# What is the most heartbreaking Italian opera?



## ThomasRohrClassicOpera (Jan 27, 2017)

I love opera, but I know I could connect with it much better if I knew which operas were which, and what they were about. To start having a better understanding of it I wanted to pick one to fully immerse myself in, and to do so I know I need to be able to fall in to it. Also, I have a bias toward Italian opera as my Italian family members have expressed their thoughts on the matter... An opera with heartache just seems like the most true of operas. Thanks for your help!


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

Well, there are quite a few if you are in the mood for it!. 

I would start with an immortal classic, "La traviata". Try this:


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

I am with schigolch, although La Boheme is very close.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

_Madama Butterfly._ It's so pathetic I can barely stand to listen to it.


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## Bettina (Sep 29, 2016)

Woodduck said:


> _Madama Butterfly._ It's so pathetic I can barely stand to listen to it.


I agree. Her delusional hopes make me so sad! "Un bel di vedremo" gets me every time.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

E lucevan le stelle, sung by Mario Cavaradossi before his execution in Tosca.

Cortigiani, vil razza dannata sung by Rigoletto, begging for his daughter to be returned to him.

Tosca and Rigoletto, all the heartbreak you could ever need.

The 2 arias listed above are incredibly moving.

Look 'em up on You Tube.

Bring Kleenex.


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## silentio (Nov 10, 2014)

For me *La Traviata *and *La Gioconda*.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Rigoletto - always gives me a lump in throat


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## Tuoksu (Sep 3, 2015)

Woodduck said:


> _Madama Butterfly._ It's so pathetic I can barely stand to listen to it.


Butterfly made me cry the first time I saw it


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Tuoksu said:


> Butterfly made me cry the first time I saw it


When she sticks that knife in herself!


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## Azol (Jan 25, 2015)

Act IV of Manon Lescaut.
Act IV of La Boheme.
Suor Angelica.

And this:





What Sills does in this aria is pure magic. Add the original tragic finale and you'll have the most heartbreaking Rossini opera.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Cavalleria Rusticana combines melodrama with heartbreak. It just may be my favorite Italian Opera.

Short, but definitely NOT sweet! Brutal, as a matter of fact.

Worth an investigation.


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## Bettina (Sep 29, 2016)

Tuoksu said:


> Butterfly made me cry the first time I saw it


Me too. I first saw Butterfly when I was about 15 years old, and I had a strong emotional reaction to it. I vowed to myself that I would never fall in love with a jerk like Pinkerton! (Unfortunately, I've ended up breaking that promise a few times...)


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## Sloe (May 9, 2014)

Rigoletto as already said.
Rigoletto sees his only child dies right in front of him

Iris she has nobody that cares for her and have no other option than to through herself into the abyss.


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## Guest (Jan 27, 2017)

Bettina said:


> Me too. I first saw Butterfly when I was about 15 years old, and I had a strong emotional reaction to it. I vowed to myself that I would never fall in love with a jerk like Pinkerton! (Unfortunately, I've ended up breaking that promise a few times...)


There must be something very attractive,I hope you figere out what it was.


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

I would suggest RIGOLETTO, LA TRAVIATA, TOSCA, or PAGLIACCI. LA BOHEME and MADAMA BUTTERFLY are certainly heartbreaking, but the operas I mentioned are more "action oriented" and so might appeal more to a complete opera novice (this was true in my own case, anyway).


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

Donizetti's _Gabriella di Vergy_.

Literally.

At the end, the jealous husband presents his wife with the beating heart of her lover.


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## Sloe (May 9, 2014)

SimonTemplar said:


> Donizetti's _Gabriella di Vergy_.
> 
> Literally.
> 
> At the end, the jealous husband presents his wife with the beating heart of her lover.


Anna Bolena, Lucia de Lamermoor and Lucrecia Borgia too.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Azol said:


> Act IV of Manon Lescaut.
> Act IV of La Boheme.
> Suor Angelica.
> 
> ...


Great taste! ..................


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

SimonTemplar said:


> Donizetti's _Gabriella di Vergy_.
> 
> Literally.
> 
> At the end, the jealous husband presents his wife with the beating heart of her lover.


Salome kisses the head from Jochanaan on a platter, does not make it necessarily heartbreaking


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

Pugg said:


> Salome kisses the head from Jochanaan on a platter, does not make it necessarily heartbreaking


No, Salome would be a HEAD-y mixture of the erotic, the religious and the bloody.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Top 5 breast thumpers: (in order of tragic sadness)
1. Dialogues des Carmelites
2. Madama Butterfly
3. The Consul
4.La Boheme
5. Romeo et Juliette
also ran: Adriana Lecouvreur/Rigoletto/La Traviata


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## Tuoksu (Sep 3, 2015)

hpowders said:


> Cavalleria Rusticana combines melodrama with heartbreak. It just may be my favorite Italian Opera.
> 
> Short, but definitely NOT sweet! Brutal, as a matter of fact.
> 
> *Worth an investigation.*


Absolutely. I recommend the film with Carla Gavazzi (the best Santuzza imo.) 





The whole film:


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## graziesignore (Mar 13, 2015)

A tossup between SUOR ANGELICA and IL TABARRO...


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

graziesignore said:


> A tossup between SUOR ANGELICA and IL TABARRO...


Oops! How could I forget that tearjerker Suor Angelica?


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## Sloe (May 9, 2014)

DavidA said:


> When she sticks that knife in herself!


Nowadays Butterfly shoots herself in the head.

I have to admit it is really effective. I have seen a version with it with Sae Kyung Rim that is even more effective were she falls down really abruptly.

By the way I think it would give Butterfly more character if she actually stabs Goro instead of just trying to stab him.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

nina foresti said:


> Top 5 breast thumpers: (in order of tragic sadness)
> 1. Dialogues des Carmelites
> 2. Madama Butterfly
> 3. The Consul
> ...


Not really Italian opera Nina.


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## Sloe (May 9, 2014)

Pugg said:


> Not really Italian opera Nina.


There are some Italian Romeo and Julia operas.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Sloe said:


> There are some Italian Romeo and Julia operas.


Just like there's a ballet, with the same name and orchestral suites.


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

Pugg said:


> Not really Italian opera Nina.


Well, take into account that the world premiere of _I dialoghi delle Carmelitane_ was at La Scala, back in 1957 and six months before the French version.


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## Reichstag aus LICHT (Oct 25, 2010)

Bohème for me. When Mimì sings, in her very first aria, "Ma quando vien lo sgelo, il primo sole è mio, il primo bacio dell'aprile è mio" it tears me apart, knowing that her time on earth is so limited.


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## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

La Traviata - It has all the prerequisites. Love, death, inevitable heartbreak... Verdi makes us sympathize so completely with his wonderful characterization of Violetta that the heartbreak is really felt when she dies, but also, maybe even more so, at the moment she pleads for Alfredo's love before leaving him in the second act. The famous "Amami, Alfredo". This is for me, the high-point of Italian opera and easily the most heartbreaking.

There are of course many others, Madama Butterfly being one of most prominent along with La Boheme. There are many other operas with moments of tragedy but with such operas as Tosca I feel there is too much drama to make it truly heartbreaking, despite the beautiful arias - for example "Vissi d'arte". 

Heartbreak is the soul of so much Italian opera - Norma, Lucia di Lammermoor, Il Trovatore, I Puritani, Manon Lescaut, La Rondine, La Wally, Cavalliera Rusticana... etc.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Pugg said:


> Not really Italian opera Nina.


Touche my friend and a thump on the noggin to me.

#1 : Madama Butterfly


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## Lensky (May 8, 2016)

*For me * Norma _Qual cor tradisti, qual cor perdisti...._


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

La Travaita still leads for me.


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## Sloe (May 9, 2014)

Bettina said:


> I agree. Her delusional hopes make me so sad! "Un bel di vedremo" gets me every time.


Penelope waited 12 years for Odysseus and he came back without having a new wife.


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

Sloe said:


> Penelope waited 12 years for Odysseus and he came back without having a new wife.


Except for the time he spent dancing Calypso.


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## Loge (Oct 30, 2014)

SUOR ANGELICA -does what Madama Butterfly and La Traviata do in under an hour. People had to be carried out of the auditorium when I saw it.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Madama Butterfly
(Also rans: Boheme/Romeo et Juliette, Suor Angelica, The Consul)


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

nina foresti said:


> Madama Butterfly
> (Also rans: Boheme/Romeo et Juliette, Suor Angelica, *The Consul*)


You are cheating, a bit. :lol:


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## alan davis (Oct 16, 2013)

I've seen a few productions of Madama Butterfly over the years and the best of these didn't leave a dry (female) eye in the house. However how sad the ending though, a miracle always happens as the curtain goes down then rises again, everyone comes back to life. So I've never shed a tear myself. The only opera I've ever seen that left me completely emotionally drained was Jake Heggie's brilliant "Dead Man Walking". It was a fantastic production but I don't ever want to see or listen to it again.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

alan davis said:


> I've seen a few productions of Madama Butterfly over the years and the best of these didn't leave a dry (female) eye in the house. However how sad the ending though, a miracle always happens as the curtain goes down then rises again, everyone comes back to life. So I've never shed a tear myself. The only opera I've ever seen that left me completely emotionally drained was Jake Heggie's brilliant "Dead Man Walking". It was a fantastic production but I don't ever want to see or listen to it again.


A composer more sadistic than Puccini? Thanks for the warning.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Pugg said:


> You are cheating, a bit. :lol:


Is my face red?


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

nina foresti said:


> Is my face red?


No, no need to. :cheers:


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## noisome (May 5, 2017)

Donizetti's Fausta is pretty tragic - ancient Rome, incest, etc

Fausta as she dies, having poisoned herself after being spurned by her stepson, is shouted down by the entire town for being the freak that she is.


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## Sonata (Aug 7, 2010)

Pugg said:


> Salome kisses the head from Jochanaan on a platter, does not make it necessarily heartbreaking


I think Jochanaan would disagree with you there Pugg!


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Sonata said:


> I think Jochanaan would disagree with you there Pugg!


His "talking" time was over by then.......


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## VladaNS (May 24, 2017)

For me La Boheme without a doubt!


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

VladaNS said:


> For me La Boheme without a doubt!


Good to see you feeling at home VladaNS.


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## Scopitone (Nov 22, 2015)

I guess the OP never came back.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Scopitone said:


> I guess the OP never came back.


Can you believe it.......


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## KRoad (Jun 1, 2012)

Rigoletto (so far) - I still have a lot of Italian Opera to listen to.


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## Star (May 27, 2017)

The end of Rigoletto is heartbreaking. Nasty piece of work but you can't help pitying the poor old guy.


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## kirolak (May 8, 2017)

O dear, my suggestion of Sor Angelica rather pales now. . . .


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## Star (May 27, 2017)

Mind you when Butterfly sticks the knife in the hankies come out in abundance. Pity the toad who deserted her doesn't get his come-uppance!


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

kirolak said:


> O dear, my suggestion of Sor Angelica rather pales now. . . .


No, it don't, everyone can have his/ her own opinion. :tiphat:


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## alvarro (Apr 18, 2012)

for me it is rigoletto, especially if the gilda is appealing.the ending is the ultimate when the heartbroken jester cries out "Gilda, my gilda. she's dead".


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## alvarro (Apr 18, 2012)

for me it is rigoletto, especially if the gilda is appealing.the ending is the ultimate when the heartbroken jester cries out "Gilda, my gilda. she's dead".


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## Sloe (May 9, 2014)

alvarro said:


> for me it is rigoletto, especially if the gilda is appealing."the ending is the ultimate when the heartbroken jester cries out "Gilda, my gilda. she's dead"."]the ending is the ultimate when the heartbroken jester cries out "Gilda, my gilda. she's dead".


When Gilda is this sweet you can´t help crying.


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## Tchaikov6 (Mar 30, 2016)

I know Madama Butterfly has been mentioned about a million times before this, but I'm nominating it again for the only opera that has ever made my cry (except La Traviata, which would be my second vote). I actually really enjoy the film version of this opera, as well-


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## Sloe (May 9, 2014)

Tchaikov6 said:


> I know Madama Butterfly has been mentioned about a million times before this, but I'm nominating it again for the only opera that has ever made my cry (except La Traviata, which would be my second vote). I actually really enjoy the film version of this opera, as well-


The only time I cried from Madama Butterfly was a video from Trondheim of the Torino regie-staging with Saekyung Rim were Butterfly shoots herself in the head, falls abruptly to the floor and Pinkerton rushes over the stage and takes Dolore with him. That was more definitive than the usual staging. But the most heartbreaking opera is not necessarily the one that causes the most physical reactions.


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

Otello 



Woodduck said:


> _Madama Butterfly._ It's so pathetic I can barely stand to listen to it.


she's like 14/15. of course a lovesick 14/15 year old is going to be pathetic lol


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## Sloe (May 9, 2014)

BalalaikaBoy said:


> Otello
> 
> she's like 14/15. of course a lovesick 14/15 year old is going to be pathetic lol


She is 15 only in the first act. The rest of the opera takes place three years later.


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

Sloe said:


> She is 15 only in the first act. The rest of the opera takes place three years later.


ah.

still, definitely Otello. Boheme is up there though.


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## Sonata (Aug 7, 2010)

BalalaikaBoy said:


> Otello
> 
> she's like 14/15. of course a lovesick 14/15 year old is going to be pathetic lol


That and the whole devote yourself completely to your marriage to the point where the rest of your family disowns you and you and your servant and child nearly starve to death. And your husband is too much of a spineless coward to face you himself. Sure Butterfly's wordly innocence tugs at our heartstrings even more, but I think those other factors are kind of the biggies.


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## Sloe (May 9, 2014)

BalalaikaBoy said:


> ah.
> 
> still, definitely Otello. Boheme is up there though.


Otello is so annoying like every other tenor that think he is betrayed but is not.

But I agree with La Boheme


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Of course Butterfly with a shout out to Suor Angelica.


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

BalalaikaBoy said:


> Otello


Same here--opting for the tragic over the sentimental.


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## Sloe (May 9, 2014)

I still think Rigoletto.
Rigoletto does everything to protect his only child and she dies anyway.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Sloe said:


> I still think Rigoletto.
> Rigoletto does everything to protect his only child and *she dies anyway*.


And my goodness does she taking her time , anyway, I like the Traviata plot, after all the misery she's realises she is not going to get better, heartbreaking.


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