Giacomo Puccini Five Great Arias

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by Justin Bernard, Wah Keung Chan, Adrian Rodriguez, Gianmarco Segato, Joseph So

To celebrate the centenary of the death of Italian composer Giacomo Puccini on Nov. 29, our team of opera experts present La Scena Musicale’s five favourite Puccini arias. See below for links to the performances.

Che gelida manina, La bohème
Sung by Rodolfo (tenor)

Puccini is the composer of great arias, and the best arias are serenades. “Che gelida manina” from La bohème is among the greatest. The text is classic, starting with “How cold your little hand is,” to the telling of “who I am” to how “two eyes have stolen my heart.” It’s the sweeping melodies that cinch it. The aria is structured in three sections. The parlando intro is classic Puccini, semi-spoken and dramatically convincing. The middle section includes several sustained notes that set the stage for the sweeping third section that climaxes in a high C on speranza (hope).
Performers: Jussi Björling is the king of legato, just what this aria needs.

– Wah Keung Chan

In Questa Reggia, Turandot
Sung by Princess Turandot (soprano) and Calàf (tenor)

While “Nessun dorma” often takes the spotlight as the emblematic aria from Turandot, one shouldn’t overlook “In questa reggia”. This aria builds to an intense soprano-tenor duet, backed by a majestic chorus and sweeping, Wagnerian-like orchestration. The brass and leading voices cut straight to the heart, as if serving it up on a silver platter.
Performers: Birgit Nilsson’s voice is perfect for this role, with a metallic, penetrating power that slices through the orchestra, sustaining her stratospheric tessitura. Franco Corelli, with his rare combination of power, range, and endurance, matches her ferocity—one of the few tenors who could go toe-to-toe with Nilsson’s laser-sharp intensity. – Adrian Rodriguez

E lucevan le stelle, Tosca
Sung by Cavaradossi (tenor)

This aria truly represents what tragedy is in opera, life’s tragedy, when the character steps out of the action and shares deep emotion. Here, Cavaradossi lives his final hours and reminisces on his first visions of Tosca, the love of his life. Although “E lucevan le stelle” is not as brilliant as other Puccini arias and only goes up to a high A, it feels like it comes from the depths of the earth and emerges at the surface at the very end, in a last cry of despair. We are at the pinnacle of Italian verismo, raw emotion. The aria is written in a beautiful Phrygian mode (based on the note E), reminiscent of ancient music but remains very romantic in its feel. The blend of the two makes for a very unique piece.
Performers: Luciano Pavarotti was better known for the beauty of his singing and phrasing than his dramatic expression. Here the tenor manages to prove his adversaries wrong.

Miguel Fleta achieved something that no one else dared to accomplish, in terms of nuances and emotions.

Franco Corelli represents the best combination of power, emotion, charisma and beautiful singing.

– Justin Bernard

Vissi d’arte, Tosca
Sung by Tosca (soprano)

According to Operabase, Tosca was the fifth most popular opera in the world in 2015-16, with 2,694 performances in 608 productions. No surprise, given its incredible score and marvelous theatricality. “Vissi d’arte” happens right after the attempted rape of Tosca by Scarpia. It’s a prayer, in which she asks God why she’s suffering at the hands of Scarpia. A three-minute aria, short but exquisite.
Performers: In 1970, in New York, I saw Renata Tebaldi’s Tosca in one of my first live operas. It was memorable for her incredible beauty of voice and sincerity of expression; not a great actress, but always from the heart.

Maria Callas’s “Vissi d’arte” from Covent Garden in 1964 was not so fresh of voice, with a slow vibrato in her high B flat, but the artistry was in full evidence.

– Joseph So

Laggiù nel Soledad, La fanciulla del West
Sung by Minnie (soprano)

Puccini’s 1910 opera La fanciulla del West has never been his most popular creation, widely criticized at its Metropolitan Opera première and not an audience favourite like La bohème or Tosca. But its characters are among Puccini’s most recognizably human, muddling through their ordinary lives as gold prospectors, tavern owners and shady street bandits. Minnie, the titular fanciulla, runs a remote California bar where she is mother figure to a group of dispossessed miners. The bandit Dick Johnson enters the bar—he and Minnie have already casually met—and confesses his love. Minnie responds with her aria “Laggiù nel Soledad,” reminiscing about the simple but profound love she witnessed in her parents’ relationship. It is a deeply touching, confessional moment.
Performer: The most universally lauded recording of the opera was released by Deutsche Grammophon in 1977 with American soprano Carol Neblett as Minnie. Her gleaming, soaring soprano is perfectly suited to Puccini’s most heroic lead female character.