In bocca al lupo!

Music has been a part of my life since childhood.  I've been singing since then and will continue until the vocal cords say “enough.”  Hopefully that time will never come.  The ongoing benefits to one's physical, emotional and spiritual disposition are immense.

 

I have always wanted to wish those in our Chorus, as well as members of other choruses with whom we collaborate occasionally, "good luck" prior to appearing on stage to perform.  Knowing that superstitious theatre folk consider it bad luck to wish someone good luck before going onstage and hence utter the phrase "break a leg," I wondered what, if any, phrase was appropriate for singers.

Opera singers use the Italian phrase "In bocca al lupo", literally "in the mouth of the wolf.” 

The correct response is not "grazie", wherein good luck is not achieved, but rather "crepi il lupo", which translates loosely to "I shall eat the wolf" or "I hope the wolf will die".  The origins of the phrase are questionable.  It either originated from wolf hunters in the Appennine Mountains in central and southern Italy, who, after killing a wolf, would take the skin around to show sheep farming villagers that their prowess had assured the safety of the sheep; or possibly from the tale of Romulus and Remus, the twin sons of Mars, the god of war.  After being plucked from the River Tiber by a she-wolf and then nursed by same, they went on to found the city of Rome, no doubt strengthened by the wolf’s wild milk. 

 There is a possible connection to the "Little Red Riding Hood" fable as well, for either she or a hunter, depending on the version, outwits the wolf!

At any rate, the phrase is used as a gesture of good will, wishing the person "good luck" as they are about to undertake a noteworthy task. And I will certainly wish my fellow MCE members “In bocca al lupo” before we perform our concerts in December, and hope that they will valiantly reply “crepi il lupo!”

Keith McClure

Bass, Master Chorus Eastside