Ex. 8-13: O mio babbino caro

From Puccini's one-act opera Gianni Schicchi (1918), the third and final part of Il trittico, premiered at the Metropolitan Opera in New York on 14 December 1918. Libretto by Giovacchino Forzano, based on an episode from Dante's Inferno (Canto XXX).

This is Puccini's only completed comedy. In the story, the wealthy Buoso has died, leaving his fortune to a monastery. His scheming relatives call in Gianni Schicchi to forge a new will. When Schicchi refuses, his daughter Lauretta sings this aria to persuade him — threatening to throw herself into the Arno from the Ponte Vecchio if she cannot marry her beloved Rinuccio. The aria's sweet melody is deliberately exaggerated to match her dramatic plea.

Despite its comic context, the aria is widely performed as a standalone concert piece.

Track 9 from the album Classics by Sarah Brightman (2001)
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