17
ALFREDO
ALFREDO
Amor, amor è palpito…
Love is the very breath…
VIOLETTA
VIOLETTA
Ah!
Ah!
ALFREDO
ALFREDO
…
dell’universo intero –
…
of the universe itself –
VIOLETTA
VIOLETTA
Amore!
Love!
ALFREDO
ALFREDO
Misterioso, altero,
Mysterious, noble,
croce e delizia al cor.
both cross and ecstasy of the heart.
VIOLETTA
VIOLETTA
Follie! Follie! Ah, sì! Gioir, gioir!
Madness! Madness! Yes, from joy to joy!
Sempre libera,
ecc.
Forever free
,
etc.
(
transl. Dale McAdoo/EMI Classics
)
Wagner,
Tannhäuser,
“
Freudig begrüssen wir die edle Halle”
In
Tannhäuser
(1845),
the hero is a 13th-century minstrel, torn between a life of decadence
and spiritual purity, the former represented by the goddess Venus, the latter by the noble
Elisabeth. Act Two takes place in the Hall of Song at the Wartburg castle. The landgrave
Hermann and his niece Elisabeth greet the knights and aristocrats of Thuringia prior to a
song contest (Tannhäuser is among the contestants). They enter singing one of Wagner’s
most magnificent choruses.
RITTER, EDLEN
KNIGHTS, NOBLES
Freudig begrüssen wir die edle Halle,
Joyfully we greet the noble hall,
wo Kunst und Frieden immer nur verweil,
where art and peace alone may ever linger,
wo lange noch der Ruf erschalle,
and the joyous cry long ring out:
Thüringens Fürsten, Landgraf Hermann, Heil!
To the Prince of Thuringia, Count Hermann, hail!
Verdi,
Don Carlos,
“
O don fatal et détesté”
In
Don Carlos
(1867),
for political reasons a young French princess, Elisabeth de Valois,
marries Spain’s King Philip II, although Elisabeth and the king’s son, Carlos, love each
other. Carlos rejects the romantic overtures of Princess Eboli, who realizes that he loves
Elisabeth. When Carlos confronts his father publicly, demanding justice for persecuted
Flanders, Philip orders him imprisoned. The jealous Eboli steals Elisabeth’s jewel case and
brings it to Philip, who finds that it contains his son’s portrait. He accuses Elisabeth of
adultery. When she faints and Eboli comes rushing to help her, Eboli realizes that she is to
blame for this catastrophe. She confesses to Elisabeth that she has had an affair with Philip.
Elisabeth orders her to choose between exile and taking the veil. Her soliloquy finds Eboli
lamenting the curse of beauty, but she then joyfully anticipates that she’ll have one more
day in which she can save Carlos.
NOTES AND TRANSLATIONS
