I’m wrapping up my week of opera arias with my very favorite — ‘Che gelida manina’ from Puccini’s La Boheme. As I mentioned on Monday, La Boheme is the one opera I’ve seen in its entirety (Baz Luhrmann’s version on Broadway).
This is among the best-known, best-loved and most referenced operas of all-time (it was the inspiration for Rent and features prominently in Moonstruck — remember Cher’s memorable line, “I didn’t think she was gonna die. I knew she was sick… I mean, she was coughing her brains out, and still she had to keep singing!”?).
Certainly one of the reasons ‘Che gelida manina’ is my favorite aria is its use in the beautiful nighttime love scene in Moonstruck. As this song rises in the background, Nicolas Cage’s Ronny delivers a speech that gives Cage a pass for every Wicker Man and Ghost Rider to come:
Loretta, I love you. Not like they told you love is, and I didn’t know this either, but love don’t make things nice – it ruins everything. It breaks your heart. It makes things a mess. We aren’t here to make things perfect. The snowflakes are perfect. The stars are perfect. Not us. Not us! We are here to ruin ourselves and to break our hearts and love the wrong people and *die*. The storybooks are *bullshit*. Now I want you to come upstairs with me and *get* in my bed!
Even if this wasn’t one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever written, that scene would have made it a favorite.
Sometimes the English translations of lovely arias reveal that they don’t really stack up lyrically. You’re watching somebody sing passionately about hanging the wash or paying her taxes. But ‘Che gelida manina’ is both gorgeous music and powerful poetry. Rodolfo and Mimi, the opera’s doomed bohemian lovers, meet for the first time and he introduces himself, pouring out his romantic heart.
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:
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!
Bu 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.
Please do!
Meet Me In Montauk 
a fine piece of music, but I must say that I am thankful it’s Friday. A little Simon anyone?
and I am sad to see this beautiful music end 😦 but I do have all my opera cd’s waiting. We love this opera; we’ve seen it many times in NY, Miami, Cleveland and on the HD version; also we’ve seen the theater production you saw and loved it. I think Moonstruck is my favorite movie because of this opera as well, so thanks for the memories and the music. I’m off to watch Moonstruck 😉