An arrangement of one of Puccini’s greatest arias for Eb Alto Saxophone & Piano. Great piece to improve trumpeter’s player’s bell canto style of playing. Take a listen to Conrad Gozzo’s playing on the Tutti Trumpet CD for a fine example!

"Quando me'n vo'", also known as "Musetta's Waltz", is a soprano aria, a waltz in act two of Puccini's 1896 opera La bohème. It is sung by Musetta, in the presence of her bohemian friends, hoping to reclaim the attention of her occasional boyfriend Marcello.

This scene takes place at the Café Momus [fr]. Shortly after Mimì, Rodolfo, and their friends have taken seats for a drink, Marcello's former girlfriend, Musetta, shows up with her current patron, the elderly Alcindoro. They quarrel for a bit, then the episode begins as Musetta initiates her move on Marcello. She grabs the spotlight, musically speaking, for a short self-promoting aria (Quando me'n vo'). It is a song directed at the people in the café as much as at the audience in the theater.

Popular renditions of the melody were produced during the 1950s, including an American Top 40 hit by Sammy Kaye ("You") and a version by Della Reese ("Don't You Know?"), which reached number two on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.

You will find more Italian arias and Neapolitan songs in my Sibelius & ArrangeMe stores.