Un Bel Di, Vedremo

Song Facts:

• Genre: Opera


• Composer: Giacomo Puccini


• Librettists: Luigi Illica, Giuseppe Giacosa


• Featured in: "Woody Woodpecker Goes to Camp"

Artist Info:

"Un Bel Dì, Vedremo" is one of the famous arias from the opera "Madama Butterfly" by Giacomo Puccini, one of the greatest of opera history. He was known to depict an emotional intensity and vivacity of melodic line, coupled with the massiveness of dramatic action. Premiered in 1904, "Madama Butterfly" is a tragic piece about a young Japanese geisha who is deserted and doomed by her marriage to an American naval officer. Such a power to weave such complex emotional narratives with the aid of beautiful music is what has made Puccini's operas an enduringly popular favorite around the world.

Annotations and Meaning:

The aria "Un bel dì, vedremo" ("One fine day") is a monologue of long and hopeful loneliness for a return of the loved one gone away, which Cio-Cio San, the main heroine, says. This is one of the most touching moments of the opera; within the aria lies a combination of mad optimism and heartbreaking vulnerability characterizing Butterfly. The text recounts the glorious day-dream of Butterfly's observation of a trail of smoke at the horizon, and this foreshadowed despair intensifies the point of view of the audience.
She could imagine exactly how it would be: the ship coming into harbor, her husband up the hill to the house with his hand on the railing as he always did, calling to her as affectionately as he used to in the old days when they were on the best of terms, and every detail was there to the life and as impossible as they were. The refusal by the butterfly to meet him at the port but to go and wait at home, playing a little hide-and-seek game, is playful and tragic, an insidious hint at her inner turmoil and fright: "a little out of jest, and a little out of not dying at the first meeting." This is how happiness from his return and the dread of possible heartbreak are mixed in her feelings that she describes in the line that brilliantly reflects the themes of the opera—love, expectation, and disillusionment.
Ultimately, "Un Bel Dì, Vedremo" represents the powerful hope against all chances, filled both with utter sadness and touching faith in love and reunion. It is one of the best arias in opera, thorough performance, and admiration for the depth of feelings and beauty of melody.