TEXTS AND TRANSLATIONS
Sebben, crudele
Text by Anonymous
Sebben, crudele, Mi fai languir, Sempre Fedele
Ti voglio amar.
Con la lunghezza
Del mio server
La tua fierezza SaprĂČ stancar.
Stizzoso, mio stizzoso
Serpinaâs aria from La serva padrona Libretto by G.A. Federico
Stizzoso, mio stizzoso, Voi fate il borioso, Ma nĂČ, ma non vi puĂČ giovare; Bisogna al mio divieto star cheto, cheto, E non parlare, Zitt! ... Zitt!...
Serpina vuol cosĂŹ. Zitt! ... Zitt!...
Serpina vuol cosĂŹ.
Credâio che mâintendete, si, che mâintendete, si, DacchĂš mi conoscete son molti e molti dĂŹ.
Although, cruel love
Translation by Bertram Kottmann
Although, cruel love, you make me languish, I will always love you true. With the patience of my serving I will be able to tire out your pride.
Irascible, my irascible
Translation by Mario
Genesi
Irascible, my irascible, you behave with arrogance, but no! it wonât help your position. You must keep to my prohibitions and keep silent, and not talk, Shut up! ... shut up! ... These are Serpinaâs commands. Shut up! ... shut up! ... These are Serpinaâs commands.
Now I think you have understood, Yes, you have captured the message, Because already a long time has passed from when you first made acquaintance with me.
StÀndchen
Text by Ludwig Rellstab
Leise flehen meine Lieder
Durch die Nacht zu Dir; In den stillen Hain hernieder, Liebchen, kommâ zu mir!
FlĂŒsternd schlanke Wipfel rauschen
In des Mondes Licht; Des VerrÀters feindlich Lauschen
FĂŒrchte, Holde, nicht.
Hörst die Nachtigallen schlagen?
Ach! sie flehen Dich, Mit der Töne sĂŒssen Klagen
Flehen sie fĂŒr mich.
Sie verstehn des Busens Sehnen, Kennen Liebesschmerz, RĂŒhren mit den Silbertönen
Jedes weiche Herz.
Lass auch Dir die Brust bewegen, Liebchen, höre mich!
Bebend harrâ ich Dir entgegen!
Kommâ, beglĂŒcke mich!
Fair Robin I Love
Dorineâs aria from Tartuffe from Mechemâs revision of MoliĂšreâs opera
Fair Robin I love and hourly die, But not for a lip, nor a languishing eye; Heâs fickle and false, and there we agree, For I am as false and as fickle as he.
We neither believe what either can say; And neither believing, we neither betray. âTis civil to swear and say things, of course; We mean not the taking for better or worse.
When present we love; when absent agree: I think not of Robin, nor Robin of me. The legend of love no couple can find, So easy to part or so easily joined!
Serenade
Translation by Richard Wigmore
Slender treetops whisper and rustle through the night to you; down into the silent grove, beloved, come to me! Softly my songs plead in the moonlight; that the hostile betrayer will overhear us. my darling, do not fear Do you not hear the nightingales call? Ah, they are imploring you; with their sweet, plaintive songs they are imploring for me. They understand the heartâs yearning, they know the pain of love; with their silvery notes they touch every tender heart. Let your heart, too, be moved, beloved, hear me! Trembling, I await you! Come, make me happy!
PietĂ , Signore
Text by Anonymous
PietĂ , Signore, di me dolente! Signor, pietĂ , se a te giunge il mio pregar; non mi puniscail tuo rigor, meno severi, clementi ognora, volgi i tuoi sguardisopra di me. Non fia mai che nellâinferno sia dannato, nel fuoco eterno dal tuo rigor.
Gran Dio, giammai sia dannato nel fuoco eterno dal tuo rigor, PietĂ , Signore, Signor, pietĂ di me dolente, se a te giunge il mio pregare, Meno severi, clementi ognora, volgi i tuoi sguardi, deh! volgi squardi su me, Signor, PietĂ , Signore, di me dolente.
Voi che sapete
Cherubinoâs aria from Le Nozze di Figaro
Text by Lorenzo da Ponte
Voi che sapete che cosa e amor, Donne, vedete sâio lâho nel cor. Quello châio provo vi ridiro, E per me nuovo, capir nol so. Sento un affetto, pien di desir, Châora e diletto, châora e martir. Gelo e poi sento lâalma avvampar, E in un momento torno a gelar. Ricerco un bene fuori di me, Non so châil tiene, non so cosâe. Sospiro e gemo senza voler, Palpito e tremo senza saper, Non trovo pace notte ne di, Ma pur mi piace languir cosi. Voi che sapete che cosa e amor, Donne, vedete sâio lâho nel cor.
Have mercy, Lord
Translation by Anna Pavan
Have mercy, Lord, on me in my suffering! Lord, have mercy, if my prayer reaches you; may your severity not punish me, always forgiving eyes direct upon me. Do not allow me in hell, to be damned in eternal flames by your severity. Almighty God, never allow me to be damned in the eternal flames by your severity, Have mercy, Lord, Lord, have mercy on me in my suffering, if my prayer reaches to you, Less harshly, always forgiving, eyes upon me, ah! direct your eyes on me, Lord, Have mercy, Lord, on me in my suffering.
You who know
Translation by Naomi Gurt Lind
You who know what love is, Ladies, see if I have it in my heart. Iâll tell you what Iâm feeling, Itâs new for me, and I understand nothing. I have a feeling, full of desire, Which is by turns delightful and miserable. I freeze and then feel my soul go up in flames, Then in a moment I turn to ice.
Iâm searching for affection outside of myself, I donât know how to hold it, nor even what it is! I sigh and lament without wanting to, I twitter and tremble without knowing why, I find peace neither night nor day, But still I rather enjoy languishing this way. You who know what love is, Ladies, see if I have it in my heart.
Vilja Song from The Merry Widow
Translation by Adrian Ross
There once was a vilia, a witch of the wood, A hunter beheld her alone as she stood, The spell of her beauty upon him was laid, He lookâd and he longed for the magical maid! For a sudden tremor ran, Right throâ the love bewilderâd man, And he sighâd as a hapless lover can.
Vilia, O Vilia! The witch of the wood! Would I not die for you, dear, if I could?
Vilia, O Vilia, my love and my bride!
Softly and sadly he sighâd
Vilia, O Vilia! The witch of the wood! Would I not die for you, dear, if I could?
Vilia, O Vilia, my love and my bride!
Softly and sadly he sighâd
The wood maiden smiled, and no answer she gave, But beckonâd him into the shade of the cave; He never had known such rapturous bliss, No maiden of mortals so sweetly can kiss! As before her feet he lay, She vanishâd in the wood away, And he callâd vainly till his dying day!
Ridente la calma
Text by Anonymous
Ridente la calma nellâalma si desti; NĂ© resti piĂč segno di sdegno e timor.
Tu vieni, frattanto, a stringer mio bene, Le dolce catene sĂ grate al mio cor.
Ridente la calma nellâalma si desti; NĂ© resti un segno di sdegno e timor.
May a happy calm arise
Translation by Mario Genesi
May a happy calm arise in my soul and may neither a bit of anger nor fear survive in it.
In the meantime you are coming, my beloved, to grasp those sweet chains that make my heart so grateful.
May a happy calm arise in my soul and may neither anger nor fear survive in it.
i carry your heart
Text by e. e. cummings
i carry your heart with me(i carry it in my heart)i am never without it(anywhere i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done by only me is your doing,my darling) i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true) and itâs you are whatever a moon has always meant and whatever a sun will always sing is you here is the deepest secret nobody knows (here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows higher than soul can hope or mind can hide) and this is the wonder thatâs keeping the stars apart i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)
Quando mâen vo
Musettaâs aria from La BohĂšme
Translated by Giuseppe Cusmano
Quando mâen vo soletta per la via,
La gente sosta e mira
E la bellezza mia tutta ricerca in me
Da capo a pieâ...
Ed assaporo allor la bramosia
Sottil, che da gli occhi traspira
E dai palesi vezzi intender sa Alle occulte beltĂ .
CosĂŹ lâeffluvio del desĂŹo tutta mâaggira, Felice mi fa!
E tu che sai, che memori e ti struggi
Da me tanto rifuggi?
So ben:
le angoscie tue non le vuoi dir, Ma ti senti morir!
When I walk
When I walk all alone in the street
People stop and stare at me
And look for my whole beauty
From head to feet
And then I taste the slight yearning which transpires from their eyes and which is able to perceive from manifest charms to most hidden beauties. So the scent of desire is all around me, it makes me happy!
And you, while knowing, reminding and longing, you shrink from me?
I know it very well:
you donât want to express your anguish, but you feel as if youâre dying!
Eâ la solita storia
Itâs the usual story
Translation by Hagy
Marenco
Federicoâs aria from LâArlesiana Libretto by Leopoldo
Eâ la solita storia del pastore... Il povero ragazzo volvea raccontarla, e sâaddormi.
CâĂš nel sonno lâoblio, Come lâinvidio!
Anchâio vorrei dormir cosĂŹ nel sonno almeno lâoblio trovar!
La pace sol cercando io vĂČ: vorrei poter tutto scordar. Ma ogni sforzo Ăš vanno.. Davanti ho sempre di lei il dolce sembiante!
La pace tolta Ăš sempre a me... PerchĂ© deggâio tanto penar?
Lei!... sempre mi parla al cor! Fatale vision, mi lascia! mi fai tanto male! AhimĂš!
Itâs the usual story of the shepherd... The poor boy wanted to tell it, but fell asleep. There is oblivion in sleep.. How I envy him!
I too would like to sleep like thiswithin sleep to find oblivion! I only want to find peace: If only I could forget everything. But all struggles are in vain. I still see before me her sweet visage.. But all struggles are in vain. Why must I suffer so much pain? She!.. How she always spoke to my heart! Fatal vision, leave me! You hurt me so much! Oh poor me!
Je dis que rien ne mâĂ©pouvante
I say that nothing can frighten me
MicaĂ«laâs
aria
from Carmen Libretto by Henri Meilhac
Câest des contrebandiers le refuge ordinaire. Il est ici; je le verrai!
Et le devoir que mâimposa sa mĂšre
Sans trembler je lâaccomplirai
Je dis que rien ne mâĂ©pouvante, Je dis, hĂ©las! que je rĂ©ponds de moi;
Mais jâai beau faire la vaillante...
Au fond du coeur je meurs dâeffroi!
Seule en ce lieu sauvage
Toute seule jâai peur,
Mais jâai tort dâavoir peur.
Vous me donnerez du courage; Vous me protégerez, Seigneur!
Je vais voir de prĂšs cette femme, Dont les artifices maudits
Ont fini par faire un infĂąme
De celui que jâaimais jadis!
Elle est dangereuse...elle est belle!
Mais je ne veux pas avoir peur!
Non, non, je ne veux pas avoir peur!
Je parlerai haut devant elle...ah!
Seigneur, vous me protégerez. Protégez-moi! à Seigneur!
Donnez-moi du courage!
Translation by Terri Eickel
It is the smugglers ordinary refuge. He is here, I will see him!
And the task that his mother imposed Without trembling, I will accomplish it.
I say that nothing can frighten me. I say, alas, that I respond to myself; But I play the part of the courgeous one in vain...
From the bottom of my heart, I die of fear! Alone in this savage place
All alone I am afraid, But I am wrong to have fear. You will give me courage; You will protect me, Lord!
I am going to see face to face this woman, Whose cursed guile
Has ended up to make a vile person
Of him that I love once!
She is dangerous, she is beautiful! But I do not want to be afraid!
No, no, I do not want to be afraid!
I will speak up before her...ah!
Lord, you will protect me. Protect me! O Lord!
Give me courage!
Dich, teure Halle
Elisabethâs aria from TannhĂ€user (At the hall of the Minnesingers in Wartburg. Elisabeth Enters the hall joyfully and greets it)
Dich, teure Halle, grĂŒĂâ ich wieder, Froh grĂŒĂâ ich dich, geliebter Raum!
In dir erwachen seine Lieder
Und wecken mich aus dĂŒstrem Traum. Da er aus dir geschieden, Wie öd erschienst du mir!
Aus mir entfloh der Frieden, Die Freude zog aus dir.
Wie jetzt mein Busen hoch sich hebet, So scheinst du jetzt mir stolz und hehr. Der mich und dich so neu belebet, Nicht weilt er ferne mehr.
Wie jetzt mein Busen hoch sich hebet, So scheinst du jetzt mir stolz und hehr. Der mich und dich so neu belebet, Nicht weilt er ferne mehr.
Sei mir gegrĂŒĂt! Sei mir gegrĂŒĂt!
Du, teure Halle, sei mir gegrĂŒĂt!
Sei mir gegrĂŒĂt!
Du, teure Halle, sei mir gegrĂŒĂt!
You, dear hall
You, dear hall, do I greet again
I greet you joyfully, beloved room!
In you his songs awake
And wake me from a dusky dream. When he departed from you
How dull you seemed to me!
Peace flew out of me
And joy went out of you.
And now my bosom is raised high
As you now seem to me proud and noble
He who brings you and me to life
Is no longer wandering far away
And now my bosom is raised high
As you now seem to me proud and noble
He who brings you and me to life
Is no longer wandering far away
I greet you, I greet you!
You, dear hall, I greet you!
I greet you!
You, dear hall, I greet you!