Il dolce suono! | Lyrics & Translation | Donizetti & Callas

I'll dolce suono, by Gaetano Donizetti (here sung by the Diva; Maria Callas). 

The coloratura soprano role of Lucia has essentially to duel with a flute in the orchestra, in a scene near the end of the opera (after a great deal of coloratura singing), in which she has gone insane and stabbed her brand new husband, Arturo Bucklaw. Donizetti composed this aria with the accompaniment of a glass harmonica specifically required, but a flute is usually used, unfortunately. It is written in F Major, and ends on a high F above high C.

When Lucia is finished, her brother, Enrico, enters and Lucia dies, apparently from grief. After this superhuman feat of bel canto singing, the audience is left wondering if Lucia dropped dead of a stroke from the effort.

Italian Original (English translation below it):

Il dolce suono mi colpi di sua voce!
Ah, quella voce m'e qui nel cor discesa!
Edgardo! io ti son resa, Edgardo, mio!
fuggita io son de tuoi nemici.
Un gelo me serpeggia nel sen!
trema ogni fibra!
vacilla il pie!

Presso la fonte meco t'assidi al quanto!
Ohime, sorge il tremendo fantasma e ne separa!
Qui ricovriamo, Edgardo, a pie dell'ara.
Sparsa e di rose!
Un armonia celeste, di, non ascolti?
Ah, l'inno suona di nozze!
Il rito per noi s'appresta! Oh, me felice!
Oh gioia che si sente, e non si dice!
Ardon gl'incensi!
Splendon le sacre faci, splendon intorno!
Ecco il ministro!
Porgime la destra!
Oh lieto giorno!
Al fin son tua, al fin sei mia,
a me ti dona un Dio.
Ogni piacer piu grato,
mi fia con te diviso
Del ciel clemente un riso
la vita a noi sara.

      

English Translation

The sweet sound, hits me, his voice!
Ah, that voice into my heart decends!
Edgardo, I surrender to you
A chill creeps into my breast!
trembles every fiber!
falters my foot!
Near the fountain next to me sit a while!
Alas! arises a tremendous phantom and separates us!
Here let us take refuge, by the foot of the alter.
Strewn is it with roses!
A harmony celestial, do you not hear?
Ah, the marrige hymn plays!
The ceremony for us draws near! Happiness!
Oh, joy that one feels and does not speak of!
The incense burns!
Brilliant the sacred torches, shining all around!
Here is the minister!
Give me your right hand!
Oh, joyous day!
At last, I am your, at last you are mine,
to me you have been given by God.
Every pleasure is more grateful,
(it is) to me, with you, more sweet
From peaceful heaven a smile
life to us will be.

Maria Callas Concert in Paris (video of her recital)

Maria Callas in Paris (video of her concert):

Moving and sublime, Callas was the “voice of the century”. We see her filmed during two recitals in Paris.

In her lifetime Maria Callas was a legend. Ever since her death on September 16th, 1977, she lives on in the memory of the public at large, far beyond the circle of opera fans. Callas was real on stage, like no other singer before her: “Compared to her, most singers were pleasant to listen to, but as if they were disconnected from reality, recalls Renata Scotto. Callas spoke to us in the present”. One needn’t say more than that !

Callas had to struggle her whole life since her birth in New York in 1923 from a mother who had wanted a boy; because of her physical appearance which she completely transformed (she was fat and wore thick glasses), because of her tumultuous relationship with Onassis and finally because of her voice which abandoned her so early…

1965: when she sings Norma by Bellini at the Opéra de Paris, Callas is but the shadow of herself. She quits at the fifth performance before the second scene of the second act. Yet, a few days before, on May 2nd at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées, Callas, accompanied by the Orchestra of the ORTF and Georges Prêtre, borders on the sublime. With the intelligence of each word and of each note she offers three unforgettable arias: "Adieu notre petite table..." (Manon by Massenet), "Ah, non credea mirarti..." (La Somnambula by Bellini), "Oh, mio babbino caro..." (Gianni Schicchi by Puccini). She is beautiful and moving.

She was already very beautiful a few years before, when she made her debut in France on December 19th, 1958 at the Paris Opera during a gala event in the presence of President René Coty. The television was there and this document bears witness to the supreme artistry of the Callas. With two arias from Norma by Bellini, including Casta Diva, two arias from Il Trovatore by Verdi and to conclude the Barber of Seville by Rossini, the crowd throws itself at her feet. Present that evening was Aristotle Onassis, who comes to congratulate her in her dressing room. But that’s another story…

O Sole Mio by the Three Tenors (Roma, 1994)

From 3 Tenors LA Concert in 1994. This song is not included in the DVD concert. Pretty good quality. Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, José Carreras. Ahh... those were the days. Watch and listen to those great artists having fun with, arguably, most famous aria... O Sole Mio:

Somehow, this reminded me of Luciano Pavarotti's Caruso, one of the most romantic songs ever written.

Luciano Pavarotti Live in Paris ("Caruso")

Katalina, while watching and listening to thies gem wrote: "Je suis bouleversée à chaque fois que je l'écoute ..."

Caruso by Lucio Dalla, rendering by one and only Luciano Pavarotti:

Lyrics are here (English translation below Italian original):

CARUSO

Qui dove il mare luccica e tira forte il vento
su una vecchia terrazza davanti al golfo di Surriento
un uomo abbraccia una ragazza dopo che aveva pianto
poi si schiarisce la voce e ricomincia il canto.
Te voglio bene assaie
ma tanto tanto bene sai
h una catena ormai
che scioglie il sangue dint'e vene sai.
Vide le luci in mezzo al mare pensr alle notti l` in America
ma erano solo le lampare e la bianca scia di un' elica
senti il dolore nella musica si alzr dal pianoforte
ma quando vide la luna uscire da una nuvola
gli sembrr dolce anche la morte
guardr negli occhi la ragazza quegli occhi verdi come il mare
poi all'improvviso uscl una lacrima e lui credette di affogare.
Te voglio bene assaie
ma tanto tanto bene sai
h una catena ormai
che scioglie il sangue dint'e vene sai.
Potenza della lirica dove ogni dramma h un falso
che con un po' di trucco e con la mimica puoi diventare un altro
ma due occhi che ti guardano cosl vicini e veri
ti fan scordare le parole confondono i pensieri
cosl diventa tutto piccolo anche le notti l` in America
ti volti e vedi la tua vita come la scia di un'elica
ma sl h la vita che finisce ma lui non ci pensr poi tanto
anzi si sentiva gi` felice e ricomincir il suo canto.
Te voglio bene assaie
ma tanto tanto bene sai
h una catena ormai
che scioglie il sangue dint'e vene sai

MP3 Caruso downloads

CARUSO (lyrics, English translation)

Here, where the sea shines
and the wind howls,
on the old terrace beside the gulf of Sorrento,
a man embraces a girl
he wept after,
then clears his throat and continues the song:

I love you very much,
very, very much, you know;
it is a chain by now
that melts the blood inside the veins, you know…

He saw the lights out on the sea,
thought of the nights there in America,
but they were only the fishermen’s lamps
and the white wash astern.
He felt the pain in the music
and stood up from the piano,
but when he saw the moon emerging from a cloud
death also seemed sweeter to him.
He looked the girl in the eyes,
those eyes as green as the sea.
Then suddenly a tear fell
and he believed he was drowning.

I love you very much,
very, very much, you know,
it is a chain by now
that melts the blood inside the vein you know…

The power of opera,
where every drama is a hoax;
with a little make-up and with mime
you can become someone else.
But two eyes that look at you,
so close and real,
make you forget the words,
confuse your thoughts,

So everything became small,
also the nights there in America.
You turn and see your life
through the white wash astern.

But, yes, it is life that ends
and he did not think so much about it
on the contrary, he already felt happy
and continued his song:

I love you very much,
very, very much, you know,
it is a chain by now
that melts the blood inside the veins, you know…

I love you very much,
very, very much, you know,
it is a chain by now
that melts the blood inside the veins, you know…