American actress and coloratura soprano Kathryn Grayson and the American tenor and Hollywood star of Italian origin Mario Lanza sing Vogliatemi bene, a famous Italian aria from the Act 1 of Giacomo Puccini’s 1904 opera “Madama Butterfly”. From the 1950 MGM musical film “The Toast of New Orleans”.
The story takes place in Louisiana in 1905 and centers around Pepe Abellard Duvalle [Lanza], a skilled bayou fisherman with a natural singing talent. He falls in love with Suzette Micheline [Grayson], a famous soprano opera star. Micheline’s manager, played by the famous British actor David Niven, invites Duvalle to sing in New Orleans, but Duvalle is hesitant to leave his simple life.
Despite his reservations, Duvalle agrees to train for the opera. Although initially uninterested in Duvalle, Micheline eventually falls in love with him but is disappointed by his transformation into a refined gentleman. In the end, Duvalle returns to his rugged ways and wins Micheline’s heart.
In addition to selected arias from the famous operas, Carmen, Madama Butterfly, and La Traviata, the film includes the song “Be My Love“, which was nominated for an Academy Award.
Vogliatemi bene
“Vogliatemi bene” is a famous Italian aria from the Act 1 of Giacomo Puccini’s 1904 opera “Madama Butterfly”. The title roughly translates to “Love Me, Please” in English, and the song is sung by the lead female character, Cio-Cio San, also known as Butterfly, as a plea for love and affection from her American lover, Pinkerton. The song is considered one of Puccini’s most beautiful and emotionally powerful compositions, and it has been widely performed and recorded by many renowned opera singers and musicians.
Vogliatemi bene lyrics [text]
Italian
Butterfly:
Vogliatemi bene, un bene piccolino,
un bene da bambino
quale a me si conviene.
Noi siamo gente avvezza
alle piccole cose,
umili e silenziose,
ad una tenerezza
sfiorante e pur profonda
come il ciel, come l’onda del mare.
Pinkerton:
Dammi ch’io baci
le tue mani care,
mia Butterfly!
Come t’han ben nomata
tenue farfalla…
Butterfly:
Dicon ch’oltre mare
se cade in man dell’uom
ogni farfalla d’uno spillo
è trafitta
ed in tavola infitta!
Pinkerton:
Un po’ di vero c’è:
e tu lo sai perché?
Perché non fugga più.
Io t’ho ghermita…
Ti serro palpitante.
Sei mia.
Butterfly:
Sì, per la vita.
Pinkerton:
Vieni, vieni…
Via dall’anima in pena
l’angoscia paurosa.
È notte serena! Guarda:
dorme ogni cosa!
Sei mia! Ah! vien!
Butterfly:
Ah! dolce notte! quante stelle!
Non le vidi mai sì belle!
Trema, brilla ogni favilla
col baglior d’una pupilla.
Oh! quanti occhi fisi, attenti,
d’ogni parte a riguardar!
pei firmamenti, via pei lidi,
via pel mare…ride il ciel!
Ah! dolce notte!
Tutto estatico d’amor,
ride il ciel!
English translation
Butterfly:
Love me with a little love,
a child-like love,
the kind that suits me.
Love me, please…
We are a people used to small,
modest, quiet things,
to a tenderness gently caressing,
yet vast as the sky
and as the waves of the sea.
Pinkerton:
Give me your dear hands
and let me kiss them!
My Butterfly!
How aptly you were named,
fragile butterfly!
Butterfly:
They say that overseas
if it should fall into the hands of man
a butterfly is stuck through
with a pin
and fixed to a board!
Pinkerton:
There’s some truth in that;
and do you know why?
So that it shouldn’t fly away again.
I’ve caught you…
Quivering, I press you to me.
You’re mine.
Butterfly:
Yes, for life.
Pinkerton:
Come along, come…
Cast all sad fears
out of your heart!
The night is clear! See,
all things sleep!
You are mine! Oh, come!
Butterfly:
Oh, lovely night! What a lot of stars!
Never have I seen them so beautiful!
Every spark twinkles and shines
with the brilliance of an eye.
Oh! What a lot of eyes fixed and staring,
looking at us from all sides!
In the sky, along the shore,
out to sea…the sky is smiling!
Oh, lovely night!
In an ecstasy of love,
the sky is smiling!
Sources
- Madama Butterfly on Wikipedia
- Vogliatemi bene lyrics from murashev.com
