Pieta, Signore!

This is the hardest piece in Twenty-four Italian Songs and Arias, but I loved it so much I couldn't resist choosing it as one of my classical pieces. Initially I planned on competing in the classical division of NATS, singing this and the following piece--The Mermaid's Song--but decided I was not prepared enough (a direct consequence of choosing such hard pieces). Some problems I consistently had were getting off the breath in the lower register and pressing too much in the higher register.