"Bella figlia dell'amore" ("Beautiful daughter of love") is a
vocal quartet
In music, a quartet or quartette (, , , , ) is an ensemble of four singers or instrumental performers; or a musical composition for four voices and instruments.
Classical String quartet
In classical music, one of the most common combinations ...
from act 3 (No. 16) of
Giuseppe Verdi's 1851
opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libre ...
''
Rigoletto
''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play ''Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had cont ...
''.
It has been described as a "masterful quartet that is an intricate musical depiction of four personalities and their overlapping agendas",
"Multiple Perspectives: A Close Look at the Act III Quartet, 'Bella figlia dell'amore'
, Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ...
. Accessed 30 September 2014. and has been performed and recorded by many notable artists.
The plot of the 2012 film ''Quartet
In music, a quartet or quartette (, , , , ) is an ensemble of four singers or instrumental performers; or a musical composition for four voices and instruments.
Classical String quartet
In classical music, one of the most common combinations ...
'' revolves around a performance of this quartet.
''Rigoletto Paraphrase'' (1859, S. 434) is a virtuoso piano arrangement of the quartet by Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...
. Another paraphrase
A paraphrase () is a restatement of the meaning of a text or passage using other words. The term itself is derived via Latin ', . The act of paraphrasing is also called ''paraphrasis''.
History
Although paraphrases likely abounded in oral tra ...
was written by German composer (1820–1883) as his Op. 61.
Libretto
Italian
DUCA: Un dì, se ben rammentomi,
o bella, t'incontrai...
Mi piacque di te chiedere
e intesi che qui stai.
Or sappi che d'allora
sol te quest'alma adora.
GILDA ''(da sé)'': Iniquo!
MADDALENA: Ah! Ah!...e vent'altre appresso
le scorda forse adesso?
Ha un'aria il signorino
da vero libertino.
DUCA: Sì, un mostro son.
GILDA: Ah, padre mio!
MADDALENA: Lasciatemi, stordito!
DUCA: Ah, che fracasso!
MADDALENA: Stia saggio!
DUCA: E tu sii docile,
non farmi tanto, chiasso.
Ogni saggezza chiudesi
nel gaudio e nell'amore.
''(Le prende la mano.)''
La bella mano candida!
MADDALENA: Scherzate voi, signore.
DUCA: No, no.
MADDALENA: Son brutta.
DUCA: Abbracciami.
GILDA ''(da sé)'': Iniquo!
MADDALENA: Ebbro!
DUCA: D'amore ardente.
MADDALENA: Signor l'indifferente,
vi piace canzonar?
DUCA: No, no, ti vo' sposar...
MADDALENA: Ne voglio la parola.
DUCA ''(ironico)'': Amabile figliuola!
RIGOLETTO ''(a Gilda che avrà tutto osservato ed inteso)'':
E non ti basta ancor?
GILDA: Iniquo traditor!
DUCA: Bella figlia dell'amore,
schiavo son dei vezzi tuoi;
con un detto sol tu puoi
le mie pene consolar.
Vieni e senti del mio core
il frequente palpitar.
MADDALENA: Ah! ah! rido ben di core,
che tai baie costan poco,
quanto valga il vostro gioco,
mel credete, so apprezzar.
Son avvezza, bel signore,
ad un simile scherzar,
mio bel signor!
GILDA: Ah, così parlar d'amore
a me l'infame ho udito!
Infelice cor tradito,
per angoscia non scoppiar.
RIGOLETTO: Taci, il piangere non vale,
Ch'ei mentiva sei sicura.
Taci, e mia sarà la cura
la vendetta d'affrettar.
Pronta fia, sarà fatale,
io saprollo fulminar!
Literal translation
DUKE: One day, if I remember well,
oh beautiful, I met you ...
I liked you to ask
and understood that you are here.
Now know that since then
only you this soul adores.
GILDA ''(to herself)'': Unfair!
MADDALENA: Ah! Ah! ... and twenty others below,
perhaps you forget them now?
He looks like the young gentleman
like a true libertine.
DUKE: Yes, I am a monster.
GILDA: Ah, my father!
MADDALENA: Leave me stunned!
DUKE: Ah, what a din!
MADDALENA: Be wise!
DUKE: And you be docile,
don't make me so much fuss.
All wisdom closed
in joy and love.
''(He takes her hand.)''
The beautiful white hand!
MADDALENA: Are you kidding, sir.
DUKE: No, no.
MADDALENA: I'm ugly.
DUKE: Hug me.
GILDA ''(to herself)'': Unfair!
MADDALENA: Drunkard!
DUKE: Of burning love.
MADDALENA: Mr. Indifferent,
do you like to make fun?
DUKE: No, no, I want to marry you ...
MADDALENA: I want the word.
DUKE ''(ironic)'': Lovable daughter!
RIGOLETTO ''(to Gilda, who has observed and understood everything)'':
And isn't that enough for you yet?
GILDA: Unfair traitor!
DUKE: Beautiful daughter of Love,
I am a slave to your charms;
with only one saying you can
console my pains.
Come and feel
the frequent palpitation of my heart.
MADDALENA: Ah! ah! I laugh heartily,
that these bays are cheap,
how much is your game worth,
you believe me, I know how to appreciate.
I am accustomed, handsome gentleman,
to such a joke,
my handsome mister!
GILDA: Ah, so I heard
the infamous talk about love!
Unhappy betrayed heart,
do not burst out of anguish.
RIGOLETTO: Shut up, crying is not worth it,
He was lying, you are sure.
Shut up, and my cure will be
the revenge of hurrying.
Ready to go, it will be fatal
I know how to strike him!
References
External links
*
*, Luciano Pavarotti
Luciano Pavarotti (, , ; 12 October 19356 September 2007) was an Italian operatic tenor who during the late part of his career crossed over into popular music, eventually becoming one of the most acclaimed tenors of all time. He made numerou ...
, Isola Jones
Isola Jones (born December 27, 1949) is an American mezzo-soprano opera singer. She sang at the Metropolitan Opera for 16 seasons and has performed with many opera companies throughout the U.S. and abroad.
Biography
Jones was born in Chicago, I ...
, Joan Sutherland
Dame Joan Alston Sutherland, (7 November 1926 – 10 October 2010) was an Australian dramatic coloratura soprano known for her contribution to the renaissance of the bel canto repertoire from the late 1950s through to the 1980s.
She possessed ...
, Leo Nucci
Leo Nucci (born 16 April 1942) is an Italian operatic baritone, particularly associated with Verdi and ''Verismo'' roles.
Biography
Born at Castiglione dei Pepoli, near Bologna, Nucci studied with Giuseppe Marchese. He made his stage debut ...
, Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ...
Gala 11 January 1987, Richard Bonynge
Richard Alan Bonynge ( ) (born 29 September 1930) is an Australian conductor and pianist. He is the widower of Australian dramatic coloratura soprano Dame Joan Sutherland. Bonynge conducted virtually all of Sutherland's operatic performanc ...
conducting
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bella figlia dell'amore
Compositions by Giuseppe Verdi
Opera excerpts
1851 compositions