MovieChat Forums > The Happiest Millionaire (1968) Discussion > opera song

opera song

posted 16 years ago by jellyjammuffin
2 replies | jump to latest

does anybody know what song mr biddle sings at the party in philadelphia. he talks about his voice teacher singing a "mean carmen" and then he goes and sings some song. john and that big boxer guy talk about mr biddle being in paglicci (sp?) and that he was dressed up as a clown. is the song he sings from that opera? is it from something else? i couldn't understand the words and i don't know what language it was in, but i assume italian as most operas are. i've looked in several places online, but i can never find an answer to what song he was singing and i don't know opera that well. hardly at all, actually.

[–] guitar17-2 15 years ago

Hey Jellyjammuffin,

Here's your answer... First, the opera that they are talking about that he was in is Pagliacci (Clowns) by Leoncavallo. There's a very famous aria from that opera called Vesti la guibba. It was in a car commercial a couple years ago. The song he goes on to sing is not from Pagliacci. Italian is the language as you suspected. It is actually a quartet from Verdi's Rigoletto called Bella figlia dell'amore. The part he is singing is actually the tenor's part. He is singing it much lower as he is a baritone. There's a very good performance of the quartet on youtube from a movie directed by Jean-Pierre Ponnelle. Pavarotti sings in it. Hope this helps. I just had to respond to you since nobody else had. And The Happiest Millionaire is one of my favorite movies! Bye.

[–] shelthom 8 years ago

‘Bella Figlia Dell'Amore’ from the opera, Rigoletto.