POURQUOI ME REVEILLER
(Werther) (Why do you wake me now?)
Pourquoi me reveiller, o souffle
du printemos?
Sur mon front je sens tes caresses.
Et pourtant bien proche
est le temps
Des orages et des tristesses.
Demain, dans le vallon,
Se
souvenant de ma gloire premiere,
Et ses yeux vainement chercheront ma
splendeur:
Ils ne trouveront plus que deuil et que misere!
Helas! Pourquoi
me reveiller, o souffle du printemps?
SYNOPSES
Werther is madly in love with Charlotte, his friends wife. To
forget her, he has run away. But when he returns, he finds he is more in love
than ever. Werther recites a favorite poem for Charlotte, and at last realizes
that fatal truth: Charlotte can never return his love.
ENGLISH TRANSLATION
Why do you wake me now, o sweetest breath of
spring?
On my brow I sense your most gentle caress,
yet how soon creeps on
the time.
filled with tempests and with distress!
Tomorrow through the
vale, the traveler will pass,
recalling all of the glory of the past.
And
in vain he will search for the bloom of my youth,
and nothing will he find
but deep pain and endless sorrow.
Alas! Why do you wake me now, o sweetest
breath of spring!
NESSUN DORMA!
(Turandot)(No one's sleeping!)
Nessun Dorma! Nessun Dorma!
Tu
pure, o Principessa,
nella tua freda stanza
guardi le stelle che tremano
d'amore
e di speranza!
Ma il mio mistero e chiusoin me,
No, no, sulla
tua bocca lo diro
quando la luce splendera!
Ed il mio bacio sciogliera il
silenzio
che ti fa mia!
Dilegua, o notte! Tramontate,
stelle!
Tramontate, stelle! All'alba vincero!
Vincero! Vincero!
SYNOPSES
Only the man who answers her riddles can marry the icy princess
Turandot; those who fail die. Calaf, a prince from another land, has fallen in
love with the beautiful Turandot and answered the riddles. Though by law she
must marry him, Turandot pleads to be spared: only if she answers his
riddles-his name.
ENGLISH TRANSLATION
No one's sleeping! No one's sleeping!
This
evening, icy princess
perhaps in your cold chambers,
watch all the bright
stars
that tremble both with loving
and with desire
I keep my secret
locked inside.
No one shall ever know my name!
No, no! When our two
mouths
touch, she'll learn it,
when the morning light shines forth!
And
then my kisses will dissolve
her silence and she will be mine!
May this
night end! May all the stars set!
And may all the stars set!
When dawn
breaks, I shall win!
UNA FURTIVA LAGRIMA
(L'elisir d'amore)(One tear that falls so furtively)
Una furtiva
lagrima
Negli occhi suoi spunto:
Quelle festosee giovani
Invidiar
sembro.
Che piu cercando io vo?
M'ama, lo vedo.
Un solo instante i
palpiti
Del suo bel cor sentir!
I miei sospir, confondere
Per poco a'
suoi sospir!
Cielo, si puo morir!
Di piu non chiedo.
SYNOPSES
Nemorino is in love with a wealthy girl, but she says she isn't
interested in poor boys like him. Desperate, he buys a "Love potion" that only
turns out to be cheap red wine. And yet, Nemorino believes the "Elixir" will
work. When he sees her cry, he knows she has fallen for him at last.
ENGLISH TRANSLATION
One tear that falls so furtively
from her sweet
eyes has just sprung,
as if she envied all the youths
who laughingly
passed her right by.
What could I want more than this?
She loves me! I see
it.
One moment just to hear her heart,
beating so close next to
mine,
to hear my sighs like they were hers,
her sighings as if they were
mine!
Heavens, please take me now:
All that I wanted is mine
now!
M' APPARI
(Martha)(She appeared to me)
M'appari tutt''amor, il mio sguatdo
l'incontro:
bella si che il mio cor, ansioso a lei volo:
mi feri,
m'invaghi quell'angelica belta,
sculta in cor dall'amor cancellarsi non
potra:
il pensier di poter palpitar con lei d'amor,
puo sopir il martir
che m'affana e stranzia il cor.
M'appari tutt'amor, il mio sguardo
l'incontro;
bella si che il mio cor ansioso a lei volo;
Marta, Marta, tu
sparisti e il mio cor col tuo n'ando!
Tu la pace mi rapisti, di dolor io
moriro.
SYNOPSES
Lady Harriet and her maid Nancy, disguised as peasants called
Martha and Julia, have unwittingly bound themselves for a years' service to
Lionel and Plunket, two local farmers. The women soon escape, and though time
passes, Lionel cannot get Martha out of his mind.
ENGLISH TRANSLATION
She appeared to me, purest of love,
I discovered
with my eyes this vision of delight.
Lovely was she, that my hungry heart, in
a snap, to her did fly.
I was hurt, I was charmed by that beauty from
above.
Love is etched in my heart, and cannot now be erased.
The mere
thought that our hearts
with sweet love might beat as one
is enough to
forget all the sorrow that fills my heart.
She appeared to me, purest of
love.
I discovered with my eyes this vision of delight.
Lovely was she,
that my hungry heart, in a snap to her did fly.
Marta, Marta, you have left
me,
and my heart with yours has vanished.
Peace and quiet, gone now
forever, I will surely die of pain.
CHE GELIDA MANINA
(La boheme)(How cold your little hand is!)
Che gelida manina! Se la
lasci riscaldar.
Cercar che giova? Al buio non si trova.
Ma per fortuna e
una notte di luna,
e qui la luna l'abbiiamo vicina.
Aspetti, signorina, le
diro con due parole chi son,
chi son, e che faccio, come vivo, Vuole?
Chi
son? Chi son? Son un poeta.
Che cosa faccio? Scrivo. E come vivo? Vivo.
In
poverta mia lieta scialo da gran signore
rimi ed inni d'amore.
Per sogni e
per chimere e per castelli in aria
l'anima ho milionaria.
Talor del mio
forziere ruban tutti
i gioielle due ladri: gli occhi belli.
V'entrar con
voi pur ora ed i miei sogni usati,
ed i bei sogni miei tosto si
dileguar!
Ma il furto non m'accora poiche,
poiche v'ha preso stanza la
speranza.
Or che mi conoscete parlate voi.
Deh parlate. Chi siete? Vi
piaccia dir?
SYNOPSES
It is Christmas Eve on Paris' Left Bank. Rodolfo is at home
writing when a stranger knocks at the door. It is Mimi, a neighbor, who needs to
borrow a match to relight her candle. Mimi is barely out the door, when she
realizes she has lost her key. As they search for it, Rodolfos' hand falls upon
hers.
ENGLISH TRANSLATION
How cold your little hand is! Will you let me warm
it for you?
Why bother looking? It's dark, and we won't find it.
It's our
good luck, though, this night's filled with moonlight,
up here the moonlight
could rest on our shoulders.
Please wait, my dear young lady, and I will
quickly tell you
who stands before you, and what I do,
how I make my
living. May I?
Who am I? What am I? I am a poet.
What keeps me busy?
Writing! And what do I live on? Nothing!
In poverty I'm cheerful, I am a
prince who squanders
arias and couplets of longing.
And as for hopes and
dreams of love and castles-in-the-air,
Miss, I am a millionaire!
My
fortress could be broken in, robbed clean of the fine jewels
I store; if the
theives were eyes like yours.
And now that I have seen you, all of my lovely
dreaming,
all of the sweetest dreams I've dreamt, quickly have slipped
away.
This theft does not upset me, because such treasures
mean nothing
now that I'm rich with sweet hope!
And now that you have met me, I ask you
please,
Tell me, lady, who you are, I ask you please!
O SOAVE FANCIULLA
(La boheme)(Oh, sweet little lady)
RODOLFO
O soave fanciulla, o dolce viso
di mite circonfuso alba
lunar,
in te ravviso il sogno
ch'io vorrei sempre sognar!
MIMI
(Ah, tu sol comandi, amor!)
Fremon nell'anima dolcezze
estreme,
ecc Nel baccio freme amor!
(oh come dolci scendono le
sue
lusinghe al cor...Tu sol comandi, amor!)
No, per pieta! Sei mia!
V'aspettan gli amici...
Gia mi mandi via? Vorrei dir...ma non osso,
Di. Se
venissi con voi? Che? Mimi!
Sarebbe cosi dolce restar qui. C'e freddo
fuori.v
Vi staro vicina! E al ritorno? Curioso!
Dammi il braccio, o mia
piccina...
Obbedisco, signor! Che m'ami...di'...lo t'amo.
RODOLFO e MIMI
Amor! Amor! Amor!
SYNOPSES
Mimi and Rodolfo are getting acquainted fast. Outside,
Rodolfos' friends call him to join them. He would rather stay with Mimi, but she
shyly suggests they all go out together. "Tell me you love me," he pleads. She
holds back, at first, but as this duet ends, they sing together for the first
time, and their first word is "Love."
ENGLISH TRANSLATION
RODOLFO
Oh! sweet little lady! Oh, sweetest vision,
with moonlight
bathing your pretty face!
The dream that I see in you is the dream I'll
always dream!
MIMI
(Oh, you rule alone, Love!)
Deep in my soul trembles the deepest
of passions, etc.
Our kisses shudder with love!
(How gently now his words
of praise make their way
into my heart...You rule alone, oh love!)
No, I
beg you! You're mine now! Your friends are still waiting.
So soon must I
leave you? I would like...I can't say it...
Speak! What if I went along?
What? Mimi!
How sweet instead to stay behind here. It's freezing
outside.
I'd be right beside you! What about later? Who knows, sir?
Take
my arm, my dear young lady...As you say, my dear sir...
Do you love me, say!
I certainly do.
RODOLFO and MIMI
Love! Love! Love!
VESTI LA GIUBBA
(Pagliacci)(On with the show)
Recitar!...mentre preso dal
delirio
non so piu quel che dico e quel che faccio!
Eppur...e
d'uopo...sforzati! Bah, sei tu forse un uom?
Tu se' Pagliaccio! Vesti la
giubba e la faccia infarina.
La gente paga e rider vuole qua.
E se
Arlecchin t'invola Colombina, ridi, Pagliaccio...
e ognum applaudira! Tramuta
in lazzi lo spasmo ed il pianto;
In una smorfia il singhiozzo e'l
dolor...
Ridi Pagliaccio, sul tuo amore infranto!
Ridi del duol che
t'avvelena il cor!
SYNOPSES
Canio, his wife Nedda, and their troupe perform adulterous
comedies in their traveling shows. This time, though, life imitates art. Canio
has just been warned that Nedda is in the arms of another man. When Canio
arrives, the man is gone. "Tell me his name!" he threatens. Just at that moment,
they announce, "It's show time!"
ENGLISH TRANSLATION
Go on stage, while I'm nearly delirious?
I don't
know what I'm saying or what I'm doing!
And yet, chin up! I'll try harder.
Bah, you think you're a man?
You're just a clown! On with the show,
man,
and put on your white-face.
The people pay you and you must make them
laugh.
And if Harlequin should steal your Columbine, laugh,
you're
Pagliaccio, and the world will clap for you!
Turn into banter all your pain
and sorrow,
and with your clowns' face hide grief and distress...
Laugh
loud, Pagliaccio, forget all of your troubles,
Laugh off the pain that so
empoisons your heart.
E LUCEVAN LE STELLE
(Tosca)(How the stars seemed to shimmer)
E lucevan le stelle,
e
olezzava la terra
stridea l'uscio dell'orto,
e un passo sfiorava la
rena.
Entrava ella, fragrante,
mi cadea fra le braccia.
Oh! dolci baci,
o languide carezze,
mentr'io fremente le belle forme discogliea dai
veli!
Svani per sempre il sogno mio d'amore...
L'ora e fuggita e muoio
disperato!
E non ho amato mai tanto la vita!
SYNOPSES
The painter Cavaradossi has been sentenced to death for helping
to hide an escaped political prisoner. As he awaits his fate, he sings of the
sweet memories of his beloved Tosca and his dashed dreams.
ENGLISH TRANSLATION
How the stars seemed to shimmer,
the sweet scents
of the garden,
how the creaking gate whispered,
and a footstep skimmed
over the sand,
how she then entered, so fragrant,
and then fell into my
two arms!
Ah sweetest of kiss, languorous caresses,
while I stood
trembling, searching her features
concealed by her mantle. My dreams of pure
love,
forgotten forever! All of it's gone now!
I die hopeless, despairing,
and never before
have I loved life like this!
RECONDITA ARMONIA
(Tosca)(What strange and lovely harmony)
Recondita armonia di
belleze diverse!...
E bruna Floria, l'ardente amante mia.
E te, beltade
ignota, cinta di chiome bionde!
Tu azzuro hai l'occhio, Tosca ha l'occhio
nero!
L'arte nel suo mistero le diverse belleze insiem confonde:
ma nel
ritrar costei il mio solo pensiero,
ah! il mio solo pensier, sei tu, Tosca,
sei tu!
SYNOPSES
Cavaradossi is working on a portrait of the Madonna for the
church of Saint Andrea. Though the painting closely resembles a beautiful
parishioner there, Cavaradossi explains that it is a combination of that woman,
who he does not know, and his own dark-haired, dark-eyed lover Floria Tosca.
ENGLISH TRANSLATION
What strange and lovely harmony of such different
beauties!
How dark is Floria, this ardent love of mine.
And you,
mysterious beauty, long and blond flowing tresses
how your eyes are sky-blue,
Tosca's eyes are black-night.
Art, too, with its many mysteries, blends all
together
such different beauties. But though I paint another,
my only
thought is you, oh, my only thought is you,
Tosca, is you, is
you!
E LA SOLITA STORIA
(L'Arlesiana)(It's that familiar tale)
E la solita storia del
pastore...
Il povero ragazzo voleva raccontarla e s'addormi.
C'e nel sonno
l'oblio. Come l'invidio!
Anch'io vorrei dormir cosi, nel sonno almen l'oblio
trovar!
La pace sol cercando io vo'. Vorrei poter tutto scordar!
Ma ogni
sforzo e vano. Davanti ho sempre
Davanti ho sempre di lei il dolce
sembiante.
La pace tolta e solo a me. Perche degg'io tanto penar?
Lei!
sempre lei mi parla ancor! Fatale vision, mi lascia!
Mi fai tanto male,
Ahime!
SYNOPSES
Federico loves a girl of ill repute, so his family arranges a
marriage with a childhood sweetheart. The heartbroken lad compares his sad
adventure to the well-known tale of a shepherd boy. He knows he will never
forget his one true love.
ENGLISH TRANSLATION
It's that familiar tale you've heard of the
shepherd...
that penniless young man, attempting to retell it,
fell sound
asleep. In such slumber there's oblivion.
How I've envied him! Like him, I
would sleep all of my days;
at least if I slept, I might forget! I seek only
peace,
it's all I need! Forget it all! Never recall!
Yet all is futile
effort, before me will always be that sweet
face of hers, alas! My peace and
my quiet, forever gone!
Why must I suffer so, oh why? She, always she, speaks
to me!
Vision so fatal, please vanish! How you have harmed me!
Alas!
CELESTE AIDA
(Aida)(Heavenly Aida)
Celeste Aida, forma divina,
Mistico serto
di luce e fior,
Del mio pensiero tu sei regina,
Tu di mia vita sei lo
splendor.
Il tuo bel cielo vorrei ridarti,
Le dolci breeze del patrio
suol;
Un regal serto sul crin posarti,
Ergerti un trono vicino al sol,
ah!
SYNOPSES
The Ethiopians have been defeated in battle. Aida, their
princess, has been enslaved by the victorious Egyptians, though her identity is
not known to them. The Egyptian General Radames falls in love with the beautiful
Aida and dreams of setting her upon a throne.
ENGLISH TRANSLATION
Heavenly Aida, goddess of beauty,
garland of
flowers and of bright light.
You are the ruler of all of my thoughts,
you
are the splendor of my whole life.
I'll bring you back, yes, to your lovely
skies
to the soft breezes of your native land.
I'll place a royal wreath
upon your crown,
and build you a throne close to the sun!