"Vesti la giubba" is a famous tenoraria from Ruggero Leoncavallo's 1892 operaPagliacci. "Vesti la giubba" is sung at the conclusion of the first act, when Canio discovers his wife's infidelity, but must nevertheless prepare for his performance as Pagliaccio the clown because "the show must go on". The aria is often regarded as one of the most moving in the operatic repertoire of the time. The pain of Canio is portrayed in the aria and exemplifies the entire notion of the "tragic clown": smiling on the outside but crying on the inside. This is still displayed today, as the clown motif often features the painted-on tear running down the cheek of the performer. Enrico Caruso's recordings of the aria, from 1902, 1904 and 1907, were among the top selling records of the 78-rpm era and reached over a million sales. This aria is often used in popular culture, and has been featured in many renditions, mentions, and spoofs.
Libretto
Recitar! Mentre preso dal delirio, non so più quel che dico, e quel che faccio! Eppur è d'uopo, sforzati! Bah! Sei tu forse un uom? Tu se' Pagliaccio! Vesti la giubba e la faccia infarina. La gente paga, e rider vuole qua. E se Arlecchin t'invola Colombina, ridi, Pagliaccio, e ognun applaudirà! Tramuta in lazzi lo spasmo ed il pianto in una smorfia il singhiozzo e 'l dolor, Ah! Ridi, Pagliaccio, sul tuo amore infranto! Ridi del duol, che t'avvelena il cor! Act! While in delirium, I no longer know what I say, or what I do! And yet it's necessary... make an effort! Bah! Are you even a man? You are a clown! Put on your costume and powder your face. The people are paying, and they want to laugh here. And if Harlequin steals away your Columbina, laugh, clown, and all will applaud! Turn your distress and tears into jokes, your pain and sobs into a smirk, Ah! Laugh, clown, at your broken love! Laugh at the grief that poisons your heart!
Cultural references
Both the melody of the aria and dramatic points of the opera from which it comes are referenced by Homer and Jethro in the 1953 Spike Jones song "Pal Yat Chee" on RCA Victor
The opera is performed in The Simpsons episode "The Italian Bob" in which Sideshow Bob sings the final verse of the aria.
Verses from the aria are used in both Italian and English in the song "A Metaphor for the Dead" by the metal bandAnaal Nathrakh.
The aria is played in the Seinfeld episode The Opera, in which the story focuses on Joe Davola, a psychologically disturbed character obsessed with the opera believing himself to be Canio, repeatedly referring to his girlfriend, Elaine as "Nedda".
In the Marx Brothers movie A Night at the Opera Groucho sings a couple of lines "Vesti la giubba", with his own lyrics: "Ridi Pagliacci...I love you very muchee...!"
