Che gelida manina
"Che gelida manina" ([ke ˈd͡ʒɛ.li.da maˈni.na]; "What a frozen little hand")[1] is a tenor aria from the first act of Giacomo Puccini's opera, La bohème. The aria is sung by Rodolfo to Mimì when they first meet. In the aria he tells her of his life as a poet, and ends by asking her to tell him more about her life.[2] It is one of the most recorded arias by tenors.
Performances and recordings[edit]
La bohème is one of the most popular operas, and "Che gelida manina", being the best-known tenor aria of the opera, is consequently one of the most recorded arias by tenors. Between 1900 and 1980, almost 500 tenors recorded this aria in at least seven different languages.[9] The opera premiered in Turin in 1896 with the role of Rodolfo played by Evan Gorga, although Gorga had difficulty with the high tessitura and the music had to be transposed down for him.[10]
Recordings of the aria began a few years after the premiere. An early recording was made by Enrico Caruso in 1906. Caruso had reputedly sung the aria in 1897 for Puccini, who was said to have exclaimed: "Who sent you to me—God?"[11][12] Beniamino Gigli performed the aria in the 1936 film Ave Maria. The aria was one of Mario Lanza's first recordings in 1949; his recording of "Che gelida manina" won the Operatic Recording of the Year (awarded by the National Record Critics Association), and was later included in RCA's Hall of Fame historical recordings.[13] The first known recording by Luciano Pavarotti is of this aria, recorded in 1961 during his professional debut at the Teatro Municipale in Reggio Emilia.[14] He would record the aria again in 1963 in London.[15][16] Pavarotti made many notable recordings of the song in his performances of La bohème, including the 1979 La Scala performance and a 1973 recording conducted by Herbert von Karajan.[17][18]