best versions of this aria that I've heard, and her acting was great!

[PitchBlack696]

holy poopsicle! if that dudes nose is really that big then....woah..