Ellen McLain who voiced for GladOS and also voiced all the turrets in the game who was an opera singer back then. Man her voice was heavenly. She was the one who sang this song and all the ending songs of Portal series.
@@Irreverent_Radiation by "was" I mean she did a lot of opera back then. I know she's still alive cause you can still see her on the TF2 sandvich saga.
it is also such a refreshing tonal shift you have just spent hours doing puzzles and then a intense boss fight and you get hit with this song before the credit rolls. it just hits right as a contrast
I love that the bass that kicks in halfway is the payoff of a joke, there are background bits throughout the game about a King Turret, and right as you're ascending you pass the Fat Lady Turret singing this and then the giant King Turret in the background that you might not have even noticed sings bass.
There's a double meaning in this song: the Italian lyrics say "oh, ciel" (oh, heaven), which sounds like "Chell", the name of the main character. Which makes it quite touching when you take the meaning of the rest of the lyrics (a mother saying goodbye to her dear child) if it's directed at Chell.
Supposedly Want You Gone was written to be a breakup song about a bad romance, implying that GlaDOS had romantic feelings for Chell rather than the mother/daughter theory.
@@cristiansotelo514 Caroline is GlaDOS, not Chell. Caroline was Cave Johnson's secretary, who he had his scientists put into GlaDOS when he died. You hear this narrated through the lower parts of the facility. As Cave gets more and more sick, he talks about how he's got his scientists working on a robot that they're gonna put his brain in, but eventually says that if he dies before it's complete, to put Caroline in it. Something along the lines of having her run the place because she's always been the brains behind the operation or something. It's a pretty big piece of the plot and GlaDOS' character arc in the second game. At the end of the game, GlaDOS says that saving Chell taught her a valuable lesson. Where Caroline lives in her brain. And then she "deletes" Caroline before sending Chell off to the surface. But the song lyric is "now little Caroline is in here too", implying that she lied about deleting Caroline, the human part of her.
Ellen McLain is an opera singer who sang this mostly off improvised and they loved it, added it to the game itself. Chances are she was just thinking back to those exact songs and singing whatever was foremost in her head. The context, the visuals and the fried mind I had when I got to that part of the game makes this song so intertwined with emotion for me.
@@Raptorworld22 que lastima* which can translator to "what a pity" but the way she sings it sounds more like the meaning of "hurt" essentially saying "Which hurts" given the tone of the song I am going to skip syllables and go for the more literal meaning If I am understanding the Italian correctly it basically translates "Dear beautiful one, My dear beautiful one, My little girl, Oh Chell, What a pity, what a pity, oh my dear one goodbye"
@@ralexcraft990 Oh i thought you were talking about if it's italian, since you were talking about the italian later. I think the "what a pity" is considered the canon translation but I'm not sure, I don't speak either language, which is why I was confused by your first comment. Sorry
I absolutely love that this song effectively serves as the finale to Portal and at least as the dynamic between GLaDOS and Chell. GLaDOS acts spiteful towards Chell through the whole game and at the end effectively says she's not worth killing and just needs to go away and then sends Chell out with an entire song effectively referring to Chell as her beloved child
This video would have been so much better with the actual cutscene :') Like the confusion of the turrets playing the song and then the singing kicks in... I'd gladly vote for a second part just for you to get the true experience lol
Thirded. As soon as I saw he was watching/listening to the soundtrack version, I thought 'He's never played the game, and he's totally missing all of the context from this lovely song'.
This is a song that plays after GLaDOS finally lets you leave Aperture Sciences. It's GLaDOS' final goodbye to someone she got attached to despite herself. It's also something she was preparing to do (probably far less gently) since you can see a few turret practice during a previous level.
@@thegardenofeatin5965 GLaDOS is in control of the whole facility. That includes the turrets. If they sing, it's because GLaDOS let them, or made them. And Chell never even hears the first note of Want you Gone. That's a credit song that plays only for us and Wheatly (the Space core didn't listen.)
@@minasthirith6314This probably Caroline singing toward Chell to stay away from science and lived a freedom life. Glados may or may not deleting Caroline. It can goes both way. Either this is Caroline final song toward her child before get deleted by Glados OR Glados just bluffing she delete Caroline so Chell won't come back there and the turret orchestra just showing to us Glados Caroline truth feeling in foreign language.
@@mr.nobody896 I simply interpret the song as GLaDOS having made an orchestra to say goodbye e to Chell. With or without bullet at first, I can't tell. Might even be that they were supposed to do the first notes, then she gets to the final floor and gets shredded. But Want You Gone is sung by GLaDOS, with both her trademark voice and insults. So it's GLaDOS saying "I miss you please never come back". As for deleting Caroline, I'm of those that believe she didn't, but there's no way to tell, so whatev's.
@@minasthirith6314 fan theories all the way down at this point. but caroline isn't, after all, something that 'lives in her brain' she is caroline. the testing addiction and every other thing they did to 'make her' run the facility indefinitely is the extra stuff. You can't really delete system32...or else.
Ah yea, Cara Mia Addio is weirdly enough complementary to the credit song of Portal 2 that plays right after, "Want you gone". The tone is noticeably different but somehow the intention and meaning is the same, and Marco did catch the meaning of the song from the lyrics. Thus combined, it makes for a very satisfying conclusion i won't spoil, it is just that gratifying. Also the scene where Cara Mia Addio is played has the entirety of the song sung by portable turrets that at every turn before the aforementioned scene, was shooting infinite barrages of hot lead with full intention to unalive Chell (the player). Fun to see you analyze the musical aspect of it, Marco.
Of note, the bullets are never actually fired properly from the turrets since aperture doesn't seem to understand the idea of chemical propellant, so they're probably quite cold.
For those who don't know 1:15 what you Can hear is the sound of the animal turret king. To make very easy to understand. Imagine a turret with the size of a flat. That "bong" nose is when he opens and close his "arms" (where the guns are located)
@@Locoocoloco it was caused by a virus that permanently damaged my hearing years ago. Seems like my ears can't pick up low tones, but I can still feel them throughout my body Also no problem! I appreciate the interest
Wow this explains a lot. I remember hearing that Ellen McLain, GLaDOS's va, despite not actually speaking Italian, basically improvised these vocals based on what she learned in opera xD
Fun fact; Ellen McLain, the singer behind this song, was also asked to make up some lyrics for it. She said in an interview that she basically threw together something that vaguely sounded Latin-ish, but was by no means actual Italian or Latin.
You'd have to watch the accompanying "gameplay" for the full experience. All the turrets working as instruments instead of shooting you... The situation is so surreal. And at the same time so endearing. .D
maybe wheatley wasn't having trouble with the translation software at the end of chapter 5 because he was dumb, but because it's just bad translation software ^^'
"at first i thought you were my worst enemy, but in the end i realized you were my best friend all along" *proceed to put together an entire turret orchestra as your elevator music as she sends you to your freedom*
GlaDOS didn't put together an orchestra. Those were the turrets protecting the entrance/exit to the facility, including King Turret. She just made them sing for you instead of obliterating you.
After hearing this song I immediately went to search who sang it and I was VERY surprised it was Ellen McLain, who also voiced the villain in the game (in retrospect it makes sense that GladOS would sing the farewell song). I was even more surprised to learn that she did opera back then.
I don't know if you already know this, but in the original Portal with developer commentaries on, there is a commentary by Ellen McLain herself, where she talks about how Still Alive is quite different from how she usually sings, and provides an very short example of her opera singing.
The most impressive to my mind, was when she shared in an interview that during Portal 1, she voiced most of the lines twice. The developers wanted the voice of Glados to be the usual synthed robot voice at the beginning, but needed Glados to have a bit of actual personality in her dialogue when she was actually speaking directly to the player, and they couldn't get that by just running Ellen's voice through a synth modulator. So Ellen voiced each of Glados lines once, they ran it through a modulator, and then they had her listen to the modulated line and mimic it, but give it just a hint of life. So every time you hear Glados speak directly to the player in both games, Ellen is doing most of the heavy lifting herself, with minimal computer interference to just polish up that robot sound. We could not have gotten a better VA/singer for Glados, and I'm SO grateful to her for her contribution to bringing the game to life. It was SO well done!
I had the privilege and honor of meeting Ellen McLain at two conventions and she is an absolute treasure, and loves the Portal fans. She's an accomplished singer and would probably be totally down to join you for an interview.
You really have to experience that song at the end of the game. The heart sinking feeling right before it begins is something I remember to this day almost 10 years later
Agreed. There were a full three moments in the ending where I thought I was gonna be executed by firing squad. One was at the beginning when the four turrets are drawing a bead on you. I was pleasantly surprised when they shut off their targeting lasers and started humming. Just a last little goodbye from some little guys who had grown fond of me. The second moment was coming up on the giant room full of turrets and thinking, "Ah, THIS is the firing squad. Glados always was a dramatic bitch." Then the Soprano started singing and that REALLY threw me off. It was like the whole facility was seeing me off. Then I noticed the Beast King Turret in the background opening it's weapons up and I was like "Damn, Glados is just fucking with me at this point," only for the Beast King to come in on the Baritone. It wasn't until the elevator really started moving that I realized it was a sincere goodbye, and it wasn't until after the Companion Cube showed up that I realized it was Glados herself bidding me farewell. It was an emotional rollercoaster.
@@skyleryarroll2369 I subscribe to the idea that the first four turrets actually do kill Chell. It's left intentionally ambiguous of course, but that's the most likely interpretation to my mind. But regardless of whether or not one believes that Chell lives or dies, it is almost irrefutable that the writers were indeed referencing Greek mythology and death in the final scene. In Greek mythology, when a hero dies, they ascend to the Elysium fields, accompanied by the sound of a chorus, as well as the presence of a friend. That's almost exactly what happens to Chell. She ascends up the elevator to the sound of the turret opera, into a large and idyllic looking field, where her "best friend" the companion cube joins her. The smoking gun for me is that it's literally the incinerated companion cube from the first Portal. Again, they clearly leave it open to interpretation, but I think it's the only way it can end for Chell. :(
@@robertholt3996 The only reason I disagree is because Want You Gone plays immediately afterwards, which repeatedly states how Chell has her "short, sad life left" and was supposedly written as a bad breakup song about how GlaDOS had grown to love Chell and resented seeing her go.
I highly recommend you play Portal 2 (and Portal if you haven't yet). Getting to this point at the end of the game honestly made me tear up, and when you look up the lyrics it's doubly more emotional after the events of the game and the relationship of the the main character and GladOS. It's SO good! The ending is very bittersweet in the best sense.
This song unironically changed my life by getting me into language learning. I learnt firstly what the lyrics meant but then realized I really enjoyed doing it. So then I learnt Italian for a few weeks, then dropped it for Japanese then dropped that for German (which I’ve been learning fora few months now and am enjoying a lot more than Italian xd)
I loved stumbling across this in the game. Your expression when she first starts singing is great. Helps that Ellen McClain is an opera singer, so she was definitely pulling from that experience. I'm not sure how much input she had with the song though. I think regardless of her input she probably found it just as funny. GLaDOS is so damn good. Your singing is amazing and it's great to hear you sing.
The feeling I get from this song is that it's AI (of course) trying to create an opera song from the data it has (probably using the song book that you referenced). It seems that is emphasized by the short little pause at 0:19 as GladOS slowly gets the hang of creating the music and lyrics. As the song progresses GladOS adds more elements and the lyrics build up until the finale.
I can only remember crying once at a video game. And it was because of this song. It's one of those that hits so much harder when you've played the game.
might I recommend to you Outer Wilds if you have not played it already, a deeply touching game that will make you cry at the very end, despite it not being that emotional of a game throughout the gameplay
@@NewsofPE I did play it earlier this year, it was very emotional but I didn't cry, I'm just a hard shell to crack haha. Such an incredible game in any case, I'll be playing the dlc very soon!
This gives me chills every time I listen to it!!!! Also I again suggest more StarCraft music. The original music was so unique for its time. And gosh dang you’re an amazing singer!!!
This song never fails to make me feel things. I love how, right after it, the more robotic version of glaDOS sings her own piece with a completely different tone. But even it's regretful
I did not expect this to end up here. In fact, i forgot it existed. Brings up many fobd memories... And thanks for the double feature, hearing you sing for an extended part of this vid was very nice ;) Obligatory reminder that Poetal 2 is great. The gameplay, but especially the humour makes it ubique and i wholheartedly recommend you play it if you find the time. It's not too long either. And the impact of this song's scene in context is on a different level.
The song carries a very great theme for the game. The Singer is the same person who voiced the antagonist and its theorized that GLaDOS when she was human was the adoptive mother of the main character Chell. She is sad to let Chell go but she knows its best for her to leave and stay far away from science the very thing that robbed Chell of a childhood and robbed Caroline (GLaDOS) of her life. Also an interesting fact the voice actor for GLaDOS was actually an opera singer when she was younger before she began voice acting.
I so do wish you watched this with the visuals, it's such a tear-jerker for someone who loves this world and these characters and this story. It doesn't surprise me at all that this style of song is very old, because this kind of theme is very old, of someone you love going away and how few words it requires to get across that feeling of grief when you send them off. It's a farewell from GladOS to Chell certainly, but it's also a goodbye to the players, a final send-off for such an amazing game.
This song will NEVER fail to make me bawl my eyes out. Music has always been able to make me emotional, but this in particular, it brings back so many memories of the first time I finished portal 2 at 12 years old and realised this was something special. It honestly gave me such an appreciation for Opera
You're kind of freaking me out Marco, I have listened to this exact song about 40 minutes ago after someone sent it in discord while we were talking video game music..
The "Chell" in the lyrics is actually a note towards main characters name. Which is literally Chel yeah. And the lyrics may or may not hint some kinda blood relation between her and glados.
@@mibadada Well, we don't actually know her marital status, really. And since we see Chel's name on the "bring your daughter to work" exhibit, we know that she's a daughter of SOMEONE in aperture. Probably someone smart, too, with the way her creation looks. And the lyrics to cara mia addio sing something along the lines of "my beautiful girl, my little girl, O chell". While we don't have any confirmations or otherwise, portal is known for it's subtle storytelling through different mediums. At least I believe so.
@@tediumlacie We do have confirmation, actually. Ellen (the singer, voice of Glados, etc) has stated she was told to make up the lyrics based on the single idea that it's Glados saying goodbye to Chell. She's also stated she had very bad Itallian, and that not all of the lyrics were actually in Italian at all, which led to many mistranslations of the song. She's clearly trying to get across the idea that Chell is someone she loves, but when you combine it with her other 4 songs written for the series (Still Alive, Want You Gone, You Wouldn't Know, and Don't Say Goodbye) which all have romantic undertones, it becomes clear the reading of the song as maternal likely wasn't intentional at all.
AAAAAAAA PORTAL! I used to be so obsessed with Portal lore. I didn’t expect this from you, glad you’ve done it! I’m going to enjoy this 🍿 will edit when I finish watching. OMG thank you for that book recommendation. I’m going to build an OC around it and learn from it myself. Hearing you sing was nice! Made me want to listen to my Ali Project playlist. I hope you’ll play Portal 2 cause it’s definitely a nice (and very challenging) game. Great reaction video :D
This song is really funny to me too, but for perhaps a different reason lol. The devs have described the end of Portal two as a breakup in The Final Hours of Portal 2, a book they published on the games development. I've also heard "Bambina" is used a lot like "baby" is for a girl in english, but I'm not Italian so I'm not 100%. But the image of GLaDOS writing an entire opera piece (even a basic one) to break up with a girl who has never talked to her and she says she hates is immensely funny XD
It’s the gun turrets who are singing by the way, all of them were made sentient but have to fire at you anyway, just as you are forced to either knock over or destroy many of them, and they say things like “I don’t blame you” “No hard feelings” and “Goodnight” when you knock them over, and this song is all of them gathering to sing you a goodbye
oh men, the video adds so much context to it, still, I'm happy you like this one, such a surprise for everyone, all of the portal songs actually ❤ loved to see you sing 🎉🎉🎉
When I first heard this song I felt like the whole facility was say ingeniería farewell, and then I stumbled with a translation and I was right, GLaDOS is saying goodbye. I honestly got to like her in the second game.
It's interesting that you mention how this song reminds you of the songs people practice when they start singing since at this point in the game most of the robots are starting to experience autonomy and a sense of self (especially that 'main' robot, GladOS).
I just think it only could be understadable after you play, my big cousin who played portal 2 showed me this music, i dint understand, the lyrics, i didn't thougt it was sad, 4 or 3 years later i played, and i heard the music, i cried, my big cousin is still a portal 2 lover.
I had no idea there was this much behind the song! (Hope I'm not spoiling anything) I think GladOS was expressing herself in a way that the player character was not supposed to understand, because the things she overtly said were pretty much the exact opposite of what she hid in the song. And ... being the egomaniac she is, she had to prove that she actually could have won in the end, but chose not to, which also contradicts what she said several seconds before that. And, based on what the game hints that GladOS actually is ... man, it's perfect.
Oh wow, never actually heard you sing. Based on the pitch of your speaking voice i wouldve never guessed you'd sing in such a low register. Its beautiful
My son wrote to Ellen McLain a few months after Portal 2 came out. She actually took the time to answer a 6-year-old child. All I can say is "Wow" what a class act 10/10.
Its interesting he points out the book that is the 101 of learning how to sing because within the context of the game the robots/sentries are slowly learning about emotion's so its not a far stretch to say this is a nod to the actual book since the robots are JUST learning how to sing and express emotion. There's also a secret part in the game showing the Opera Sentry teaching the smaller sentries how to sing.
When your actually in the game, you would usually not pay attention to/not care about what is actually being sung. The 100+ turrets singing it to you gets your attention a bit more.
Was not expecting Marco singing. x_x Ever since I heard you sing Nessun Dorma (Which I still can't find the clip of you singing, you did it brilliantly) I've really enjoyed getting to hear you sing.
I think an important part you maybe missed or that didn't make it into the video is the line "perche non passi lontana? si lontana da scienza". Scienza has a very multilayered meaning here, and is kinda what makes this song so profound as a "send-off" at the end of the game.
awesome lol, yeah so basically when making the little farewell chip tune they asked the voice actress for Glados (an evil ai) to just make up some tonal sounds theyd mix into a song, but she was a trained opera singer and knew Italian, so she basically improved that tune at the end.
Gotta be honest, this might be the ONE song I've wanted to hear you react to, and you definitely did not disappoint. I've been a HUGE fan of the Portal series ever since the first game came out in 2008, and I *HIGHLY* recommend playing both games whenever you get the chance. They're both relatively short (first one can be completed in a few hours, second is a bit longer because it not only has more levels but also more secrets). So, this song plays at the end of Portal 2, just before the end credits as your character, Chell, ascends from the facility. I won't reveal more than that, because there's a very good reason why not only this song is played but also why it sounds the way it does. It's such an incredible send-off, though... really cathartic, but also melancholic (which you picked up on).
I can't believe I never made the connection to Caro Mio Ben before! My very first voice teacher brought me that song as an introduction to classical singing and I've completely forgotten it. I'm so glad UA-cam brought me to your channel, I don't think I would have never made the connection otherwise! Great stuff, keep it going! :)
Every time I hear this I still see the chamber filled with gun turrets, the fat turret in the middle singing, the animal king belting out those low notes from the back as the elevator platform slooowly rises to the ceiling while they sing goodbye to the character they'd been trying to kill for the entire game.
Portal 2 is one of my favourite games of all time- I've recently gotten around to actually playing it, and.. I've loved every second of it. The soundtrack for me is up there in my favourite soudntracks together with Undertale and Deltarune's, it's so good. I'm so glad you reacted to Cara Mia Addio. Also, I don't know if it's just me, but... I've always personally interpreted this song as not necessarily GLaDOS herself saying goodbye to Chell, the player character, but more so as the entire science facility of Aperture where both of the games take place saying goodbye to her- because Chell is the child of Aperture. She was there both when she was little and as an adult, she has influenced the events of both of the games... she's the one whose life got shaped by Aperture, and Aperture's story got shaped by hers. This is the whole entire facility letting go of her. The song is sung by turrets, these robots that shoot bullets at you in the test chambers, trying to kill you... but now, they don't shoot. Instead, they sing- saying goodbye to Aperture's daughter. ...Regardless, this song is beautiful and I love it- I appreciated your comparison with traditional opera songs as well. And, also, I think that you'd enjoy more of this game's soundtrack- I think that it would be especially cool to see your reaction to the song Machiavellian Bach, or to the credits songs of the games- Still Alive and Want You Gone.
As someone learning how to sing Opera, and Caro Mio Ben being my very first pice of music I’ve ever learned, I now now feel validated 💀💀 Now to see if I can sing the turret song-
Well, it is just a bunch of robots and AI using what speakers and noises they've been equipped with to produce this song for the main character as she is sent up, out and away.
i know this video is old, but if you're still interested, there ARE videos of ellen mclain, who sang this song, singing it live, so you can hear it without the effects on her voice. just thought i would mention!
You should've watched a video of the song that has the in-game turrets and everything. Most of the music are made from samples of stepper motors, and I think that's a really neat idea. They played 100% into the whole "robotic" aspect of the song. Actually, now that I think of it, the way you described this as "similar to a beginner opera singer's music" makes sense in canon as well, because the song was supposed to be made by an android to send off our main character. The android probably just rehashed some basic opera music and then went with it, because, you know, android.
I really like the fact that your first impression was "this sounds just like the other basic opera songs that beginners learn." Canonically, the song was written by a hyper intelligent AI on the spot as a farewell to her surrogate (and possibly biological) daughter. Apparently, it sounds like what you would get if you told ChatGPT to write an opera, which is kinda what happened in game...
I think u should play this peace of game to experience whole soundtrack. Portal 1 is not required to play portal 2 but it is iconic and everyone will reccomend it to play as well. :D
Knowing how sarcastic Portal 2 is, and especially how sarcastic GLaDoS is, I could totally believe if this was made to be a literally parody of those pieces to Chell. Valve making one of its moves again huh. Edit: Actually I always liked a lot the ost of Portal 2. It sounded so, idk, unnerving, dark. But it always fit with the game so well. God I love that game
never thought I'd be singing caro mio ben on a video game music channel but here we are.
You are now legally obligated to listen to want you gone, it’s the end credits song to portal two.
A wonderfully passive aggressive song
Bravo
It feels better with context of the game, you can try to play it in free time. It's not too long and gameplay is good
Thank you for your voice.
Very much enjoyable 😊
Ellen McLain who voiced for GladOS and also voiced all the turrets in the game who was an opera singer back then. Man her voice was heavenly. She was the one who sang this song and all the ending songs of Portal series.
"Was"?
I'm pretty sure she's still alive
@@Irreverent_Radiation by "was" I mean she did a lot of opera back then. I know she's still alive cause you can still see her on the TF2 sandvich saga.
@@noox13 I know, it just read weirdly and I had to check if she was alive. Also I wanted to make the "Still Alive" reference.
The same voice for The Witch in L4D franchise. If you don't know,now you know
@@smolpp1708 as gladOS would say "thank god youre still alive"
You really need to watch a video of the moment this plays in the game to get the true experience, its beautiful
Or Even better, playthrough both games and Then watch the cutscene
@@LOBricksAndSecrets i dont think hed do that
It’s dorky, but that scene reliably makes me cry, haha
@@rip1597 it's a good game that held up decently well, not too long either, don't see why not
@@dariominiello9934 he doesnt play or at least upload the games he plays the games he reacts to
I adore the Portal 2 ending. Cara Mia Addio is such a lovely sendoff. It's cute, silly, and surprisingly heartfelt.
it is also such a refreshing tonal shift you have just spent hours doing puzzles and then a intense boss fight and you get hit with this song before the credit rolls. it just hits right as a contrast
@@HarithBK And then the credits roll beings the levity back with "Want You Gone"
I love that the bass that kicks in halfway is the payoff of a joke, there are background bits throughout the game about a King Turret, and right as you're ascending you pass the Fat Lady Turret singing this and then the giant King Turret in the background that you might not have even noticed sings bass.
There's a double meaning in this song: the Italian lyrics say "oh, ciel" (oh, heaven), which sounds like "Chell", the name of the main character. Which makes it quite touching when you take the meaning of the rest of the lyrics (a mother saying goodbye to her dear child) if it's directed at Chell.
Na Glados be trolling chell IN ITALIAN (well hey she is an ultra computer megaorganism)
Supposedly Want You Gone was written to be a breakup song about a bad romance, implying that GlaDOS had romantic feelings for Chell rather than the mother/daughter theory.
@@Khotetsu what do you even say?, in the song GlaDOS call chell " little Caroline, is a mother/duaghter song in a GlaDOS way
@@cristiansotelo514 Caroline is GlaDOS, not Chell. Caroline was Cave Johnson's secretary, who he had his scientists put into GlaDOS when he died. You hear this narrated through the lower parts of the facility. As Cave gets more and more sick, he talks about how he's got his scientists working on a robot that they're gonna put his brain in, but eventually says that if he dies before it's complete, to put Caroline in it. Something along the lines of having her run the place because she's always been the brains behind the operation or something. It's a pretty big piece of the plot and GlaDOS' character arc in the second game.
At the end of the game, GlaDOS says that saving Chell taught her a valuable lesson. Where Caroline lives in her brain. And then she "deletes" Caroline before sending Chell off to the surface. But the song lyric is "now little Caroline is in here too", implying that she lied about deleting Caroline, the human part of her.
daughter/mother relationship? What in tarnation
Ellen McLain is an opera singer who sang this mostly off improvised and they loved it, added it to the game itself.
Chances are she was just thinking back to those exact songs and singing whatever was foremost in her head.
The context, the visuals and the fried mind I had when I got to that part of the game makes this song so intertwined with emotion for me.
Yeah, iirc she admitted that the "que la stima" part is spanish that she slipped in there, not actually italian, therefore adding a different meaning.
@@Raptorworld22 que lastima* which can translator to "what a pity" but the way she sings it sounds more like the meaning of "hurt" essentially saying "Which hurts" given the tone of the song I am going to skip syllables and go for the more literal meaning
If I am understanding the Italian correctly it basically translates "Dear beautiful one, My dear beautiful one, My little girl, Oh Chell, What a pity, what a pity, oh my dear one goodbye"
@@ralexcraft990 Okay, but what does it mean in spanish, which is what it's supposed to be?
@@Raptorworld22 I already said, it’s either “what a pity” or “which hurts”
@@ralexcraft990 Oh i thought you were talking about if it's italian, since you were talking about the italian later. I think the "what a pity" is considered the canon translation but I'm not sure, I don't speak either language, which is why I was confused by your first comment. Sorry
I absolutely love that this song effectively serves as the finale to Portal and at least as the dynamic between GLaDOS and Chell. GLaDOS acts spiteful towards Chell through the whole game and at the end effectively says she's not worth killing and just needs to go away and then sends Chell out with an entire song effectively referring to Chell as her beloved child
Then follows it up with “Want you gone”
@@mrtoast244 Ah, the classic GLaDOS irony.
I’ll always support the fan theory Caroline was Chell’s adoptive daughter. EDIT:(meant Chell was Carolines’s daughter)
Funny you think it's the finale. ;-)
@@Nimoot i mean... Valve can't count to 3.
This video would have been so much better with the actual cutscene :') Like the confusion of the turrets playing the song and then the singing kicks in... I'd gladly vote for a second part just for you to get the true experience lol
seconded!!
Thirded. As soon as I saw he was watching/listening to the soundtrack version, I thought 'He's never played the game, and he's totally missing all of the context from this lovely song'.
Exactly
Because voice effect and some sfx,
I can't find full music and without sfx or Vocal effect
@@KazanaAoi I felt the EXACTLY same way.
0:56 You can literally pin-point the moment the funny Italian singer man's heart lit up, and I adore it
I am not ashamed to say that i cried in the ending when i heard this masterpiece
me too friend me too...
Same here
This is a song that plays after GLaDOS finally lets you leave Aperture Sciences.
It's GLaDOS' final goodbye to someone she got attached to despite herself.
It's also something she was preparing to do (probably far less gently) since you can see a few turret practice during a previous level.
It's not GlaDOS' song; it's the turrets. GLaDOS sings Want You Gone. The turrets sing Cara Mia Addio.
@@thegardenofeatin5965 GLaDOS is in control of the whole facility. That includes the turrets. If they sing, it's because GLaDOS let them, or made them.
And Chell never even hears the first note of Want you Gone. That's a credit song that plays only for us and Wheatly (the Space core didn't listen.)
@@minasthirith6314This probably Caroline singing toward Chell to stay away from science and lived a freedom life.
Glados may or may not deleting Caroline. It can goes both way. Either this is Caroline final song toward her child before get deleted by Glados OR Glados just bluffing she delete Caroline so Chell won't come back there and the turret orchestra just showing to us Glados Caroline truth feeling in foreign language.
@@mr.nobody896 I simply interpret the song as GLaDOS having made an orchestra to say goodbye e to Chell. With or without bullet at first, I can't tell. Might even be that they were supposed to do the first notes, then she gets to the final floor and gets shredded.
But Want You Gone is sung by GLaDOS, with both her trademark voice and insults. So it's GLaDOS saying "I miss you please never come back". As for deleting Caroline, I'm of those that believe she didn't, but there's no way to tell, so whatev's.
@@minasthirith6314 fan theories all the way down at this point. but caroline isn't, after all, something that 'lives in her brain' she is caroline. the testing addiction and every other thing they did to 'make her' run the facility indefinitely is the extra stuff. You can't really delete system32...or else.
So here's a fun fact: GLaDOS's voice actress is actually an opera singer!
Ah yea, Cara Mia Addio is weirdly enough complementary to the credit song of Portal 2 that plays right after, "Want you gone". The tone is noticeably different but somehow the intention and meaning is the same, and Marco did catch the meaning of the song from the lyrics. Thus combined, it makes for a very satisfying conclusion i won't spoil, it is just that gratifying. Also the scene where Cara Mia Addio is played has the entirety of the song sung by portable turrets that at every turn before the aforementioned scene, was shooting infinite barrages of hot lead with full intention to unalive Chell (the player). Fun to see you analyze the musical aspect of it, Marco.
Legendary song
Of note, the bullets are never actually fired properly from the turrets since aperture doesn't seem to understand the idea of chemical propellant, so they're probably quite cold.
@@CrazySleel "We fire the whole bullet! That's 60% more bullets per bullet!"
@@CrazySleel And it also neatly explains why Chell can take so many bullets before dying.
For those who don't know 1:15 what you Can hear is the sound of the animal turret king. To make very easy to understand. Imagine a turret with the size of a flat. That "bong" nose is when he opens and close his "arms" (where the guns are located)
He's a giant bass.
Wish I could hear it, but i can't hear low tones unfortunately so I'll just have to go off of visuals
Still caught me off guard when I saw it though
@@TheSandboxMasterThats very interesting, is it it a type of condition? Im sorry if its rude of me to ask, just genuinely intrigued
@@Locoocoloco it was caused by a virus that permanently damaged my hearing years ago. Seems like my ears can't pick up low tones, but I can still feel them throughout my body
Also no problem! I appreciate the interest
Wow this explains a lot. I remember hearing that Ellen McLain, GLaDOS's va, despite not actually speaking Italian, basically improvised these vocals based on what she learned in opera xD
And it just goes to show how much talent she has, honestly.
Fun fact; Ellen McLain, the singer behind this song, was also asked to make up some lyrics for it. She said in an interview that she basically threw together something that vaguely sounded Latin-ish, but was by no means actual Italian or Latin.
You'd have to watch the accompanying "gameplay" for the full experience. All the turrets working as instruments instead of shooting you... The situation is so surreal. And at the same time so endearing. .D
The fact that the lyrics sounds like they were written using Google translates makes it even funnier, damn love this song ahaha
maybe wheatley wasn't having trouble with the translation software at the end of chapter 5 because he was dumb, but because it's just bad translation software ^^'
@@hydrogen-8 Great, now I have that headcanon that Aperture used Google Translate in the state of the time Portal 2 came out...
Well...they were written by an AI.
@@stormshadow_6477 I mean this is cave Johnson we're talking about here. So it wouldn't be that surprising
@@jacthing1 Very true
The expression when the vocal comes in at 0:55 is so good
"at first i thought you were my worst enemy, but in the end i realized you were my best friend all along"
*proceed to put together an entire turret orchestra as your elevator music as she sends you to your freedom*
GlaDOS didn't put together an orchestra. Those were the turrets protecting the entrance/exit to the facility, including King Turret. She just made them sing for you instead of obliterating you.
After hearing this song I immediately went to search who sang it and I was VERY surprised it was Ellen McLain, who also voiced the villain in the game (in retrospect it makes sense that GladOS would sing the farewell song). I was even more surprised to learn that she did opera back then.
I don't know if you already know this, but in the original Portal with developer commentaries on, there is a commentary by Ellen McLain herself, where she talks about how Still Alive is quite different from how she usually sings, and provides an very short example of her opera singing.
She also did the turrets, and two of the personality cores, as well as Caroline
The most impressive to my mind, was when she shared in an interview that during Portal 1, she voiced most of the lines twice. The developers wanted the voice of Glados to be the usual synthed robot voice at the beginning, but needed Glados to have a bit of actual personality in her dialogue when she was actually speaking directly to the player, and they couldn't get that by just running Ellen's voice through a synth modulator. So Ellen voiced each of Glados lines once, they ran it through a modulator, and then they had her listen to the modulated line and mimic it, but give it just a hint of life. So every time you hear Glados speak directly to the player in both games, Ellen is doing most of the heavy lifting herself, with minimal computer interference to just polish up that robot sound. We could not have gotten a better VA/singer for Glados, and I'm SO grateful to her for her contribution to bringing the game to life. It was SO well done!
You know, it's kind of really nice that this one got you to bust out the opera chops so quick.
I had the privilege and honor of meeting Ellen McLain at two conventions and she is an absolute treasure, and loves the Portal fans. She's an accomplished singer and would probably be totally down to join you for an interview.
You really have to experience that song at the end of the game. The heart sinking feeling right before it begins is something I remember to this day almost 10 years later
"THAT BITCH SHES ... letting me go??"
Agreed. There were a full three moments in the ending where I thought I was gonna be executed by firing squad. One was at the beginning when the four turrets are drawing a bead on you. I was pleasantly surprised when they shut off their targeting lasers and started humming. Just a last little goodbye from some little guys who had grown fond of me. The second moment was coming up on the giant room full of turrets and thinking, "Ah, THIS is the firing squad. Glados always was a dramatic bitch." Then the Soprano started singing and that REALLY threw me off. It was like the whole facility was seeing me off. Then I noticed the Beast King Turret in the background opening it's weapons up and I was like "Damn, Glados is just fucking with me at this point," only for the Beast King to come in on the Baritone. It wasn't until the elevator really started moving that I realized it was a sincere goodbye, and it wasn't until after the Companion Cube showed up that I realized it was Glados herself bidding me farewell. It was an emotional rollercoaster.
@@skyleryarroll2369 I subscribe to the idea that the first four turrets actually do kill Chell. It's left intentionally ambiguous of course, but that's the most likely interpretation to my mind.
But regardless of whether or not one believes that Chell lives or dies, it is almost irrefutable that the writers were indeed referencing Greek mythology and death in the final scene. In Greek mythology, when a hero dies, they ascend to the Elysium fields, accompanied by the sound of a chorus, as well as the presence of a friend. That's almost exactly what happens to Chell. She ascends up the elevator to the sound of the turret opera, into a large and idyllic looking field, where her "best friend" the companion cube joins her. The smoking gun for me is that it's literally the incinerated companion cube from the first Portal.
Again, they clearly leave it open to interpretation, but I think it's the only way it can end for Chell. :(
@@robertholt3996 The only reason I disagree is because Want You Gone plays immediately afterwards, which repeatedly states how Chell has her "short, sad life left" and was supposedly written as a bad breakup song about how GlaDOS had grown to love Chell and resented seeing her go.
That ending scene made me tear up back when I finished the game. It felt like a punch in the gut, in a good way.
Your face at the beginning, glorious XD You have the best 'wait what' expressions!
Portal's songs have always been absolutely inspired.
In retrospect it’s a shock this wasn’t already covered
Yeah, "Weirdly legitimate," it's a good description of Portal 2 in general.
Both ending songs for portal are must listens. Still Alive, and Want You Gone
I highly recommend you play Portal 2 (and Portal if you haven't yet). Getting to this point at the end of the game honestly made me tear up, and when you look up the lyrics it's doubly more emotional after the events of the game and the relationship of the the main character and GladOS. It's SO good! The ending is very bittersweet in the best sense.
This song unironically changed my life by getting me into language learning. I learnt firstly what the lyrics meant but then realized I really enjoyed doing it. So then I learnt Italian for a few weeks, then dropped it for Japanese then dropped that for German (which I’ve been learning fora few months now and am enjoying a lot more than Italian xd)
Good luck with conjugations lol.
I loved stumbling across this in the game. Your expression when she first starts singing is great. Helps that Ellen McClain is an opera singer, so she was definitely pulling from that experience. I'm not sure how much input she had with the song though. I think regardless of her input she probably found it just as funny. GLaDOS is so damn good. Your singing is amazing and it's great to hear you sing.
The feeling I get from this song is that it's AI (of course) trying to create an opera song from the data it has (probably using the song book that you referenced). It seems that is emphasized by the short little pause at 0:19 as GladOS slowly gets the hang of creating the music and lyrics. As the song progresses GladOS adds more elements and the lyrics build up until the finale.
I can only remember crying once at a video game. And it was because of this song. It's one of those that hits so much harder when you've played the game.
might I recommend to you Outer Wilds if you have not played it already, a deeply touching game that will make you cry at the very end, despite it not being that emotional of a game throughout the gameplay
@@NewsofPE I did play it earlier this year, it was very emotional but I didn't cry, I'm just a hard shell to crack haha. Such an incredible game in any case, I'll be playing the dlc very soon!
This gives me chills every time I listen to it!!!! Also I again suggest more StarCraft music. The original music was so unique for its time. And gosh dang you’re an amazing singer!!!
Funny thing about the lyrics sounding like a sad farewell is that the song is immediately followed by a different song called "Want You Gone".
This song never fails to make me feel things. I love how, right after it, the more robotic version of glaDOS sings her own piece with a completely different tone. But even it's regretful
I did not expect this to end up here. In fact, i forgot it existed. Brings up many fobd memories...
And thanks for the double feature, hearing you sing for an extended part of this vid was very nice ;)
Obligatory reminder that Poetal 2 is great. The gameplay, but especially the humour makes it ubique and i wholheartedly recommend you play it if you find the time. It's not too long either. And the impact of this song's scene in context is on a different level.
The song carries a very great theme for the game. The Singer is the same person who voiced the antagonist and its theorized that GLaDOS when she was human was the adoptive mother of the main character Chell. She is sad to let Chell go but she knows its best for her to leave and stay far away from science the very thing that robbed Chell of a childhood and robbed Caroline (GLaDOS) of her life. Also an interesting fact the voice actor for GLaDOS was actually an opera singer when she was younger before she began voice acting.
i love how in the beginning you are just questioning where this will go and then you just don't believe were it went. its fantastic
I so do wish you watched this with the visuals, it's such a tear-jerker for someone who loves this world and these characters and this story. It doesn't surprise me at all that this style of song is very old, because this kind of theme is very old, of someone you love going away and how few words it requires to get across that feeling of grief when you send them off.
It's a farewell from GladOS to Chell certainly, but it's also a goodbye to the players, a final send-off for such an amazing game.
This song will NEVER fail to make me bawl my eyes out. Music has always been able to make me emotional, but this in particular, it brings back so many memories of the first time I finished portal 2 at 12 years old and realised this was something special. It honestly gave me such an appreciation for Opera
this song hit extra hard on the second playthrough after looking up some lore. holy shit i got chills
You're kind of freaking me out Marco, I have listened to this exact song about 40 minutes ago after someone sent it in discord while we were talking video game music..
Personally this song gave me one of the most unforgettable video game experiences 😂
this is one of those tracks where you kind of lose a lot without having the visual aspect along with it.
This song is being played through turrets in the cutscene you should absolutely watch the actual cutscene! It’s really pretty!
I didn't expect to hear you sing in this video!! This was delightful to watch. ♥️ You should give Portal a try as well!
Woah the amount of the opera singing you do in one breath is amazing
This song is so happy but sad at the same time.
The "Chell" in the lyrics is actually a note towards main characters name. Which is literally Chel yeah. And the lyrics may or may not hint some kinda blood relation between her and glados.
What blood relation lol, Glados is a robot (and [REDACTED] was always too busy for relationships in the lore afaik]
@@mibadada Well, we don't actually know her marital status, really. And since we see Chel's name on the "bring your daughter to work" exhibit, we know that she's a daughter of SOMEONE in aperture. Probably someone smart, too, with the way her creation looks. And the lyrics to cara mia addio sing something along the lines of "my beautiful girl, my little girl, O chell".
While we don't have any confirmations or otherwise, portal is known for it's subtle storytelling through different mediums. At least I believe so.
@@tediumlacie We do have confirmation, actually. Ellen (the singer, voice of Glados, etc) has stated she was told to make up the lyrics based on the single idea that it's Glados saying goodbye to Chell. She's also stated she had very bad Itallian, and that not all of the lyrics were actually in Italian at all, which led to many mistranslations of the song.
She's clearly trying to get across the idea that Chell is someone she loves, but when you combine it with her other 4 songs written for the series (Still Alive, Want You Gone, You Wouldn't Know, and Don't Say Goodbye) which all have romantic undertones, it becomes clear the reading of the song as maternal likely wasn't intentional at all.
I love this song so much. I remember when the bass started and I felt a huge sensation but this was pretty enlightning.
AAAAAAAA PORTAL! I used to be so obsessed with Portal lore. I didn’t expect this from you, glad you’ve done it! I’m going to enjoy this 🍿 will edit when I finish watching.
OMG thank you for that book recommendation. I’m going to build an OC around it and learn from it myself.
Hearing you sing was nice! Made me want to listen to my Ali Project playlist.
I hope you’ll play Portal 2 cause it’s definitely a nice (and very challenging) game. Great reaction video :D
This song is really funny to me too, but for perhaps a different reason lol. The devs have described the end of Portal two as a breakup in The Final Hours of Portal 2, a book they published on the games development. I've also heard "Bambina" is used a lot like "baby" is for a girl in english, but I'm not Italian so I'm not 100%. But the image of GLaDOS writing an entire opera piece (even a basic one) to break up with a girl who has never talked to her and she says she hates is immensely funny XD
It’s the gun turrets who are singing by the way, all of them were made sentient but have to fire at you anyway, just as you are forced to either knock over or destroy many of them, and they say things like “I don’t blame you” “No hard feelings” and “Goodnight” when you knock them over, and this song is all of them gathering to sing you a goodbye
oh men, the video adds so much context to it, still, I'm happy you like this one, such a surprise for everyone, all of the portal songs actually ❤ loved to see you sing 🎉🎉🎉
bravo Marco! 👏 it’s always a treat to hear you sing
When I first heard this song I felt like the whole facility was say ingeniería farewell, and then I stumbled with a translation and I was right, GLaDOS is saying goodbye. I honestly got to like her in the second game.
This was a fascinating video to watch I hope you succeed here, I’ve always been a fan of the opera but never took time to learn the craft behind it
Thank you so much!
I just learned about classical Italian Opera because I wanted to see a man's reaction to a funny video game song. Totally worth it.
It's interesting that you mention how this song reminds you of the songs people practice when they start singing since at this point in the game most of the robots are starting to experience autonomy and a sense of self (especially that 'main' robot, GladOS).
I always forget that the voice actor that plays GladOS is actually a professional opera singer
If you listen to this song alone (without seeing the scene and the context) it can sound indeed really bizarre.
0:52 LMAO THE WAY HE OPENS HIS EYES AFTER THE FAT TURRET STARTS SINGING
I just watched the full version. It was amazing! And surprising! I smiled thru the entire video. ♥️🙏😍
I just think it only could be understadable after you play, my big cousin who played portal 2 showed me this music, i dint understand, the lyrics, i didn't thougt it was sad, 4 or 3 years later i played, and i heard the music, i cried, my big cousin is still a portal 2 lover.
I always took this song as the fragments of Caroline in GLADOS saying goodbye to Chell.
Everyone: This is so beautiful I'm gonna cry...
This guy: *mutahar laugh*
I had no idea there was this much behind the song! (Hope I'm not spoiling anything) I think GladOS was expressing herself in a way that the player character was not supposed to understand, because the things she overtly said were pretty much the exact opposite of what she hid in the song. And ... being the egomaniac she is, she had to prove that she actually could have won in the end, but chose not to, which also contradicts what she said several seconds before that. And, based on what the game hints that GladOS actually is ... man, it's perfect.
Oh wow, never actually heard you sing. Based on the pitch of your speaking voice i wouldve never guessed you'd sing in such a low register. Its beautiful
Thank you
My son wrote to Ellen McLain a few months after Portal 2 came out. She actually took the time to answer a 6-year-old child. All I can say is "Wow" what a class act 10/10.
Sophomore vocal music major here. Didn’t expect to hear about the 24 Italian Songs and Arias on a video about Portal 2, but here I am
You need to give these games a Chance. Unique experience for game and story!
Its interesting he points out the book that is the 101 of learning how to sing because within the context of the game the robots/sentries are slowly learning about emotion's so its not a far stretch to say this is a nod to the actual book since the robots are JUST learning how to sing and express emotion. There's also a secret part in the game showing the Opera Sentry teaching the smaller sentries how to sing.
This was my request, and I'm so, so glad that Marco enjoyed it. I hope the rest of you do too!
When your actually in the game, you would usually not pay attention to/not care about what is actually being sung. The 100+ turrets singing it to you gets your attention a bit more.
Was not expecting Marco singing. x_x
Ever since I heard you sing Nessun Dorma (Which I still can't find the clip of you singing, you did it brilliantly) I've really enjoyed getting to hear you sing.
I think an important part you maybe missed or that didn't make it into the video is the line "perche non passi lontana? si lontana da scienza". Scienza has a very multilayered meaning here, and is kinda what makes this song so profound as a "send-off" at the end of the game.
awesome lol, yeah so basically when making the little farewell chip tune they asked the voice actress for Glados (an evil ai) to just make up some tonal sounds theyd mix into a song, but she was a trained opera singer and knew Italian, so she basically improved that tune at the end.
12 years later and I learn something new from the game. It just keeps on giving, even after all these years.
oh wow i get double PTSD from this one, i did both Caro Mio Ben and Per La Gloria D'addorarvi when i was still in school lmao
You nailed every note even sitting down, hats off
I SCREECHED WHEN YOU BROUGHT UP 24 ITALIAN SONGS AND ARIAS THAT ACCURSED TOME
Lmaooooooooo i saw you let me know on twitch huh
i love how all the comments must have humbled this dude lol realising an actual professional sung this :D
Just watching the visceral reactions to different parts of the song makes this one so worth rewatching.
Gotta be honest, this might be the ONE song I've wanted to hear you react to, and you definitely did not disappoint. I've been a HUGE fan of the Portal series ever since the first game came out in 2008, and I *HIGHLY* recommend playing both games whenever you get the chance. They're both relatively short (first one can be completed in a few hours, second is a bit longer because it not only has more levels but also more secrets).
So, this song plays at the end of Portal 2, just before the end credits as your character, Chell, ascends from the facility. I won't reveal more than that, because there's a very good reason why not only this song is played but also why it sounds the way it does. It's such an incredible send-off, though... really cathartic, but also melancholic (which you picked up on).
Another great reaction! I also got the chills when you started singing! Thank you for the mini live opera concert!
I can't believe I never made the connection to Caro Mio Ben before! My very first voice teacher brought me that song as an introduction to classical singing and I've completely forgotten it. I'm so glad UA-cam brought me to your channel, I don't think I would have never made the connection otherwise! Great stuff, keep it going! :)
I’m glad you appreciated it!!!
Every time I hear this I still see the chamber filled with gun turrets, the fat turret in the middle singing, the animal king belting out those low notes from the back as the elevator platform slooowly rises to the ceiling while they sing goodbye to the character they'd been trying to kill for the entire game.
Portal 2 is one of my favourite games of all time- I've recently gotten around to actually playing it, and.. I've loved every second of it. The soundtrack for me is up there in my favourite soudntracks together with Undertale and Deltarune's, it's so good. I'm so glad you reacted to Cara Mia Addio.
Also, I don't know if it's just me, but... I've always personally interpreted this song as not necessarily GLaDOS herself saying goodbye to Chell, the player character, but more so as the entire science facility of Aperture where both of the games take place saying goodbye to her- because Chell is the child of Aperture. She was there both when she was little and as an adult, she has influenced the events of both of the games... she's the one whose life got shaped by Aperture, and Aperture's story got shaped by hers. This is the whole entire facility letting go of her.
The song is sung by turrets, these robots that shoot bullets at you in the test chambers, trying to kill you... but now, they don't shoot. Instead, they sing- saying goodbye to Aperture's daughter.
...Regardless, this song is beautiful and I love it- I appreciated your comparison with traditional opera songs as well.
And, also, I think that you'd enjoy more of this game's soundtrack- I think that it would be especially cool to see your reaction to the song Machiavellian Bach, or to the credits songs of the games- Still Alive and Want You Gone.
"it is so bizare" you really summed up the whole portal franchise with one phrase, yet this is why these are so beloved games till this day
As someone learning how to sing Opera, and Caro Mio Ben being my very first pice of music I’ve ever learned, I now now feel validated 💀💀
Now to see if I can sing the turret song-
I'd love to see you cover this now you've played it and understand Caroline's emotions
Well, it is just a bunch of robots and AI using what speakers and noises they've been equipped with to produce this song for the main character as she is sent up, out and away.
i know this video is old, but if you're still interested, there ARE videos of ellen mclain, who sang this song, singing it live, so you can hear it without the effects on her voice. just thought i would mention!
The fact you can still interpret all of the emotion even through the auto tune is a testament to how amazing the singer was.
You should've watched a video of the song that has the in-game turrets and everything. Most of the music are made from samples of stepper motors, and I think that's a really neat idea. They played 100% into the whole "robotic" aspect of the song.
Actually, now that I think of it, the way you described this as "similar to a beginner opera singer's music" makes sense in canon as well, because the song was supposed to be made by an android to send off our main character. The android probably just rehashed some basic opera music and then went with it, because, you know, android.
I really like the fact that your first impression was "this sounds just like the other basic opera songs that beginners learn." Canonically, the song was written by a hyper intelligent AI on the spot as a farewell to her surrogate (and possibly biological) daughter. Apparently, it sounds like what you would get if you told ChatGPT to write an opera, which is kinda what happened in game...
I think u should play this peace of game to experience whole soundtrack. Portal 1 is not required to play portal 2 but it is iconic and everyone will reccomend it to play as well. :D
Knowing how sarcastic Portal 2 is, and especially how sarcastic GLaDoS is, I could totally believe if this was made to be a literally parody of those pieces to Chell. Valve making one of its moves again huh.
Edit: Actually I always liked a lot the ost of Portal 2. It sounded so, idk, unnerving, dark. But it always fit with the game so well. God I love that game