Angela GHEORGHIU sings "Si mi chiamano Mimi" from La Bohème by Puccini

Angela Gheorghiu sings Mimì's most beautiful and famous aria "Sì, mi chiamano Mimì" when she introduces herself to Rodolfo played by Roberto Alagna in Puccini's opera 'La Bohème', recorded in Orange on August 2, 2005.



Role : Mimi, a seamstress
Voice Part : soprano
Fach : lyric soprano
Setting : Christmas Eve in a room in an attic
Synopsis : After Rodolfo tells her that he has fallen in love with her, he asks Mimi to tell him something of her. She responds, telling him (among other things) that her name is Lucia, although she is called Mimi.

ENGLISH TRANSLATION

Yes, they call me Mimi,
But my name is Lucy
My history is brief
To cloth or to silk
I embroider at home or outside...
I am peaceful and happy
And it is my pastime
To make lilies and roses
I like these things
That have so sweet smell,
That speak of love, of spring,
That speak of dreams and of chimera
These things that have poetic names
Do you understand me?

They call me Mimi,
And why I don't know.
Alone, I make
Lunch for myself the smae.
I do not always go to mass,
But I pray a lot to the Lord.
I live alone, alone.
There is a white little room
I look upon the roofs and heaven.
By when the thaw comes
The first sun is mine
The first kiss of April is mine!
Rose buds in a vase
Leaf and leaf I watch it!
That gentle perfume of a flower!
But the flowers that I make
Ah me! they don't have odor!
About me I would not know how to tell
I am your neighbor who come unexpectedly
to bother you.

Translation by Terri Eickel

Jussi Björling and Renata Tebaldi

Jussi Björling and Renata Tebaldi sing "Che gelida manina" and "Sí, mi chiamano Mimí" from Puccini´s "La Boheme". I am too overwhelmed by the perfection to write more about it.

Jussi Björling and Renata Tebaldi, in this video introduced by the famous Charles Laughton as well one of the most famous actors of the 40s and 50s.:

Nessun Dorma by Luciano Pavarotti | Turandot

The first performance of the Opera in three acts, TURANDOT was held at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan on 25 April 1926 and conducted by Arturo Toscanini. This performance included only Puccini's music and not Alfano's additions, the most famous being exactly this, "Nessun Dorma" ("I will win").

Nessun dorma - (Completed after Puccini's death), from Act III of the Italian opera, Turandot by Giacomo Puccini. Libretto : Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni

Here is a magnificent Luciano Pavarotti's rendition, live in Paris:

Role : Calaf, the "Unknown Prince"
Voice Part : tenor
Fach : dramatic tenor/heldentenor
Setting : The gardens before the walls of Peking
Synopsis : A herald has just announced that no one will sleep in the Peking until the Calaf's name is known to the Princess under pain of death. Calaf, who knows that he has agreed to be killed if Turandot learns his name before the morning, is not worried. He is sure that he will be the only one to reveal his name to the Princess and this only after morning has come and the Princess has consented to be his wife.

Nesun Dorma English Translation:

No one sleeps! No one sleeps!
You too, O Princess!
in your chaste room
are watching the stars which
tremble with love and hope!
But my secret lies hidden within me,
no one shall discover my name!
Oh no, I will reveal it only on your lips,
when daylight shines forth
and my kiss shall break
the silence which makes you mine

(no one shall discover my name!
And we will have to die!)

Depart, oh night!
Fade away, you stars!
At dawn I shall win!

Giacomo Puccini Turandot Synopsis