Leopoldo Metlicovitz, 1904 - Madama Butterfly

"" (; "One fine day we'll see") is a

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

aria In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...

from the

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

Madama Butterfly ''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is based on the short story "Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Luther ...

'' (1904) by Giacomo Puccini, set to a

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...

Luigi Illica Luigi Illica (9 May 1857 – 16 December 1919) was an Italian librettist who wrote for Giacomo Puccini (usually with Giuseppe Giacosa), Pietro Mascagni, Alfredo Catalani, Umberto Giordano, Baron Alberto Franchetti and other important Italian co ...

and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is sung by Cio-Cio San (Butterfly) on stage with Suzuki, as she imagines the return of her absent love, Pinkerton. It is the most famous aria in ''Madama Butterfly'', and one of the most popular pieces in the entire soprano repertoire.

Dramatic setting

Early in act 2, three years after her marriage to U.S. naval officer B. F. Pinkerton, Cio-Cio San ("Butterfly") awaits the return of her long-absent husband to

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. Her maid, Suzuki, does not believe that Pinkerton will come back, but Butterfly is optimistic. Trying to convince Suzuki of Pinkerton's loyalty, Butterfly sings of an imaginary scene in which a thread of smoke on the far horizon signals the arrival of a white ship into Nagasaki harbour, bringing her long-lost love back to her. The imagined scene culminates in a romantic reunion. The aria is noted for its lyrical beauty. It is of particular dramatic importance, as Butterfly's yearning expressed in the song is later met with tragedy. Butterfly's longed-for "beautiful day" is heralded at the end of act 2 by the arrival of Pinkerton's ship, but it proves to be her last; Butterfly learns that Pinkerton has married another woman, and at the end of the opera, Butterfly, distraught, takes her own life. "Un bel dì, vedremo" is especially significant as it appeals to audiences with its emotive melody but also encapsulates the tragedy at the heart of the opera, foretelling Cio-Cio San's inevitable demise.

Performance and recordings

The aria was first performed by the soprano

Rosina Storchio Rosina Storchio (19 January 1872 – 24 July 1945) was an Italian lyric coloratura soprano who starred in the world premieres of operas by Puccini, Leoncavallo, Mascagni and Giordano. Biography Born in Venice in 1872, Storchio studie ...

at the premiere of ''Madama Butterfly'' on 17 February 1904 at the

Teatro alla Scala La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...

in Milan. In the revised version of the opera (28 May 1904 at the

Teatro Grande The Teatro Grande is the main performance venue for the city of Brescia, Italy. The venue hosts performances of operas, musicals, plays, concerts, ballet, modern dance Modern dance is a broad genre of western concert or theatrical dance whic ...

, in Brescia) it was sung by the Ukrainian soprano

Solomiya Krushelnytska Solomiya Amvrosiivna KrushelnytskaHer name is sometimes spelt as Solomiya Ambrosiyivna Krushelnytska, Salomea Krusceniski, Krushel'nytska or Kruszelnicka. ( uk, Соломія Амвро́сіївна Крушельницька, links=no; Septem ...

. During the early recording era, soprano Agnes Kimball achieved popularity in the United States with her English language recording of the aria under the title "Some day he'll come" which was released by the Victor Talking Machine Company in 1910. Deanna Durbin performed the English translation of the aria in the 1939 musical film '' First Love''. In 1984, the pop musician

Malcolm McLaren Malcolm Robert Andrew McLaren (22 January 1946 – 8 April 2010) was an English impresario, visual artist, singer, songwriter, musician, clothes designer and boutique owner, notable for combining these activities in an inventive and provoc ...

adapted the aria for his

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

" Madam Butterfly (Un bel dì, vedremo)", a

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s ...

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

of opera and 1980s R&B. The song, which appeared on McLaren's album '' Fans'', reached No. 13 in the UK Singles Chart.

Lyrics

"Un bel dì, vedremo" occurs in act 2 in both the original and the revised versions of the opera. This Italian text is taken from the first version of the libretto, published by Ricordi in 1904.

References

External links

*, live performance of

Renata Tebaldi Renata Tebaldi ( , ; 1 February 1922 – 19 December 2004) was an Italian lirico-spinto soprano popular in the post-war period, and especially prominent as one of the stars of La Scala, San Carlo and, especially, the Metropolitan Opera. O ...

Maria Callas Maria Callas . (born Sophie Cecilia Kalos; December 2, 1923 – September 16, 1977) was an American-born Greek soprano who was one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century. Many critics praised her ''bel cant ...

, orchestra of

La Scala La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...

, Herbert von Karajan (1955) {{DEFAULTSORT:Un bel dì, vedremo Opera excerpts Arias by Giacomo Puccini 1904 compositions Soprano arias Compositions in G-flat major Madama Butterfly