Enrico Caruso (1906) - La Bohème: Che gelida manina

From 11th February 1906, NY.
This appears to be the only recording of Che gelida manina Caruso ever did.
Transposed down a semi-tone to G - Caruso was at the time not comfortable with high notes.

You may want to look at my website for more Caruso info: http://www.enrocicaruso.dk (English and Danish).

An anecdote: The Australian soprano Nellie Melba was notorius for her ruthlessness and coldness. Performing with her in La Bohème Caruso, as a joke, pressed a hot sausage into her hand that he'd hidden in his pocket as he sang "Che gelida manina, se la lasci riscaldar."("What a cold little hand, let me warm it"). She had considered Caruso coarse and uncultivated and this, of course, only confirmed that ...

Rodolfo's aria from Puccini's opera La Bohème.

Italian text:
Che gelida manina,
se la lasci riscaldar.
Cercar che giova?
Al buio non si trova.
Ma per fortuna
é una notte di luna,
e qui la luna
l'abbiamo vicina.
Aspetti, signorina,
le dirò con due parole
chi son, e che faccio,
come vivo. Vuole?
Chi son? Sono un poeta.
Che cosa faccio? Scrivo.
E come vivo? Vivo.
In povertà mia lieta
scialo da gran signore
rime ed inni d'amore.
Per sogni e per chimere
e per castelli in aria,
l'anima ho milionaria.
Talor dal mio forziere
ruban tutti i gioelli
due ladri, gli occhi belli.
V'entrar con voi pur ora,
ed i miei sogni usati
e i bei sogni miei,
tosto si dileguar!
Ma il furto non m'accora,
poiché, poiché v'ha preso stanza
la speranza!
Or che mi conoscete,
parlate voi, deh! Parlate. Chi siete?
Vi piaccia dir!

English translation:
What a frozen little hand,
let me warm it for you.
What's the use of looking?
We won't find it in the dark.
But luckily
it's a moonlit night,
and the moon
is near us here.
Wait, mademoiselle,
I will tell you in two words
who I am, what I do,
and how I live. May I?
Who am I? I am a poet.
What do I do? I write.
And how do I live? I live.
In my carefree poverty
I squander rhymes
and love songs like a lord.
When it comes to dreams and visions
and castles in the air,
I've the soul of a millionaire.
From time to time two thieves
steal all the jewels
out of my safe, two pretty eyes.
They came in with you just now,
and my customary dreams
my lovely dreams,
melted at once into thin air!
But the theft doesn't anger me,
for their place has been
taken by hope!
Now that you know all about me,
you tell me who you are.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• La
• boheme
• puccini
• italian
• opera

[markhh]

It's remarkable how natural Caruso sounds on his acoustical recordings (he didn't live to see the advent of the microphone). It's as if the acoustics of his voice and those of the recording horn were made for each other. Pure golden luck for his listeners then and now.

[tomfroekjaer]

@markhh Yes, somehow his voice was reproduced quite well when singing into a primitive funnel. At least we can get an inkling of what his voice sounded like.

According to - long deceased, of course - people who heard him sing live the 78 recordings represent about 50% of what he really sounded like.

[jgraif]

here are some comments with no "agenda". i am just interested in everyone's opinions. first, why was this aria recorded in a lower key than the original? caruso certainly was capable of singing the notes. lanza is criticized for being "only" a recording artist and yet all of his recordings are in the original keys.

my father heard caruso in new york before his death. he always mused over the fact that the veins on his neck popped out during the high notes and that lanza sang without effort.

[tomfroekjaer]

@jgraif: ANSWER PART 1 of 2:

Hello, Joseph. This is Tom who uploaded this aria.

I am not an expert on singing, but I believe it was recorded in a lower key than the original. It does seem, however, that Puccini didn't object to that as long as the soul of the music was communicated.

[calla4711]

Danke Tom für so viele Jahre Enthusiasmus und Leidenschaft mit dem Zusammentragen aller Schätze von Caruso. Nach wie vor liebe ich Gigli und auch die Aufnahme dieses Stücks von Björling ist wunderbar und so brillant, sodass mir das Herz aufgeht. Viele deiner Schätze kann man in Deutschland in youtube nun nicht mehr abhören...wie schade und ärgerlich.

[tomfroekjaer]

@calla4711: gerne geschehen! Ich liebe auch Gigli und Björling in dieser wunderbaren Arie. Ja, ich weiss, dass in Deutschland viele Videos blockiert werden. Multinationale Firmen haben dies durchgezwungen, obwohl es im Falle von Caruso eigentlich nicht möglich wäre. Auf Aufnahmen vor 1920 gibt es keine Copyrights. Viele Grüsse, Tom

[1906sfjd]

This is heartbreaking beautiful. There are some marvelous Rodolfo's - I love DiStefano's - but this is so sublime, so in tune with the emotion of Rodolfo confessing his infatuation with Mimi. In addition to his extraordinary vocal gifts, Caruso's connection to the heart of the story and character set him apart from the others. His interpretations of virtually every Italian aria stand at, or near, the pinnacle.

[sugarbist]

@gaytenor Perhaps,some tenors like Peerce Bjorling or Gigli are able to make the transition to a heavier role or heavier arias.However,people don't realize that it's the artist's technique in part that allows them to be successful in doing so.Peerce was always very elegant & had an excellent technique.Bjorling&Gigli were gifted with exceptional qualities of voice&again had very good tecniques.Many listeners will assume that if a Gigli is singing Chenier,he's a spinto,which is really not so.

[gaytenor]

How true! A dark voice and full top notes does not a dramatic tenor make. Jan Peerce had an exceptionally dark voice and ringing top notes but he was a lyric tenor who just happened to have an unusually even scale. Bjorling another lyric tenor like Peerce could sing very strongly in the lower register. Currently we have two lyrico spintos with dark middle voices in Kaufmann and Alvarez and NO TRUE DRAMATIC TENORS. ITS AN EXCEPTIONALLY RARE VOICE TYPE.

[gaytenor]

@kevin86h Pray tell where did you get this totally incorrect nonsense? When Caruso sang the aria for Puccini, Puccini advised Caruso that he could transpose the aria down a semitone--as he did--to avoid the high c. The c is an alternate but it was written by Puccini. If you have contrary information please supply.

[sugarbist]

@jgraif Caruso's voice is truly beautiful,It's perhaps a good omen that the accompaniment is crappy,as we can more concentrate on the beauty of his voice quality as appose to an interference or the distraction of a noisy orchestra.I think most of the accoustical recordings had poor accompaniments.Enjoy

[jgraif]

@sugarbist thank you. i agree that it's all about the interpretation and the vocal production. it is truly amazing how the beauty of his voice manages to transcend the limitiations of the acoustic recordings (as others have commented). also, as others have commented, it is equally amazing how crappy the musical accompaniment is.

[sugarbist]

@seektheforce I do agree with most of your statement however, I think Caruso was really a spinto tenor,as was Tucker,Corelli,De Muro,Merli,Pertile&Martinelli.­Yes Caruso had the ability to sing lyrically& he also had dramatic temperment when needed,as Corelli did.But I don't think his voice was the in the dramatic category of a Zenatello, Del Monaco ,Paoli,Piccaluga ,Tamagno ,or Escalais.

[sugarbist]

@jgraif Perhaps Caruso was more comfortable transposing this aria down a half tone, which was apparently acceptable then as it is now.It's not just having aHi-C,it's also the tessitura that the aria is written in,which can make it more difficult for some voices to sing in key.Del Monaco for example Transposed Di Quella Pira down a half step, But in the same performance he hits a D-flat in the terzetto with Gencer&Bastianini.He has the C& the D,but the tessitura in the Pira is too heavy for him