A love song for a train?
Photo by Kaja Kadlecova on Unsplash
I’ve had a tune running through me head and I wanted to share it with you. It’s a delightful, happy song that my mother listened to on occasion. As her favorite music was classical, with a smattering of opera, I had assumed this was an aira from something like The Barber of Seville. Hearing this song brings back memories of Bugs Bunny’s “Rabbit of Seville” episode. Imagine my surprise when I discovered was composed in conjunction with the grand opening of the first funicular railway on Mount Vesuvius!
For those unfamiliar with the term, a funicular railway runs straight up a steep slope, usually a mountain or large hill. At one time they were popular in the U.S. but, other than three in Pennsylvania, a couple in California and one each in Tennessee and Iowa, they’re gone.
The music was composed by Luigi Denza and Peppino Turco contributed the lyrics. The song was performed for the first time in the Quisisana Hotel in Castellammare di Stabia. Denza and Turco presented it at the Piedigrotta festival the same year and became immensely popular in Italy and abroad, selling over a million copies of the sheet music in a year.
So as it turns out, the song I attributed to one of the great classical composers of the past was actually a promotional device for a new Italian attraction.
The first video below is of the greeat Andrea Bocelli performing the song in 2012, I believe.
Finally, I have Bug’s Bunny and Elmer Fudd performing the delightful “Rabbit of Seville”. I included this for two reasons, one of which is I love Bugs and his gang. The other is because, in my opinion, they complement each other. Well, that and I have to laugh every time I see this.
Enjoy.