Orfeo - WGBH

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FESTIVAL OPERA
Orfeo
Orfeo in Boston | Evening Performance: Saturday, June 13, 2015 at 8pm
New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall, 30 Gainsborough Street, Boston, Massachusetts
Orfeo in the Berkshires | Matinée Performance: Sunday, June 21, 2015 at 3pm
The Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, 14 Castle Street, Great Barrington, Massachusetts
Paul O’Dette and Stephen Stubbs, Musical Directors
Gilbert Blin, Stage Director
Robert Mealy, Concertmaster
Anna Watkins, Costume Designer & Supervisor
Gilbert Blin, Set Designer
Lenore Doxsee, Lighting Designer
Kathleen Fay, Executive Producer
Melinda Sullivan, Choreographer
Glenn A. KnicKrehm and Constellation Center
Sponsors of The Monteverdi Trilogy
The Barrington Foundation
Sponsor of Orfeo in Great Barrington
Bernice K. and Ted Chen
Sponsors of Gilbert Blin, Stage Director & Set Designer
Lois and Butler Lampson
Sponsors of Aaron Sheehan, performing the role of Orfeo
Diane and John Paul Britton
Sponsors of Anna Watkins, Costume Designer & Supervisor
Constance and Donald Goldstein
Sponsors of Melinda Sullivan, Choreographer of Orfeo
Miles Morgan
Sponsor of Orfeo Lighting Designs
35823 BEMF Festival Book 2015_09FestBrochure 5/28/15 10:59 AM Page 242
Orfeo cast in order of appearance
PART I
Prologue
Mireille Asselin
Charles Blandy, Matthew Brook, Marco Bussi,
Jason McStoots, Nathan Medley,
Shannon Mercer, Aaron Sheehan &
Teresa Wakim
Carlos Fittante
La Musica (Music)
The company
The jester
Act I
Aaron Sheehan
Orfeo (Orpheus)
Nymphs:
Mireille Asselin
Euridice (Eurydice)
Teresa Wakim
1st Nymph
Shannon Mercer
A Nymph
Shepherds:
Nathan Medley
1st Shepherd
Jason McStoots
2nd Shepherd
Charles Blandy
3rd Shepherd
Matthew Brook
4th Shepherd
Marco Bussi
A Shepherd
Carlos Fittante
Hymen, God of Marriage
Act II
Aaron Sheehan
Orfeo (Orpheus)
Nymphs:
Shannon Mercer
Silvia, the Messenger
Teresa Wakim
A Nymph
Mireille Asselin
Euridice (Eurydice)
Shepherds:
Nathan Medley
1st Shepherd
Jason McStoots
2nd Shepherd
Charles Blandy
3rd Shepherd
Matthew Brook
4th Shepherd
Marco Bussi
A Shepherd
Carlos Fittante
Pan, God of Shepherds
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PART II
Act III
Orfeo (Orpheus)
Speranza (Hope)
Caronte (Charon)
Proserpina (Persephone)
Aaron Sheehan
Nathan Medley
Matthew Brook
Teresa Wakim
Marco Bussi
Plutone (Pluto)
Mireille Asselin
Euridice (Eurydice)
Infernal Spirits:
Nathan Medley
1st Spirit
Jason McStoots
2nd Spirit
Charles Blandy
3rd Spirit
Carlos Fittante
Thanatos, God of Death
Act IV
Aaron Sheehan
Orfeo (Orpheus)
Matthew Brook
Caronte (Charon)
Teresa Wakim
Proserpina (Persephone)
Marco Bussi
Plutone (Pluto)
Mireille Asselin
Euridice (Eurydice)
Infernal Spirits:
Nathan Medley
1st Spirit
Jason McStoots
2nd Spirit
Charles Blandy
3rd Spirit
Carlos Fittante
Amor, God of love
Act V
Orfeo (Orpheus)
Apollo
Harpocrates, God of Silence
Aaron Sheehan
Jason McStoots
Carlos Fittante
Epilogue
Mireille Asselin, Charles Blandy, Matthew Brook, Marco Bussi,
Jason McStoots, Nathan Medley, Shannon Mercer, Aaron Sheehan & Teresa Wakim
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Boston Early Music Festival Vocal Ensemble
Mireille Asselin
Charles Blandy
Matthew Brook
Marco Bussi
Jason McStoots
Nathan Medley
Shannon Mercer
Aaron Sheehan
Teresa Wakim
Boston Early Music Festival Chamber Ensemble
Robert Mealy, concertmaster
Julie Andrijeski, violin
Laura Jeppesen, viola
Phoebe Carrai, violoncello
Avi Stein, harpsichord & organ
Alessandro Quarta, harpsichord, organ & regal
Paul O’Dette, chitarrone
Stephen Stubbs, chitarrone
Maxine Eilander, Baroque harp
Erin Headley, viola da gamba & lirone
Dark Horse Consort
Alexandra Opsahl, cornetto & recorder
Kiri Tollaksen, cornetto
Greg Ingles, trombone & trumpet
Liza Malamut, trombone
Catherine Motuz, trombone & trumpet
Erik Schmalz, trombone
Mack Ramsey, trombone
Timothy Will, guest solo trumpet
Boston Early Music Festival Dance Ensemble
Melinda Sullivan, Ballet Mistress
Carlos Fittante, first dancer
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The Power of Music
Tomorrow evening the Most Serene Lord the Prince is
to sponsor a play in the main room in the apartments
which the Most Serene Lady of Ferrara had the use
of. It should be most unusual, since all the actors are
to sing their parts; it is said on all sides that it will be
a great success. No doubt I shall be driven to attend
out of sheer curiosity, unless I am prevented from
getting in by the lack of space.
Carlo Magno’s 1607 letter to his brother, excerpted above,
explains why it is hard for us to hear Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo
in the same way as its original audience did. For us, Orfeo
stands at the head of the long history of opera; it is in a
tradition that includes Handel, Steffani, Lully, Mattheson,
Mozart, Verdi, Wagner, and Strauss. And in that context it
stands up for itself very well indeed; it is full of beautiful
music, it requires passionate, lyrical, and florid singing, and
it can make us weep with the best of them.
And yet it’s not an opera at all. There was no such thing in
1607. It’s a play; and for its creators it’s an attempt to recreate the power of Classical Greek tragedy. Orfeo tells a
Classical tale, and in a time in which Classical literature
was being rediscovered and newly valued, scholars and
intellectuals wanted to know what it was that gave such
affective power to Classical theater. Part of the effect, they
surmised, was that Classical Greek actors sang their parts,
to the accompaniment of the ancient kithara, a plucked
string instrument. So if we have our actors sing, and
accompany them on, say, a souped-up version of the
chitarra (as we’d say in Italian), a big one, a chitarrone, we
might well hope to achieve the effect that Greek tragedy
had on its own audiences.
So Orfeo at its origin was a species of early-music
performance, an attempt to recapture the sounds and the
effects of the distant past. How appropriate that it should
be presented by the Boston Early Music Festival! We are
evoking a performance of 400 years ago that itself sought
to evoke a performance more than a millennium earlier
still.
As spectators, we would be expecting a play. But the
novelty about this play is that, as Carlo Magno says, all
the actors sing their parts. We have a word for plays in
which everybody sings—we call it opera; but that didn’t
really exist. What a novelty it must have seemed! The
singing was something added to a poetic libretto full of
charm and literary delight, telling a story that we already
know, but in newly created elevated language.
Monteverdi’s job is to figure out how to make that singing
contribute to the depth, the expressiveness, the power of
the drama. And he is the perfect person for the job, in the
perfect place to accomplish it.
First off, Monteverdi adopts the new stile recitativo, the
reciting style, employed by some musical experimenters
down in Florence in the last few years. This is a means of
delivering words in spoken rhythm, at about the speed an
actor would speak them, but with a melodic line and a
simple chordal accompaniment; it was a Florentine
invention, but Monteverdi turned it to spectacularly
effective use, here and elsewhere.
There’s a risk that we will find recitative tedious—
especially if we expect Mozart arias or Verdi heroines. But
in the context of a play, it’s a magical addition, and
Monteverdi is able to inflect it with amazing variety and
skill, using harmony, dissonance, melody, rhythm—to
make it always new and interesting.
Another way to avoid tedium is to have songs. And there
are lots of songs, and dances, and instrumental pieces, in
the course of Orfeo. The story is laid out to make this
possible.
k
What better subject for a fable told in music than the story
of Orpheus? He is, after all, the semi-god who is the
greatest musician who ever lived, the son of Apollo, god of
the sun, of music, of balance; a story about Orpheus will
give plenty of occasion for music and singing. It is set in
that mythical Arcadia where nymphs and shepherds frolic,
sing, dance, without any concern for keeping watch over
their flocks.…
So there is plenty of occasion for song as well as speech,
and this presents Monteverdi with a challenge and an
opportunity. Because if this is a play in which the actors
sing their parts, we are to understand that what is
happening on stage is the way things work: when people
sing in that world, they are speaking. Fine: and if we like
it, we stay. But what happens when, in a world in which
people are already singing, somebody on stage says “Orfeo,
sing us a song!” How can this happen, if everybody is
already singing? This is, of course, one of the major
challenges of opera, and one of the major challenges of
music with words. Words require one kind of delivery, and
music generally requires another.
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Monteverdi rises to this challenge beautifully; musically
there is a whole range of singing, from absolutely syllabic
speech-declamation through the most ornate and virtuosic
musical lyricism.
Even though the room is small, the resources are princely.
Monteverdi was able to make full use of the musical
personnel of the Court of Mantua; he was its chief
musician, he hired and fired, and he knew to the tiniest
detail the abilities of his colleagues. The Rubini brothers,
expert violinists, get their opportunities to show off, as do
superstar cornetto players and an extraordinary double
harpist—they all get solo turns in the play’s central
moment: Orfeo’s passionate, and virtuosic, appeal to
Caronte, the gatekeeper of Hell, to allow him passage to
the land of the dead, ruled over by Pluto.
k
The myth of Orpheus has been told for a long time and in
many ways. It continues to be told, and will surely be told
for a long time to come. Like so many myths, it survives
because it reminds us of a universal truth. Orpheus falls in
love with the mortal Euridice; she dies (in this telling, from
a venomous snakebite), and Orpheus does what no mortal
can, and pursues her to the realm of the dead, where Pluto
agrees to release Euridice to him, but on one condition (we
all know this story): as he leads her out of Hades, he must
not look back to see whether she is following. And of
course he does; who wouldn’t? The story of Orpheus is a
human story reenacted by every human every day: my
heart tells me to look back, my head reminds me that I
must not, what shall I do? (Do I really have to get up and
go to work this morning? Couldn’t I just sleep a few
minutes more?)
After the passionate scene in which Orfeo loses Euridice
for ever and is ejected from the lower world, he wanders
through the lands he used to love but which now remind
him of the lost Euridice; he sings a long and very beautiful
soliloquy, in which he begins to speak to the echo that
returns to him from the distant mountains. It is a mad
scene—he begins by singing the praises of Euridice, he
compares her to other women, he loses all control and
despises all of womankind as hateful. That is the point
where Ovid—and the printed poem we were holding in our
hands, if we were at the first performance—calls for a band
of wild women, worshippers of Bacchus, to tear him limb
from limb in revenge for his hatred of women.
But a miracle happens! Just at the point where Orfeo has
lost his reason, Apollo appears overhead in a cloud—a
deus ex machina—and comes to calm his demented son.
He takes him up to heaven, where he can be together
forever with Euridice among the stars. A mighty duet, a
chorus of amazement, and a final dance conclude this fable
in music. What a surprise ending!
The whole story is also an expression of Renaissance neoPlatonist philosophy, surely appealing to the learned
members of the Mantuan Academy for whom this play was
meant.
We exist in a world between two worlds—that of Apollo
overhead, where light and rationality and balance pervade
all, and that of Pluto below, where passion overwhelms
everything else. It is in these three worlds that this story
takes place, and when Orfeo gets out of balance, when his
passion overpowers his reason, it calls forth divine
intervention from the god of balance in all things. The neoPlatonists of Renaissance Italy would have recognized,
perhaps better than we, the extent to which this
entertainment is a reflection of the thinking of its time.
Even in our time, though, the story is resonant, and the
music is beautiful. We are in a room (Jordan Hall) in a
palace (The New England Conservatory), before a small
and elite audience (you), and we have a story to tell, a fable
in music. Don’t look back. u
—Thomas Forrest Kelly
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Orfeo, from narrowness to Universality
Although considered by many as the first true opera, Orfeo
by Claudio Monteverdi was not written for the theatrical
building that would soon be synonymous with the genre it
came to shelter. Although little is known about the actual
material context of the first performance of Orfeo, it has
been established with certainty that the premiere on
February 24, 1607, did not take place in a theater but in a
simple room of the ducal palace in Mantua, and in this way
Orfeo, if not perhaps the very first opera, can be
considered an early chamber opera par excellence.
The palace room that housed the performance has been the
subject of many theories, but we know for sure, thanks to
eyewitnesses of the time, that it was a small chamber with
a narrow stage, not the large salon commonly used for
musical entertainments. Furthermore, in these modest
conditions, Orfeo was first presented in front of a select
audience: the members of the Accademia degli Invaghiti.
This “Academy of the enamored”—longing for
knowledge—was a society of gentlemen who discussed the
arts and studied the Roman and Greek classics during their
meetings. The distinguished society could pride itself for
being under the active patronage of the heir to the
Mantuan throne, Francesco Gonzaga, the prince who
sponsored Orfeo. Not conceived as a grand court festivity,
like the first attempts to create full-length musical dramas,
and far from the idea of entertainment, Orfeo was an
experimental work, free from political message, diplomatic
influence, and circumstantial superficiality.
The Gonzaga family received thanks for its support when
Alessandro Striggio paid tribute to them in the first lines of
the prologue of his libretto for Orfeo. Striggio, a member
of the Accademia and clearly inspired by the works of
Ovid and Virgil, may also have conceived his piece as an
homage to a famous play, Poliziano’s La favola d’Orfeo,
performed more than one hundred years earlier in Mantua
for the 1490 wedding of Francesco II Gonzaga, the
ancestor of his patron Francesco. Striggio’s Orfeo follows
the outline of Poliziano’s: a prologue gives the subject of
the tale—Orpheus’s travails—and then a succession of
scenes are presented, conceived as pictures. But by omitting
the character of Aristeo, the other suitor for Euridice,
Striggio concentrates on the figure of Orfeo, and his favola
exhibits some common points with the morality plays of
the fifteenth century, in which the protagonist is met by
personifications of various moral values before his fate is
decided.
Orfeo may have been seen by Striggio and his fellow
academics as a kind of vanitas, a moral allegory about the
meaninglessness of earthly life and the transient nature of
all earthly attachments and pursuits, including musical
eloquence. Nevertheless, Striggio’s libretto is titled La
Favola d’Orfeo rappresentata in musica. This title can be
read as an esthetic program: It is a tale with different
episodes; it is not yet a “drama” as there is a distance from
the subject created by the narrative chorus. The subject is
taken from Greek mythology, and this antique story is
“represented,” that is, performed in music. In short, the
title is: The Tale of Orpheus represented in music.
Such an idea was still experimental in 1607, and would
undoubtedly stimulate a poet musician, and indeed
Striggio, the son of a renowned Mantuan madrigalist, was
himself a distinguished viol player. But it is, of course, the
creator of the music who gives the project its full scope.
Monteverdi, in his printed score, goes even further than
Striggio, as his Orfeo is subtitled Favola in Musica: not
only is music the subject of the story of Orfeo, but has
become the object of the whole performance itself, its
nature. The musical setting of Monteverdi merges the
Renaissance intermezzi, the short musical and allegorical
sequences which framed the acts of spoken dramas, with
the linearity of an intimate human tale.
The story of Orpheus had already proven a good choice
for such an enterprise. The action does not fit in a realistic
context, which already helps to give the characters a
symbolic status. This is obvious in the case of allegorical
characters that are intended to represent an idea or to
convey a moral message. The gods, although subjected to
passions, embody various forms of power and are also part
of a symbolic framework. The humans are the characters
of the fable that have to comply with the laws of fate,
determined by the forces of nature. Orfeo, whose semidivine origin as the son of the god Apollo makes him the
receptacle of all conceptual, godlike, and human traits, is
at the work’s center as the supreme musician he was.
What does this speculation mean for the possible staging of
this academic abstraction? We know that it was presented
on a narrow stage area in a small palace room, but there
are no surviving visual documents about that first
performance. From a letter written by Francesco Gonzaga,
we know at least that there were not many performers, as
they had to take multiple roles, and that they were
performing their roles from memory. But the text was in
the possession of the audience, as Francesco Gonzaga had
librettos of the opera printed, so that everyone could have
a copy to follow while the performance was in progress.
So even if we don’t know much about the shape of this
production, we can get a sense of direction from this very
point: the few singers would declaim their role for an
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audience who were reading the verse, their eyes moving
between actors and text. By doing so, they were merely
checking “what was happening”: the story of Orpheus was
as well known then as it is today. But the audience would
have judged and enjoyed the invention with which Striggio
and Monteverdi “depicted” the story of the legendary poet
musician.
Orfeo is a work that calls for an active involvement of the
orchestra, as Monteverdi’s score is quite precise in terms
of instruments and instrumentation. In the small room and
next to the narrow stage, the varied instruments of the
sizable orchestra would have constituted a major visual
element. The instrumentalists, Striggio and Monteverdi
likely among them, would have been aware of the strong
relationship between their playing and the emotions that
the score, music and text, was supposed to create in the
audience. It is probable that the performance, like the
music, was neither solely illustrative nor purely descriptive
but mostly evocative.
This first “tryout” was a complete success, and preparations
for subsequent performances were immediately underway. A
second performance was organized for the “ladies of the
town” of Mantua, and a third performance for the planned
visit of the Duke of Savoy was also in preparation. It is
probably for one of these “public” performances that the
finale of Act V was changed, and the scene where Apollo
leads Orfeo to immortality replaced the deadly Bacchanal
initially written by Striggio. The poet and the composer were
infinitely practical and adjusted their productions according
to the circumstances. The whole production may have gained
another dimension if it left the narrow stage to go into the
ducal theater, equipped with flying machines. Our
performance is inspired and informed by the original Palazzo
Ducale performance, but includes the surviving music and
the information in the published score. Monteverdi, in the
dedication of his 1609 score to Prince Francesco, launches
Orfeo from a narrow stage, “sopra angusta Scena,” into the
Theater of the Universe, “nel gran Teatro dell’Universo.” The
metaphor proves to be a prophecy for the unexpected destiny
of this masterpiece. u
—Gilbert Blin
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Synopsis of Orfeo
PART I
Prologue
A Room in a Palace
Music personified thanks the generosity of her noble
patrons who have made her presence possible. She affirms
that she can soothe, through sound, every troubled heart
and move all minds. She sings a further paean to her great
power to elevate the mortal soul, and announces her intent
to present the tale of the demigod Orfeo, whose playing on
the lyre could tame wild animals and whose songs even
had power over Hell. Before she begins the story, Music
asks for total silence from Nature.
Act I
The Fields of Thrace
A shepherd announces that Euridice has consented to
marry Orfeo. He invites the nymphs and shepherds to
celebrate the wedding, which is to be held that day. They all
invoke the god of marriage, Hymen, to preside over the
festivities. A Nymph invites all the Muses to inspire the
harmony of the songs of the shepherds. All compare their
joyful dances to the movements of the stars.
Prompted by a shepherd to sing and play his lyre, Orfeo
invokes the Sun, his father Apollo, as witness to his
happiness at being accepted by Euridice. The bride answers
modestly that her heart is now Orfeo’s.
Nymphs and shepherds prepare for the wedding ceremony
in the temple and reflect on how Orfeo has reached a state
of complete happiness and how sorrow can quickly change
to contentment.
Act II
The Fields of Thrace
The shepherds praise the beauty of the groves, which are
even favored by the god Pan, and ask Orfeo to honor them
with a song. The demigod sings of his previous torments of
love, which moved even the rocks to pity.
A nymph, Silvia, arrives and tells Orfeo that Euridice is
dead. She recounts how, while picking flowers, Euridice
was bitten by a poisonous snake, and despite the efforts of
all the nymphs, she died in the messenger’s arms. Nymphs
and shepherds express their anguish while Silvia castigates
herself as the bearer of bad tidings. Orfeo declares his
intention to descend to the Underworld to persuade its
king to allow Euridice to return to life.
The shepherds depart to lay Euridice’s body to rest,
lamenting on the severity of Fate.
PART II
Act III
The Underworld
Orfeo is led by Hope to the entrance of the Underworld.
After reminding Orfeo of the words inscribed on the gate
of Hell—“Abandon hope, all ye who enter here”—Hope
leaves.
Caronte, the ferryman who carries the souls of the dead
across the River Styx into Hades, harshly refuses to take
Orfeo, as Death has not yet claimed him. Orfeo tries to
persuade him by singing a flattering song, but the ferryman
is unmoved. However, when he allows his true feelings for
his lost wife to inspire his pleading, the bereft husband
charms Caronte into peaceful slumbers with his song, and
is then able to cross the river of death unimpeded.
The spirits of Hades confess their admiration for the
resilience of mankind.
Act Iv
The Underworld
Ravished by Orfeo’s pleas, Proserpina, Queen of Hades,
begs her husband to allow Euridice to leave with Orpheus.
Plutone agrees, but as a condition, the King of the Dead
demands that as Orfeo leads Euridice toward the light, he
must not look back at her. Proserpina expresses her
gratitude to her husband for his acquiescence, and for her
good fortune in having been abducted by him from the
earth and brought to his underworld kingdom.
As Orfeo sets off, exhilarated by the power of his lyre, he
begins to doubt whether his beloved Euridice is really
following him. When he hears a mysterious noise he can no
longer resist the call of Love and turns his head. He sees
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Euridice’s shade, but she immediately vanishes amidst the
night. Orfeo attempts to follow her, but he is pulled away
by an unseen force and forced to return alone to the light
of the upper world.
unworthy, and resolves that his heart will never again be
pierced by Love’s arrow.
The infernal spirits moralize about Orfeo, who, having
overcome Hades, was in turn overcome by his passions:
eternal glory is reserved for the man who learns to master
his emotions.
The sun god Apollo appears and eases Orfeo’s sorrow for
Euridice, reminding him that nothing lasts on earth. The
god invites his son to leave the world and join him in the
heavens, where he will contemplate Euridice’s likeness in
the stars. Orfeo follows the wise counsel of his father, and
together they ascend into eternity.
Act v
The Fields of Thrace
Epilogue
A Room in a Palace
Orfeo has returned to Thrace and laments the permanent
loss of Euridice. An Echo offers words of sympathy by
repeating the final syllables of each of his phrases. But
Orfeo abandons himself to his solitary grief, and
consecrates his lyre to the memory of Euridice. Having lost
Euridice, he condemns all other women as hateful and
All celebrate the immortality of Orfeo and conclude that
human suffering on earth shall turn into celestial grace. u
—Gilbert Blin
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LIBRETTO
ORFEO
FAVOLA IN MUSICA
A Tale in Music
by Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643)
Libretto by Alessandro Striggio (ca. 1573–1630)
English Translation by Gilbert Blin
First Performance: Mantua, Palazzo Ducale, February 24, 1607
PERSONAGGI
CHARACTERS
La Musica
Music
Orfeo
Euridice
Ninfe e Pastori
Speranza
Caronte
Spiriti Infernali
Proserpina
Plutone
Apollo
Orfeo (Orpheus)
Euridice (Eurydice)
Nymphs and Shepherds
Hope
Caronte (Charon)
Infernal Spirits
Proserpina
Plutone (Pluto)
Apollo
PART I
PROLOGO
PROlOGuE
La Musica
Dal mio Permesso amato à voi ne vegno,
Incliti Eroi, sangue gentil de’ Regi,
Di cui narra la Fama eccelsi pregi,
Nè giunge al ver, perch’è tropp’ alto il segno.
Music
From my beloved Permessus I come to you,
Glorious Heroes, noble descendents of Kings,
Of whom Fame proclaims high praise,
Yet without attaining the truth because it is beyond description.
Io la Musica son, ch’a i dolci accenti,
Sò far tranquillo ogni turbato core,
Ed hor di nobil ira, & hor d’amore
Posso infiammar le più gelate menti.
Io sù Cetera d’or cantando soglio
Mortal orecchio lusingar talhora,
E in questa guisa a l’armonia sonora
De la lira del Ciel più l’alme invoglio;
Quinci à dirvi d’ORFEO desio mi sprona,
D’ORFEO che trasse al suo cantar le fere,
I am Music, who in sweet accents,
Knows how to quiet every troubled heart,
And now with noble anger, now with love,
Can inflame the coldest minds.
Singing with my golden Lyre, I like
To charm, now and then, mortal ears,
And in this way, to the sounding harmony
Of the lyre of Heaven, I make their souls aspire;
Hence desire spurs me to tell you of ORFEO:
Of ORFEO who tamed wild beasts with his song
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E servo fè l’Inferno a sue preghiere,
Gloria immortal di Pindo e d’Elicona.
And made Hades answer his prayers,
To the immortal glory of Pindus and Helicon.
Hor mentre i canti alterno hor lieti, hor mesti,
Non si mova augellin fra queste piante,
Nè s’oda in queste rive onda sonante,
Ed ogni auretta in suo cammin s’arresti.
While I vary my songs, now happy, now sad,
No small bird shall move among these bushes,
Nor on these banks a sounding wave be heard,
And every breeze shall be halted in its course.
ATTO PRIMO
ACT I
Pastore
In questo lieto e fortunato giorno,
C’hà posto fine à gli amorosi affanni
Del nostro Semideo, cantiam Pastori,
In sì soavi accenti,
Che sian degni d’ORFEO nostri concenti.
Shepherd
On this happy and auspicious day
Which ends the amorous torments
Of our Demigod, let us sing, Shepherds,
In such sweet accents,
That our singing may be worthy of ORFEO.
Oggi fatt’è pietosa
L’alma già si sdegnosa
De la bella EURIDICE.
Oggi fatt’è felice
ORFEO nel sen di lei, per cui già tanto
Per queste selve hà sospirato, e pianto.
Today the formerly disdainful soul
Of fair EURIDICE
Has become merciful.
Today ORFEO is made happy
In the bosom of her for whom he once
Sighed and wept throughout these woods.
Dunque in si lieto e fortunato giorno
Ch’ha posto fine a gli amorosi affanni
Del nostro Semideo, cantiam Pastori,
In si soavi accenti,
Che sian degni d’ORFEO nostri concenti.
Therefore, on such a happy and auspicious day
Which ends the amorous torments
Of our Demigod, let us sing, Shepherds,
In such sweet accents,
That our singing may be worthy of ORFEO.
Choro
Vieni, Imeneo, deh, vieni,
E la tua face ardente
Sia quasi un Sol nascente
Ch’apporti à questi amanti i dì sereni,
E lunge homai disgombre
Degli affanni e del duol gli orrori e l’ombre.
Chorus
Come, Hymen, oh come,
And may your ardent torch
Be like a rising Sun
That brings these lovers peaceful days
And forever banish
The horrors and shadows of torments and grief.
Ninfa
Muse, honor di Parnaso, amor del Cielo,
Gentil conforto à sconsolato core,
Vostre cetre sonore
Squarcino d’ogni nube il fosco velo;
E mentre oggi propizio al nostro ORFEO
Invochiam Imeneo
Sù ben temprate corde,
Sia il vostro canto al nostro suon concorde.
nymph
Muses, glory of Parnassus, beloved of Heaven,
Gentle comfort to the disconsolate heart,
The music of your lyres
Rends the dark veil of every cloud:
And while today, to favor our ORFEO,
We call to Hymen
With well-tempered strings,
Let our music accord with your song.
Choro
Lasciate i monti,
Lasciate i fonti,
Ninfe vezzos’e liete,
E in questi prati
A i balli usati
Vago il bel piè rendete.
Chorus
Leave the mountains,
Leave the fountains,
Lovely and joyful Nymphs.
And in these meadows
To the traditional dances
Let your fair feet rejoice.
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Qui miri il Sole
Vostre carole,
Più vaghe assai di quelle,
Ond’à la Luna,
La notte bruna,
Danzano in Ciel le stelle.
Here the Sun beholds
Your dancing,
More lovely than
When, for the moon
In the dark night,
The stars themselves dance in Heaven.
Lasciate i monti,
Lasciate i fonti,
Ninfe vezzos’e liete,
E in questi prati
A i balli usati
Vago il bel piè rendete.
Leave the mountains,
Leave the fountains,
Lovely and joyful Nymphs.
And in these meadows
To the traditional dances
Let your fair feet rejoice.
Poi di bei fiori
Per voi s’honori
Di questi amanti il crine,
C’hor de i martiri
De i lor desiri
Godon beati al fine.
Then with fine flowers
Be ready to honor
These lovers’ heads,
That after suffering
They may happily
Enjoy their desires at last.
Pastore
Ma tu gentil cantor s’à tuoi lamenti
Già festi lagrimar queste campagne,
Perc’hor al suon della famosa cetra
Non fai teco gioir le valli e i poggi?
Sia testimon del core
Qualche lieta canzon che detti Amore.
Shepherd
But you, gentle singer, whose laments
Once made these fields weep,
Why not now, to the sound of your famous lyre,
Make the valleys and hills rejoice?
Let some happy song inspired by Love
Stand witness to your heart.
Orfeo
Rosa del Ciel, vita del mondo, e degna
Prole di lui che l’Universo affrena.
Sol che’l tutto circondi e’l tutto miri,
Dagli stellanti giri,
Dimmi, vedestù mai
Di me più lieto e fortunato amante?
Fù ben felice il giorno,
Mio ben, che pria ti vidi,
E più felice l’ora
Che per te sospirai,
Poich’al mio sospirar tu sospirasti:
Felicissimo il punto
Che la candida mano,
Pegno di pura fede à me porgesti.
Se tanti Cori havessi
Quant’ occh’hà il Ciel eterno, e quante chiome
Han questi Colli ameni il verde maggio,
Tutti colmi sarieno e traboccanti
Di quel piacer ch’oggi mi fà contento.
Orfeo
Rose of heaven, life of the world, and worthy
Heir of he who holds the Universe in sway:
O Sun, who encircles all and sees all
From your starry orbits,
Tell me, have you ever seen
A happier and more fortunate lover than I?
Happy was the day,
My love, when first I saw you,
And happier yet the hour
When I sighed for you,
Because at my sighs you sighed:
But happiest of all was the moment
When your white hand,
In pledge of fidelity, you gave to me.
If I had as many Hearts
As eternal Heaven has eyes and as these
Lovely Hills in green May have leaves,
They would all be brimming and overflowing
With that pleasure that today makes me contented.
Euridice
Io non dirò qual sia
Nel tuo gioire ORFEO la gioia mia,
Che non hò meco il core,
Ma teco stassi in compagnia d’Amore;
Euridice
I cannot say, ORFEO,
How I rejoice in your joy,
For no longer do I possess my own heart.
It is with you in the company of Love;
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Chiedilo dunque à lui, s’intender brami
Quanto lieta gioisca, e quanto t’ami.
Ask of it, then, if you want to know
How greatly it rejoices, and how much it loves you.
Choro
Lasciate i monti,
Lasciate i fonti,
Ninfe vezzos’e liete,
E in questi prati
A i balli usati
Vago il bel piè rendete.
Chorus
Leave the mountains,
Leave the fountains,
Lovely and joyful Nymphs.
And in these meadows
To the traditional dances
Let your fair feet rejoice.
Qui miri il Sole
Vostre carole,
Più vaghe assai di quelle,
Ond’à la Luna,
La notte bruna,
Danzano in Ciel le stelle.
Here the Sun beholds
Your dancing,
More lovely than
When, for the moon
In the dark night,
The stars themselves dance in Heaven.
Vieni, Imeneo, deh, vieni,
E la tua face ardente
Sia quasi un sol nascente
Ch’apporti a questi amanti i dì sereni,
E lunge homai disgombre
Degli affanni e del duol gli orrori e l’ombre.
Come, Hymen, oh come,
And may your ardent torch
Be like a rising sun
That brings these lovers peaceful days
And forever banish
The horrors and shadows of torments and grief.
Pastore
Ma s’il nostro gioir dal Ciel deriva
Com’è dal Ciel ciò che qua giù n’incontra,
Giusto è ben che devoti
Gli offriam incensi e voti.
Dunque al Tempio ciascun rivolga i passi
A pregar lui nella cui destra è il Mondo,
Che lungamente il nostro ben conservi.
Shepherd
But if our joy derives from Heaven,
As from Heaven comes all that happens down here,
It is right and fair that we should devoutly
Offer incense and prayers.
So to the Temple let us turn our steps
To pray to him in whose right hand is the World,
That he may long keep us well.
Due Pastori
Alcun non sia che disperato in preda
Si doni al duol, benchè talhor n’assaglia
Possente sì che nostra vita inforsa.
Two Shepherds
Let none be victim of despair
Or sorrow, though both assail us
And so strongly threaten our lives.
Ninfa e Due Pastori
Che poiche nembo rio gravido il seno
D’atra tempesta inorridito hà il Mondo,
Dispiega il Sol più chiaro i rai lucenti.
nymph and Two Shepherds
For, after the sudden storm and great flood
At the heart of a black tempest that has terrified the World,
The Sun more brightly displays its luminous rays.
Due Pastori
E dopò l’aspro gel del Verno ignudo
Veste di fior la Primavera i campi.
Two Shepherds
And after the harsh frost of naked Winter
Spring clothes the meadows with flowers.
Choro
Ecco ORFEO, cui pur dianzi
Furon cibo i sospir, bevanda il pianto.
Oggi felice è tanto
Che nulla è più che da bramar gli avanzi.
Chorus
Here is ORFEO, for whom
Sighs had been his food, and the tears his drink.
Today he is so happy
That there is nothing more for him to wish for.
Il fine del primo Atto.
The end of the first Act.
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ATTO SECONDO
ACT II
Orfeo
Ecco pur ch’à voi ritorno,
Care selve e piagge amate,
Da quel Sol fatte beate
Per cui sol mie notti han giorno.
Orfeo
Here I return to you,
Dear forests and beloved meadows,
Blessed by that very Sun
Through whom alone my nights are day.
Pastore
Mira ch’à se n’alletta
L’ombra ORFEO di que’ faggi,
Or che infocati raggi
Febo dal Ciel saetta.
Sù quelle erbose sponde
Posianci, e in varii modi
Ciascun sua voce snodi
Al mormorio de l’onde.
Shepherd
See, how here we are enticed by
The shade, ORFEO, of these beech trees,
Now that Phoebus shoots his burning rays
Down from Heaven.
On these grassy banks
Let us sit, and in various modes
Each free his voice
To the murmuring of the waters.
Due Pastori
In questo prato adorno
Ogni selvaggio Nume
Sovente hà per costume
Di far lieto soggiorno.
Two Shepherds
In this flowery meadow
Every woodland God
Oftentimes, by custom,
Makes his merry sojourn.
Qui Pan Dio de’ Pastori,
S’udì talor dolente
Rimembrar dolcemente
Suoi sventurati amori.
Here Pan, God of Shepherds,
Is sometimes heard sorrowing
Remembering sweetly
His unlucky loves.
Qui le Napèe vezzose,
(Schiera sempre fiorita)
Con le candide dita
Fur viste à coglier rose.
Here charming wood Nymphs
(Always adorned with flowers)
With white fingers
Were seen picking roses.
Choro
Dunque fà degni, ORFEO,
Del suon de la tua lira
Questi campi, ove spira
Aura d’odor sabèo.
Chorus
Then, ORFEO, honor
With the sound of your lyre
These fields where breezes
Waft exotic perfumes.
Orfeo
Vi ricorda ò boschi ombrosi
De’ miei lunghi aspri tormenti,
Quando i sassi à’ miei lamenti
Rispondean fatti pietosi?
Dite: allhor non vi sembrai
Più d’ogni altro sconsolato?
Hor fortuna hà stil cangiato
Ed hà volti in festa i guai.
Vissi già mesto e dolente;
Or gioisco, e quegli affanni
Che sofferti hò per tant’anni
Fan più caro il ben presente.
Sol per tè, bella EURIDICE,
Benedico il mio tormento;
Orfeo
Do you remember, O shady groves,
My long and harsh torments,
When, at my laments, the rocks
Were moved to pity?
Say: did I not seem to you
More wretched than any other?
Now fortune has changed her course
And has turned woes into joy.
I lived then in sadness and sorrow,
Now I rejoice, and those torments
That I suffered for so long
Make my present happiness much dearer.
Only for you, fair EURIDICE,
I bless my torment;
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Dopo il duol viè più contento,
Dopo il mal viè più felice.
After sorrow one is even more content,
After woe, one is even happier.
Pastore
Mira, deh mira, ORFEO, che d’ogni intorno
Ride il bosco e ride il prato,
Segui pur co’l plettro aurato
D’addolcir l’aria in sì beato giorno.
Shepherd
See, ah see, ORFEO, how at every turn
The woods laugh and the meadow laughs;
Continue with your plectrum of gold
To sweeten the air of such a blessed day.
Messaggiera
Ahi caso acerbo, ahi fato empio e crudele,
Ahi stelle ingiuriose, ahi Cielo avaro.
Messenger
Ah bitter fate, ah wicked and cruel destiny,
Ah hurtful stars, ah avaricious Heaven.
Pastore
Qual suon dolente il lieto dì perturba?
Shepherd
What mournful sound disturbs the happy day?
Messaggiera
Lassa, dunque debb’io,
Mentre ORFEO con sue note il Ciel consola,
Con le parole mie passargli il core?
Messenger
Alas, then must I,
While ORFEO with his music comforts Heaven,
Pierce his heart with my words?
Pastore
Questa è Silvia gentile,
Dolcissima compagna
De la bella EURIDICE: ò quanto è in vista
Dolorosa: hor che fia? deh sommi Dei,
Non torcete da noi benigno il guardo.
Shepherd
This one is gentle Silvia,
Sweetest companion
Of fair EURIDICE: oh, how sad she looks:
What has happened? Ah, Gods above,
Do not turn your kind eyes away from us.
Messaggiera
Pastor, lasciate il canto,
Ch’ogni nostra allegrezza in doglia è volta.
Messenger
Shepherds, leave your singing,
For all our rejoicing is turned to grief.
Orfeo
Donde vieni? ove vai?
Ninfa che porti?
Orfeo
Where do you come from? Where are you going?
Nymph, what do you bring?
Messaggiera
A te ne vengo ORFEO,
Messaggiera infelice
Di caso più infelice e più funesto.
La tua bella EURIDICE…
Messenger
To you I come, ORFEO,
Unhappy messenger
With tidings more unhappy and more baleful.
Your fair EURIDICE…
Orfeo
Ohimè che odo?
Orfeo
Alas, what do I hear?
Messaggiera
La tua diletta sposa è morta.
Messenger
Your beloved spouse is dead.
Orfeo
Ohimè.
Orfeo
Alas.
Messaggiera
In un fiorito prato
Con l’altre sue compagne
Giva cogliendo fiori
Messenger
In a flowery meadow
With her other companions
She went picking flowers
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Per farne una ghirlanda alle sue chiome,
Quand’angue insidioso,
Ch’era fra l’erbe ascoso,
Le punse un piè con velenoso dente,
Ed ecco immantinente
Scolorirsi il bel viso e ne’ suoi lumi
Sparir que’ lampi, ond’ella al Sol fea scorno.
Allor, noi tutte sbigottite e meste
Le fummo intorno, richiamar tentando
Gli spirti in lei smarriti
Con l’onda fresca e co’ possenti carmi;
Ma nulla valse, ahi lassa,
Ch’ella i languidi lumi alquanto aprendo
E tè chiamando, ORFEO,
Dopò un grave sospiro
Spirò frà queste braccia; ed io rimasi
Piena il cor di pietade e di spavento.
To make a garland for her hair,
When a deceitful snake
That was hidden in the grass,
Bit her foot with poisoned fangs,
And immediately
Her fair face grew pale and in her eyes
That light that outshone the Sun faded.
Then we all, appalled and distressed,
Gathered around her, trying to call back
The spirits that grew faint in her,
With fresh water and with powerful charms,
But to no avail, alas,
For she opened her failing eyes a little,
And calling for you, ORFEO,
After a deep sigh,
She died in these arms; and I was left,
My heart filled with pity and horror.
Pastore
Ahi, caso acerbo, ahi fato empio e crudele,
Ahi stelle ingiuriose, ahi Cielo avaro.
Shepherd
Ah bitter fate, ah wicked and cruel destiny,
Ah hurtful stars, ah avaricious Heaven.
Pastore
A l’amara novella
Rassembra l’infelice un muto sasso
Che per troppo dolor non può dolersi.
Shepherd
At the bitter news
The unhappy man seems like a speechless statue
Who with too much grief cannot grieve.
Pastore
Ahi ben havrebbe un cor di Tigre o d’Orsa
Chi non sentisse del tuo mal pietade
Privo d’ogni tuo ben, misero amante.
Shepherd
Ah, he would have the heart of a Tiger or a Bear
Who did not feel pity at your misfortune,
Deprived of your beloved, wretched lover.
Orfeo
Tu se’ morta, mia vita, ed io respiro?
Tu se’ da me partita
Per mai più non tornare, ed io rimango?
Nò, che se i versi alcuna cosa ponno,
N’andrò sicuro a’ più profondi abissi,
E, intenerito il cor del Ré de l’ombre,
Meco trarròtti a riveder le stelle:
O, se ciò negherammi empio destino,
Rimarrò teco in compagnia di morte.
À dio, terra, à dio Cielo, e Sole à dio.
Orfeo
You are dead, my life, and I still breathe?
You are gone from me
Never to return, and I should remain?
No, for if verses can do anything,
I will go fearlessly to the deepest abysses,
And having softened the heart of the King of shades,
I will bring you back with me to see the stars again:
Oh, if wicked destiny refuses me this,
I will stay with you, in the company of death.
Farewell earth, farewell Heaven and Sun, farewell.
Choro
Ahi caso acerbo, ahi fato empio e crudele.
Ahi stelle ingiuriose, ahi Cielo avaro.
Non si fidi huom mortale
Di ben caduco e frale,
Che tosto fugge, e spesso
A gran salita il precipizio è presso.
Chorus
Ah bitter fate, ah wicked and cruel destiny,
Ah hurtful stars, ah avaricious Heaven.
Let no mortal man trust
Fleeting and frail happiness,
That soon vanishes, and often
After a great ascent a precipice is near.
Messaggiera
Ma io ch’ in questa lingua
Hò portato il coltello
C’hà svenata d’ORFEO l’anima amante,
Messenger
But I who with these words
Have brought the knife
That has slain the loving soul of ORFEO,
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Odiosa à i Pastori & à le Ninfe,
Odiosa à me stessa, ove m’ascondo?
Nottola infausta il Sole
Fuggirò sempre, e in solitario speco
Menerò vita al mio dolor conforme.
Hateful to the Shepherds and to the Nymphs,
Hateful to myself, where may I hide?
Like an ill-omened bat,
I will forever flee the Sun, and in a lonely cavern
Will lead a life that matches my grief.
Duoi Pastori
Chi ne consola ahi lassi?
O pur, chi ne concede
Negli occhi un vivo fonte
Da poter lagrimar come conviensi
In questo mesto giorno,
Quanto più lieto già tant’hor più mesto?
Oggi turbo crudele
I due lumi maggiori
Di queste nostre selve,
EURIDICE, & ORFEO,
L’una punta da l’angue
L’altro dal duol trafitto, ahi, lassi, hà spenti.
Two Shepherds
Who will console us, alas?
Or rather, who will grant
In our eyes a living fountain
That we may cry as we should
On this most mournful day,
All the more mournful because once so happy?
Today a cruel darkness
The two greatest lights
Of these our woods—
EURIDICE and ORFEO,
One bitten by a snake,
The other pierced by grief—alas, has extinguished.
Choro
Ahi caso acerbo, ahi fato empio e crudele,
Ahi stelle ingiuriose, ahi Cielo avaro.
Chorus
Ah bitter fate, ah wicked and cruel destiny,
Ah hurtful stars, ah avaricious Heaven.
Duoi Pastori
Ma dove, ah dove hor sono
De la misera Ninfa
Le belle e fredde membra,
Dove suo degno albergo
Quella bell’alma elesse,
Ch’oggi è partita in su’l fiorir de’ giorni?
Andiam Pastori andiamo
Pietosi a ritrovarle,
E di lagrime amare
Il dovuto tributo
Per noi si paghi almeno al corpo esangue.
Two Shepherds
But where, ah, where now are
The wretched Nymph’s
Lovely, cold limbs,
Where is the worthy dwelling
That her fair soul chose,
Who today has departed in the flower of her days?
Let us go, Shepherds, let us go
With compassion to find her
And with bitter tears
The rightful tribute
Shall at least be paid to her lifeless body.
Choro
Ahi caso acerbo, ahi fato empio e crudele,
Ahi stelle ingiuriose, ahi Cielo avaro.
Chorus
Ah bitter fate, ah wicked and cruel destiny,
Ah hurtful stars, ah avaricious Heaven.
Qui si muta la Scena.
Here the set is changed.
Il fine del secondo Atto.
The end of the second Act.
PART II
ATTO TERZO
ACT III
Orfeo
Scorto da te, mio Nume
Speranza unico bene
De gli afflitti mortali, omai son giunto
A questi mesti e tenebrosi regni,
Orfeo
Escorted by you, my Deity
Hope, the only solace
Given afflicted mortals, I have now arrived
At these mournful and dark realms
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Ove raggio di Sol giamai non giunse.
Tu, mia compagna e duce
In così strane e sconosciute vie,
Reggesti il passo debole e tremante,
Ond’oggi ancora spero
Di riveder quelle beate luci
Che sol’à gli occhi miei portano il giorno.
Where a Sun’s ray can find no entrance.
You, my companion and guide
On paths so strange and unknown
Have directed my feeble, trembling steps,
Where today I still hope
To see once more those blessed eyes
That alone can bring light to mine.
Speranza
Ecco l’atra palude, ecco il nocchiero
Che trahe gl’ignudi spirti a l’altra riva,
Dove hà Pluton de l’ombre il vasto impero.
Oltre quel nero stagno, oltre quel fiume,
In quei campi di pianto e di dolori,
Destin crudele ogni tuo ben t’asconde.
Or d’uopo è d’un gran core e d’un bel canto.
Io sin qui t’hò condotto, or più non lice
Teco venir, ch’amara legge il vieta,
Legge scritta co’l ferro in duro sasso
De l’ima reggia in sù l’orribil soglia,
Ch’in queste note il fiero senso esprime:
LASCIATE OGNI SPERANZA O VOI CH’ENTRATE
Dunque, se stabilito hai pur nel core
Di porre il piè nella Città dolente,
Da te me’n fuggo e torno
A l’usato soggiorno.
Hope
Here is the dark marsh, here the boatman
Who ferries naked souls to the other bank,
Where Plutone rules his vast empire of shades.
Beyond that black swamp, beyond that river,
In those fields of tears and sorrows,
Cruel destiny hides your beloved.
You now need a brave heart and a fair song.
I have brought you here, but further I may not
Come with you, for harsh law forbids it,
A law written with iron on hard stone
At the dreaded entrance to the kingdom below,
That in these words conveys its terrible meaning:
ABANDON HOPE, ALL YE WHO ENTER HERE.
Therefore, as your heart is determined
To set foot in the City of grief,
I must flee from you and return
To my accustomed abode.
Orfeo
Dove, ah, dove te’n vai,
Unico del mio cor dolce conforto?
Poichè non lunge homai
Del mio lungo camin si scopre il porto,
Perchè ti parti e m’abbandoni, ahi lasso,
Sul periglioso passo?
Qual bene hor più m’avanza
Se fuggi tù, dolcissima Speranza?
Orfeo
Where, ah, where are you going,
Sole sweet comfort of my heart?
Now that, at last,
The destination of my long journey appears nearby,
Why do you leave and abandon me, alas,
On this perilous path?
What good now remains for me
If you flee, sweetest Hope?
Caronte
O tu ch’innanzi morte a queste rive
Temerario te’n vieni, arresta i passi:
Solcar quest’onde ad huom mortal non dassi,
Nè può co’morti albergo aver chi vive.
Che? Voi forse, nemico al mio Signore,
Cerbero trar dalle Tartaree porte?
O rapir brami sua cara consorte
D’impudico desire acceso il core?
Pon freno al folle ardir, ch’ entr’ al mio legno
Non accorrò più mai corporea salma,
Sì de gli antichi oltraggi ancor ne l’alma
Serbo acerba memoria e giusto sdegno.
Caronte
O you who, before death, rashly come
To these shores, halt your steps:
To cross these waves is not granted to mortal man,
Nor can he who lives dwell with the dead.
What? Perhaps you, as enemy to my Lord,
Want to drag Cerberus from the Tartarean gates?
Or wish to ravish his dear consort,
Your heart on fire with lewd desire?
Restrain your foolish audacity, for into my boat
Shall a living body never again enter:
Of the ancient outrages still in my soul
I keep a bitter memory and righteous anger.
Orfeo
Possente Spirto, e formidabil Nume,
Senza cui far passaggio à l’altra riva
Alma da corpo sciolta in van presume;
Orfeo
Powerful Spirit and fear-inspiring God,
Without whom to make passage to the other bank
A soul, freed from the body, presumes in vain:
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Non viv’ io, nò, che poi di vita è priva
Mia cara sposa, il cor non è più meco
E senza cor com’ esser può ch’io viva?
A lei volt’ ho il camin per l’aer cieco,
A l’Inferno non già, ch’ovunque stassi
Tanta bellezza, il Paradiso ha seco.
ORFEO son io, che d’EURIDICE i passi
Seguo per queste tenebrose arene,
Ove giamai per huom mortal non vassi.
O delle luci mie luci serene,
S’un vostro sguardo può tornarmi in vita,
Ahi, chi niega il conforto à le mie pene?
Sol tu, nobile Dio, puoi darmi aita,
Nè temer dei, che sopra una aurea Cetra
Sol di corde soavi armo il dita
Contra cui rigid’ alma in van s’impetra.
I do not live, no; since my dear spouse
Was deprived of life, my heart is no longer with me,
And without a heart how can it be that I live?
For her I have made my way through the blind air,
Not yet to Hades, for wherever there is
Such beauty there is Paradise in her company.
ORFEO am I, who follows EURIDICE’s steps
On these dark sands,
Where never mortal man has gone.
O serene light of my eyes,
If one look of yours can return me to life,
Ah, who denies comfort to my afflictions?
You alone, noble God, can help me,
Nor should you fear, since on a golden Lyre
My fingers are only armed with sweet strings,
Against which the merciless soul tries in vain to resist.
Caronte
Ben mi lusinga alquanto
Dilettandomi il core,
Sconsolato Cantore,
Il tuo pianto e ’l tuo canto.
Ma lunge, ah lunge sia da questo petto
Pietà, di mio valor non degno effetto.
Caronte
Indeed you charm me,
Appeasing my heart,
Disconsolate Singer,
With your plaints and your song.
But far, ah, far from this breast
Lies pity, an emotion unworthy of my valor.
Orfeo
Ahi sventurato amante,
Sperar dunque non lice
Ch’odan miei prieghi i Cittadin d’Averno?
Onde qual’ ombra errante
D’insepolto cadavero e infelice,
Privo sarò del Cielo e de l’Inferno?
Così vuol empia sorte
Ch’in quest’ orror di morte
Da te cor mio lontano
Chiami tuo nome invano,
E pregando, e piangendo io mi consumi?
Rendetemi’l mio ben, Tartarei Numi.
Orfeo
Alas, unhappy lover,
Then may I not hope
That the Denizens of Avernus may hear my prayers?
Then must I, like an errant shade
Of an unhappy, unburied body,
Be reft of Heaven and of Hell?
So does wicked fate desire
That in this horror of death,
My heart, I should from afar
Call your name in vain,
And praying and weeping wear myself away?
Give me back what is mine, Gods of Tartarus.
Ei dorme, e la mia cetra
Se pietà non impetra
Ne l’indurato core, almen il sonno
Fuggir al mio cantar gli occhi non ponno.
Sù dunque, à che più tardo?
Tempo è ben d’approdar su l’altra sponda,
S’alcun non è ch’il neghi.
Vaglia l’ardir se foran vani i prieghi.
E’ vago fior del Tempo
L’occasion, ch’esser dee colta à tempo.
He sleeps and my lyre,
If it cannot engrave pity
In that hardened heart, at least
His eyes cannot escape slumber from my singing.
So, then, why wait any longer?
It is time to approach the other bank,
If there is no one to forbid it.
Let courage prevail as my prayers were in vain.
A fleeting flower of Time is
The opportunity that must be plucked on time.
Qui entra nella barca e passa cantando
Here he enters the boat and crosses over, singing
Mentre versan quest’ occhi amari fiumi,
Rendetemi’l mio ben, Tartarei Numi.
So long as these eyes pour out bitter streams of tears,
Give me back what is mine, Gods of Tartarus.
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Choro di Spiriti Infernali
Nulla impresa per uom si tenta invano
Nè contro a lui più sa natura armarse.
Ei de l’instabil piano
Arò gli ondosi campi, e ’l seme sparse
Di sue fatiche, ond’ aurea messe accolse.
Quinci, perchè memoria
Vivesse di sua gloria,
La Fama à dir di lui sua lingua sciolse,
Ch’ei pose freno al Mar con fragil Legno
Che sprezzò d’Austro e d’Aquilon lo sdegno.
Chorus of Infernal Spirits
No undertaking by man is attempted in vain,
Nor against him can Nature further arm herself.
And of the unstable plains
He has ploughed the wavy fields, and scattered the seeds
Of his labors, whence he has gathered golden harvests.
Thus, as memory
Might live of his glory,
Fame, to speak of him, has loosened her tongue,
He who restrained the Sea while in a fragile Barque,
Who disdained the wrath of the South and North Winds.
Il fine del terzo Atto
The end of the third Act.
ATTO QUARTO
ACT Iv
Proserpina
Signor, quell’infelice
Che per queste di morte ampie campagne
Và chiamando EURIDICE,
Ch’udito hai tù pur dianzi
Così soavemente lamentarsi,
Moss’hà tanta pietà dentro al mio core
Ch’un’altra volta io torno a porger preghi
Perchè il tuo Nume al suo pregar si pieghi.
Deh se da queste luci
Amorosa dolcezza unqua trahesti,
Se ti piacque il seren di questa fronte
Che tu chiami tuo Cielo, onde mi giuri
Di non invidiar sua sorte à Giove,
Pregoti per quel foco
Con cui già la grand’alma Amor t’accese.
Fa ch’EURIDICE torni
A goder di quei giorni
Che trar solea vivend’ infeste e in canto,
E del miser’ ORFEO consola il pianto.
Proserpina
Lord, that unfortunate man,
Who through these vast fields of death
Goes calling for EURIDICE,
Whom you have just heard
So sweetly lamenting,
Has moved my heart to such pity
That once more I turn to pray
That your spirit will yield to his pleading.
Ah, if from these eyes
You have ever taken loving sweetness,
If the fairness of this brow has pleased you
That you call your Heaven, on which you swear to me
Not to envy Jove his lot,
I beg you, by that fire
With which Love kindled your great soul.
Let EURIDICE return
To enjoy those days
Which she used to pass, living in festivities and in song,
And console the weeping of wretched ORFEO.
Plutone
Benchè severo & immutabil fato
Contrasti amata sposa i tuoi desiri,
Pur nulla homai si nieghi
A tal beltà, congiunta a tanti prieghi.
La sua cara EURIDICE
Contra l’ordin fatale ORFEO ricovri,
Ma pria che tragga il piè da questi abissi,
Non mai volga ver lei gli avidi lumi,
Che di perdita eterna
Gli sia certa cagion un solo sguardo.
Io così stabilisco. Hor nel mio Regno
Fate, ò Ministri, il mio voler palese,
Sì che l’intenda ORFEO
E l’intenda EURIDICE
Ne di cangiar l’altrui sperar più lice.
Plutone
Although severe and immutable fate
Is against your desires, beloved wife,
Nothing ever can be refused
Such beauty, together with such prayers.
His dear EURIDICE,
Against the command of fate, ORFEO may recover.
But before he draws away from these abysses
He must never turn his desirous eyes to see her,
Since her eternal loss
Will be caused by a single glance.
So I do command. Now in my Kingdom,
Officers, make known my will,
So that ORFEO may understand it
And EURIDICE understand it,
Nor may anyone hope to change the decree.
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Uno Spirito
O de gli habitator de l’ombre eterne
Possente Rè, legge ne fia tuo cenno,
Che ricercar altre cagioni interne
Di tuo voler nostri pensier non denno.
A Spirit
For those dwellers in eternal shadows,
Powerful King, let your order be law,
Our thoughts must not seek
Other inmost reasons for your will.
Un altro Spirito
Trarrà da queste orribili caverne
Sua sposa ORFEO, s’adoprerà suo ingegno
Si che no’l vinca giovenil desio,
Ne i gravi imperi suoi sparga d’oblio.
Another Spirit
While through these terrible caverns
ORFEO will lead his bride, he will use his discretion
If he is not overcome by youthful desire,
Nor forgets his solemn imperial orders.
Proserpina
Quali grazie ti rendo,
Hor che si nobil dono
Concedi à’ preghi miei signor cortese?
Sia benedetto il dì che pria ti piacqui,
Benedetta la preda e’l dolce inganno,
Poiche per mia ventura,
Feci acquisto di tè prendendo Sole.
Proserpina
What thanks may I give you,
Now that so noble a boon
You grant to my prayers, courteous lord?
Blessed be the day that first I pleased you,
Blessed my abduction and the sweet trickery,
Since, to my good fortune,
I won you, losing the Sun.
Plutone
Tue soavi parole
D’Amor l’antica piaga
Rinfrescan nel mio core;
Così l’anima tua non sia più vaga
Di celeste diletto,
Sì ch’abbandoni il marital tuo letto.
Plutone
Your sweet words
Love’s ancient wound
Revives in my heart.
Let your soul no more long
For heavenly delight,
Thus to abandon your marriage bed.
Choro di Spiriti
Pietade oggi & Amore
Trionfan ne l’Inferno.
Chorus of Spirits
Pity today, and Love,
Both triumph in Hades.
Spirito
Ecco il gentil cantore
Che sua sposa conduce al Ciel superno.
Spirit
Here is the gentle singer,
Who leads his bride to the Skies above.
Orfeo
Qual honor di te fia degno,
Mia cetra onnipotente,
S’hai nel Tartareo Regno
Piegar potuto ogni indurata mente?
Luogo havrai fra le più belle
Imagini celesti,
Ond’al tuo suon le stelle
Danzeranno co’ giri hor tardi hor presti.
Io per te felice à pieno
Vedrò l’amato volto,
E nel candido seno
De la mia Donna oggi sarò raccolto.
Ma mentre io canto (ohimè) chi m’assicura
Ch’ella mi segua? Ohimè, chi mi nasconde
De l’amate pupille il dolce lume?
Forse d’invidia punte
Le Deità d’Averno,
Orfeo
What honor is worthy of you,
My all-powerful lyre,
For you have, in the Kingdom of Tartarus,
Been able to make yield every hardened heart?
A place shall you have among the fairest
Images of heaven,
Where at your sound the stars
Shall dance and twirl, now slowly, now quickly.
I, through you, happy at last,
Shall see the beloved face,
And in the white bosom
Of my Lady today I will rest.
But while I sing, alas, who can assure me
That she follows me? Alas, who hides from me
The sweet light of her beloved eyes?
Perhaps, spurred on by envy,
The Gods of Avernus,
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Perch’io non sia qua giù felice à pieno,
Mi tolgono il mirarvi,
Luci beate e liete,
Che sol col sguardo altrui bear potete?
Ma che temi, mio core?
Ciò che vieta Pluton comanda Amore.
A Nume più possente
Che vince huomini e Dei
Ben ubbidir dovrei.
So that I should not be happy here below,
Prevent me looking at you,
Blessed and joyful eyes,
That only with a look can bless others?
But what do you fear, my heart?
What Plutone forbids, Love commands.
A mighty God
Who conquers men and Gods
I must obey.
Qui si fa strepito dietro alla Scena.
There is a noise behind the set.
Ma che odo ohime lasso?
S’arman forse à miei danni
Con tal furor le furie innamorate,
Per rapirmi il mio ben, ed io ’l consento?
But what do I hear, oh alas?
Perhaps arming themselves with fury, to my detriment,
Are the enamored furies,
To take from me what is mine, and I allow it?
Qui si volta
Here he turns
O dolcissimi lumi io pur vi veggio,
Io pur: ma qual Eclissi ohimè v’oscura?
O sweetest eyes, I see you now,
I see: But what eclipse, alas, obscures you?
Uno Spirito
Rott’ hai la legge, e se’ di grazia indegno.
A Spirit
You have broken the law, and are unworthy of grace.
Euridice
Ahi vista troppo dolce e troppo amara:
Così per troppo amor dunque mi perdi?
Ed io misera perdo
Il poter più godere
E di luce e di vista, e perdo insieme
Tè d’ogni ben più caro, ò mio Consorte.
Euridice
Ah, too sweet and too bitter a vision:
So, through too much love, then, do you lose me?
And I, wretched, lose
The power to enjoy more
Light and vision, and with them lose
You, dearer than all, O my Consort.
Uno Spirito
Torna à l’ombre di morte,
Infelice EURIDICE,
Nè più sperar di riveder le Stelle,
C’homai fia sordo à’ preghi tuoi l’Inferno.
A Spirit
Return to the shades of death,
Unfortunate EURIDICE,
Nor can you hope to see again the Stars,
For from this moment Hades is deaf to your prayers.
Orfeo
Dove te’n vai, mia vita? ecco, io ti seguo,
Ma chi me ’l niega, ohime: sogno o vaneggio?
Qual occulto poter di questi orrori,
Da questi amati orrori
Mal mio grado mi tragge e mi conduce
A l’odiosa luce?
Orfeo
Where are you going, my life? Lo, I follow you—
But, who stops me, alas: do I dream or rave?
What hidden power of these horrors,
Draws me from these beloved horrors
Against my will, and conducts me
To the hateful light?
Choro di Spiriti
È la virtute un raggio
Di celeste bellezza,
Pregio de l’alma ond’ella sol s’apprezza:
Questa di Tempo oltraggio
Non teme, anzi maggiore
Nell’ huom rendono gli anni il suo splendore.
ORFEO vinse l’Inferno, e vinto poi
Fù da gli affetti suoi.
Chorus of Spirits
Virtue is a ray
Of celestial beauty,
Prize of the soul, where alone it is valued:
The ravages of Time
It does not fear, rather
In man do the years restore its greater splendor.
ORFEO conquered Hades and then was conquered
By his emotions.
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Degno d’eterna gloria
Fia sol colui c’havrà di sè vittoria.
Worthy of eternal glory
Is the one who will have mastery over himself.
Qui di nuovo si volge la Scena.
Here the set changes again.
Il fine del quarto Atto.
The end of the fourth Act.
ATTO QUINTO
ACT V
Orfeo
Questi i campi di Tracia, e quest’è il loco
Dove passommi il core
Per l’amara novella il mio dolore.
Poiche non hò più spene
Di ricovrar pregando,
Piangendo e sospirando,
Il perduto mio bene,
Che posso io più? se non volgermi à voi,
Selve soavi, un tempo
Conforto a’ miei martir, mentre al ciel piacque
Per farvi per pietà meco languire
Al mio languire.
Orfeo
These are the fields of Thrace, and this is the place
where my heart was pierced
By grief at the bitter tidings.
Since I have no further hope
To recover through pleading,
Weeping and sighing,
My lost beloved,
What more can I do, if I turn not to you,
Sweet woods, once
Comfort to my suffering, while it pleased heaven
To make you languish with me in your compassion
At my languishing?
Voi vi doleste, ò Monti, e lagrimaste
Voi sassi al dipartir del nostro Sole,
Ed io con voi lagrimerò mai sempre
E mai sempre dorròmmi, ahi doglia, ahi pianto!
You grieved, O Mountains, and you cried,
Rocks, at the leaving of our Sun,
And I will always weep with you
And always yield myself to grief, as you wept!
Eco
Hai pianto.
Echo
You wept.
Orfeo
Cortese Eco amorosa,
Che sconsolata sei
E consolarmi voi ne’ dolor miei,
Benchè queste mie luci
Sien già per lagrimar fatte due fonti,
In così grave mia fera sventura
Non hò pianto però tanto che basti.
Orfeo
Gentle, loving Echo,
You who are disconsolate
And would console me in my grief,
Although these my eyes
Through tears become two fountains,
So grievous is my misfortune
That I still do not have tears enough.
Eco
Basti.
Echo
Enough.
Orfeo
Se gli occhi d’Argo havessi
E spandessero tutti un Mar di pianto,
Non fora il duol conforme à tanti guai.
Orfeo
If I had the eyes of Argus,
And all poured out a Sea of weeping.
Their grief would not match such woe.
Eco
Ahi.
Echo
Oh.
Orfeo
S’hai del mio mal pietade,
Io ti ringrazio di tua benignitade.
Ma mentr’io mi querelo,
Orfeo
If you have compassion for my misfortune,
I thank you for your benevolence.
But while I lament,
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Deh perchè mi rispondi
Sol con gli ultimi accenti?
Rendimi tutti integri i miei lamenti.
Why do you answer me
Only with my final words?
Give me back all of my laments.
Ma tu, anima mia, se mai ritorna
La tua fredd’ombra à queste amiche piaggie,
Prendi da me queste tue lodi estreme.
C’hor à te sacro la mia cetra e ’l canto.
Come à te già sopra l’altar del core
Lo spirto acceso in sacrifizio offersi.
Tu bella fusti e saggia, e in te ripose
Tutte le grazie sue cortese il Cielo,
Mentre ad ogni altra de suoi don fù scarso.
D’ogni lingua ogni lode à te conviensi,
Ch’albergasti in bel corpo alma più bella,
Fastosa men quanto d’onor più degna.
Or l’altre Donne son superbe e perfide,
Ver chi le adora dispietate instabili,
Prive di senno e d’ogni pensier nobile,
Ond’à ragion opra di lor non lodansi,
Quinci non fia giamai che per vil femina
Amor con aureo strale il cor trafiggami.
But you, my soul, if ever your cold shade
Should return to these friendly meadows,
Take from me these last praises,
Since now my lyre and song are sacred to you only,
As on the altar of my heart
I offered you my ardent spirit in sacrifice.
You were beautiful and wise, and in you
Kind Heaven rested all its graces,
While it was sparing in its gifts to every other woman.
In every tongue every praise is due to you,
For in your fair body you sheltered a fairer soul,
Lesser in pride, thus the more worthy of honor.
Now other Women are haughty and fickle,
Pitiless and changeable to their adorers,
Without judgment and noble thoughts,
Whence rightly their behavior is not praised.
Therefore may it never be that, for a worthless woman,
Love with his golden arrow pierces my heart.
Apollo
(descende in una nuvola cantando)
Perch’ a lo sdegno e al dolor in preda
Così ti doni ò figlio?
Non è consiglio
Di generoso petto
Servir al proprio affetto;
Quinci biasmo e periglio
Già sovrastar ti veggio,
Onde movo dal ciel per darti aita.
Hor tu m’ascolta e n’havrai lode e vita.
Apollo
(descending on a cloud, singing)
Why do you give yourself so freely
To anger and grief, O son?
It is not the wisdom
Of a generous heart
To serve its own affliction.
Since with blame and danger
Already I see you overcome,
I come from heaven to give you aid.
Listen to me now and you shall have glory and life.
Orfeo
Padre cortese, al maggior uopo arrivi,
Ch’a disperato fine
Con estremo dolore
M’avean condotto già sdegno ed Amore.
Eccomi dunque attento a tue ragioni,
Celeste padre; hor ciò che vuoi m’imponi.
Orfeo
Kind father, you come when I am in need,
When to a desperate end
With extreme grief
Anger and Love has already brought me.
Here I am then, attentive to your counsels,
Heavenly father, now command me as you want.
Apollo
Troppo, troppo gioisti
Di tua lieta ventura;
Hor troppo piagni
Tua sorte acerba e dura.
Ancor non sai
Come nulla qua giù diletta e dura?
Dunque se goder brami immortal vita,
Vientene meco al Ciel, ch’a sè t’invita.
Apollo
You rejoiced too much
In your happy fate,
Now you weep too much
At your bitter, hard fortune.
Do you still not know
How nothing that delights down here will last?
Therefore, if you want to enjoy immortal life,
Come with me to Heaven, which invites you.
Orfeo
Si non vedrò più mai
De l’amata EURIDICE i dolci rai?
Orfeo
Shall I never again see
The sweet eyes of my beloved EURIDICE?
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Apollo
Nel Sole e nelle stelle
Vagheggerai le sue sembianze belle.
Apollo
In the Sun and in the stars
You shall gaze at her fair image.
Orfeo
Ben di cotanto Padre sarei non degno figlio
Se non seguisci il tuo fedel consiglio.
Orfeo
Of such a good Father I would not be a worthy son
If I did not follow your trustworthy advice.
Apollo ed Orfeo
(assende al Cielo cantando)
Saliam cantando al Cielo,
Dove ha virtù verace
Degno premio di sè, diletto e pace.
Apollo and Orfeo
(ascending to Heaven, singing)
Let us rise, singing, to Heaven,
Where true virtue
Has the due reward of delight and peace.
Il fino del quinto Atto.
The end of the fifth Act.
Choro
Vanne, ORFEO, felice a pieno
A goder celeste honore
La ve ben non mai vien meno.
La ve mai non fu dolore,
Mentr’altari, incensi e voti
Noi t’offriam lieti e devoti.
Chorus
Go, ORFEO, happy at last,
To enjoy celestial honor
Where good never lessens,
Where grief is unknown,
While altars, incense and prayers
We offer to you, happy and devoted.
Così va chi non s’arretra
Al chiamar di Nume eterno,
Così grazia in ciel impetra
Chi qua giù provò l’inferno
E chi semina fra doglie
D’ogni grazia il frutto coglie. u
So goes one who does not retreat
At the call of the eternal Deity,
So he obtains grace in heaven
Who down here has braved Hell
And he who sows in sorrow
Reaps the fruit of all grace. u
—Translation © 2012 by Gilbert Blin

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