I started working on this song a few weeks ago. It’s an aria from Verdi‘s Rigoletto. This opera itself has a rather interesting background (assuming we can trust wikipedia). Verdi was commissioned to compose the opera with the understanding of both him and his sponsor Piave that they risked censorship by the Austrian government. The Austrians controlled much of Northern Italy at the time and the opera was intended to be performed in Venice. The reason for this censorship was the libretto’s portrayal of the primary figure, a French king, as both an immoral figure and a womanizer. Such things … Continue reading Learning “Questa o quella”

I’m working on learning this aria from an opera called Werther by Jules Massanet. It’s pretty gorgeous, so I thought I’d share a video of Pavarotti singing it. It comes at a point in the opera when Werther comes to see the woman he loves, but whom he can never be with. He proceeds to read her a translated poem from Ossian — a cycle of epic poetry (which happens to be this song). She realizes that she returns his love, and they embrace shortly before he leaves the stage. Shortly thereafter Werther kills himself, distraught with the knowledge that … Continue reading Learning “Pourquoi me réveiller”