Tito Schipa - From "Lucia": Tu che a Dio spiegasti l'ali

From the film "Vivere" (1936)

Aria from 'Lucia di Lammermoor': "Tu che a Dio spiegasti l'ali"

by Gaetano Donizetti (1797 - 1848). Opera composed 1835.

Tito Schipa, Tenor



Tu che a Dio spiegasti, Edgardo's aria from Lucia di Lammermoor:

Tu che a Dio spiegasti l'ali
o bell'alma innamorata,
ti rivolgi a me placata,
teco ascenda il tuo fedel.
Ah! Se l'ira dei mortali
fece a noi sì cruda guerra,
se divisi fummo in terra,
ne congiunga il Nume in ciel.

You who have spread your wings to God,
oh, my beautiful soul in love,
turn towards me appeased,
let your true lover ascend with you.
Oh! If the anger of mortals
was so cruel with us,
if we were divided on earth,
may God unite us in Heaven.

Translation by Ugo Berardi


excerpt below from an excellent piece by Marston on Schipa, see in full here (from the liner notes of one of his superb vocal reissue discs):
http://www.marstonrecords.com/schipa/schipa_liner.htm

"Tito Schipa proves Goethe's maxim that we know a great artist by his flaws. Schipa's limitations are so well known, they hardly need to be enumerated. He lacked Martinelli's trumpety top, Pertile's explosive attack and Lauri-Volpi's lithe, muscular tone. Unlike Caruso, Schipa could not dominate the big vocal climaxes, nor could he negotiate fioriture with the easy accuracy of De Lucia or McCormack.

Despite these shortcomings, Schipa incontestably ranks on the short list of great tenors. Anyone familiar with his recordings knows why. Martinelli could only dream of shading a phrase with the inimitable charm Schipa brought to everything he sang. Did Lauri-Volpi ever display the blandishing rhythmic grace that informed Schipa's singing? De Lucia must have admired the natural clarity of Schipa's diction, especially the purity of his vowels. Even Caruso might have envied the stylish way Schipa tossed off light music."

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Donizetti
• lammermoor
• lucia
• opera
• Schipa
• tenor
• TitoSchipa
• edgardo
• Vivere

[tenorgoodfella]

I love Schipa...! He lets you understand real bel canto. Great clip. Thanks..!

[jmarqueslr]

Schipa was a "tenore di grazia",a near lost tradition,and his "limitations" were a result of his style,made of elegance and "sottilezza".He was not supposed to sing Siegfried or Otello,but no one sung like him L'Elisire d'Amore,Werther,etc Give us more Schipa,there is much to learn from his supreme elegant "fraseato".The comments in the section "about this video" sound defensive,as if Schipa needed protection from comparisons with "great" voices. He was great in his own and insurpassable way.

[franztenor]

@federic017 beh florez mi fa solo ridere.. ormai oggigiorno che canta con tecnica belcantistica non v'è ombra...

[hobo1975]

@Kirill488 then what was th epoint of the comment?

[federic017]

@stravinskij91 Si, ora abbiamo Jose Cura...mi scuso per la battuta...il canto di Schipa è talmente perfetto da sembrare facile ad eseguirlo...dopo di lui nel repertorio leggero solo Valletti è riuscito a proporre un canto così perfetto...comunque speriamo di riaverlo, ma il Grande di ora ( Florez) adopera molto il naso e le risonanze di testa...quindi siamo ben lontani dalla tecnica suprema di Schipa...saluti.

[Kirill488]

@hobo1975 originaly was written in Ddur, but Maestro Schipa sings in Db dur. Check it on the piano. But this does not change my love and respect for him.

[hobo1975]

@Kirill488 your brain is half a tone down too!

[MrSkylark1]

@paulostroff99

GIGLI said, "ALL TENORS SHOULD TAKE THEIR HATS OFF TO SCHIPA"

[AmhranaiAlainn]

@MrSkylark1 Well said. They're so caught up with the sound of their voice, & they dissect the art into what they can comprehend. They would all sing beautifully and effortlessly if they just adjusted how they perceive singing. For it is simply based on the spoken word. Schipa's simplicity with the use of the spoken word and how he truly expressed it was what made him the great magical singer who enchanted audiences who listened. The art though is not gone completely we just need a champion.

[sidelis]

Una meraviglia!

[Kirill488]

Sung 1/2 tone down!

[ophunka]

Kissé kopott felvétel,de Schipa tenorja hihetetlenül tökéletes,gyönyörű!