Un bel dì vedremo

Leopoldo Metlicovitz, 1904 – Madama Butterfly

"Un bel dì vedremo" ("One fine day we'll see") is a soprano aria from the opera Madama Butterfly (1904) by Giacomo Puccini to a libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is sung by Cio-Cio San/Madama Butterfly (on stage with Suzuki), as she imagines the return of her absent love, Pinkerton.

"Un bel dì vedremo" is the opera's most famous aria and one of the most popular pieces in the soprano repertoire.

Dramatic setting

Nagasaki Harbour, the scene of Cio-Cio San's reverie

Three years after her marriage to U.S. naval officer named Pinkerton, Cio-Cio San ("Butterfly") awaits the return of her long-absent husband to Japan. 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.[1][2]

The aria is noted for its lyrical beauty, and 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 the distraught Butterfly takes her own life.[3] "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.[4]

Performance

Zora Jehličková (Butterfly) and Blanka Vítková (Suzuki) in a 1985 production of Madame Butterfly at the National Theatre, Prague

The aria was first performed by the well-known soprano Rosina Storchio at the premiere of Madama Butterfly on 17 February 1904 at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan. In the revised version of the opera (28 May 1904 at the Teatro Grande in Brescia) it was sung by the famous Ukrainian soprano Solomiya Krushelnytska. It has been subsequently performed by many sopranos (including Geraldine Farrar, Maria Callas, and Renata Tebaldi among others), recently also by Maria José Siri at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, where the original version of the opera was staged on 7 December 2016.

In 1984 the pop musician Malcolm McLaren adapted the aria for his single "Madam Butterfly (Un bel di vedremo)", a Synth-pop remix of opera and 1980s R&B. The record reached No.13 in the UK Singles Chart and was included on McLaren's album of the same year, Fans.[5][6]

Lyrics

"Un bel dì vedremo" occurs in Act II in both the original and the revised version. The Italian text here below is taken from the very first version of the libretto (17 February 1904) as reconstructed by Julian Smith.[7]

Un bel dì, vedremo
levarsi un fil di fumo sull'estremo
confin del mare.
E poi la nave appare.
Poi la nave bianca
entra nel porto, romba il suo saluto.
Vedi? È venuto!
Io non gli scendo incontro. Io no. Mi metto
là sul ciglio del colle e aspetto, e aspetto
gran tempo e non mi pesa
la lunga attesa.
E ... uscito dalla folla cittadina
un uomo, un picciol punto
s'avvia per la collina.
Chi sarà? Chi sarà?
E come sarà giunto
che dirà? Che dirà?
Chiamerà "Butterfly" dalla lontana.
Io senza dar risposta
me ne starò nascosta
un po' per celia... e un po' per non morire
al primo incontro, ed egli alquanto in pena
chiamerà, chiamerà:
"Piccina mogliettina,
olezzo di verbena",
i nomi che mi dava al suo venire.
(a Suzuki)
Tutto questo avverrà,
te lo prometto
Tienti la tua paura –
Io con sicura fede l'aspetto.

One fine day we'll see
A thread of smoke arising
On the far horizon of the sea,
And then the ship appears.
Then the white ship
Enters the harbour, thunders her salute.
See you? He has come!
I don't go down to meet him. Not I! I stay
there on the hill's brow, and wait, and wait
a lot of time, and I don't mind
the long waiting.
And ... out of the city crowd
a man, a tiny point
starts climbing up the hill.
Who will it be? Who will it be?
And when he has arrived
What will he say? What will he say?
He will call "Butterfly" from the distance.
I, without giving an answer,
will keep myself concealed,
A bit in jest ... and a bit as to not die
At the first meeting; and he, a little worried,
will call, will call:
"Oh, little one, dear wife,
You fragrance of verbena",
The names he called me on coming here.
(to Suzuki)
All this will happen,
I'll promise,
drive away your fears,
I will wait for him with secure faith.

References

  1. ↑ Beck, Charles R. (2014). What to Listen For in Opera: An Introductory Handbook. McFarland. pp. 156–7. ISBN 9781476617145. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  2. ↑ Singher, Martial; Singher, Eta (2003). An Interpretive Guide to Operatic Arias: A Handbook for Singers, Coaches, Teachers, and Students. Penn State Press. ISBN 0271023546. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  3. ↑ "Accessible arias: Madama Butterfly's Un bel dì — News — Royal Opera House". www.roh.org.uk. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  4. ↑ "Puccini's Madama Butterfly musical highlight: 'Un bel dì vedremo' — News — Royal Opera House". www.roh.org.uk. Archived from the original on 19 May 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  5. ↑ Gilbert, Pat (2011). Passion is a Fashion: The Real Story of the Clash. Aurum Press. ISBN 9781845138028. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  6. ↑ "Malcolm McLaren - Madam Butterfly (Un Bel Di Vedremo)". Discogs. Archived from the original on 19 May 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  7. ↑ "Madama Butterfly - Teatro alla Scala". www.teatroallascala.org (in Italian). Retrieved 18 May 2018.
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