1969 concert of the legendary Italian tenor Mario Del Monaco. Recorded on March 8, 1969. An amazing performance by Del Monaco singing heavy operatic repertoire at the age of 54.

Mario Del Monaco Concert 1969 Audio HQ

Programme

  1. Svanir le voci (Norma)
  2. Largo al Factotum (Il Barbiere di Siviglia)
  3. Ein Schwert Verhieß Mir Der Vater (Die Walküre)
  4. Ah! la paterna mano (Macbeth)
  5. Dio mi potevi scagliar tutti i mali (Otello)
  6. Niun mi tema (Otello)
  7. ‘O Sole Mio

Svanir le voci (Norma)

Norma is a tragedia lirica or opera in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini with a libretto by Felice Romani after the play Norma, ou L’infanticide (Norma, or The Infanticide) by Alexandre Soumet. It was first performed at La Scala in Milan on 26 December 1831.

Italian

POLLIONE
Svanir le voci!
E dell’orrenda selva
Libero è il varco.

FLAVIO
In quella selva è morte
Norma tel disse.

POLLIONE
Profferisti un nome
Che il cor m’agghiaccia.

FLAVIO
Oh, che di’ tu?
L’amante!
La madre de’ tuoi figli!

POLLIONE
A me non puoi far tu rampogna,
Ch’io mertar non senta.
Ma nel mio core è spenta
La prima fiamma,
E un Dio la spense,
Un Dio nemico al mio riposo
Ai piè mi veggo l’abisso aperto,
E in lui m’avvento io stesso.

FLAVIO
Altra ameristi tu?

POLLIONE
Parla sommesso …
Un’altra, sì … Adalgisa …
Tu la vedrai …
Fior d’innocenza e riso,
Di candore e d’amor.
Ministra al tempio
Di questo Dio di sangue,
Ella v’appare
Come raggio di stella in ciel turbato.

FLAVIO
Misero amico! E amato
Sei tu del pari?

POLLIONE
Io n’ho fidanza.

FLAVIO
E l’ira
Non temi tu di Norma?

POLLIONE
Atroce, orrenda me la presenta
Il mio rimorso estremo …
Un sogno …

English translation

POLLIONE
The voices have died away. The path
Now is free through the awful wood.

FLAVIO
In this forest lurks Death.
Norma told you so.

POLLIONE
You have spoken a name
Which chills my heart.

FLAVIO
What are you saying? Your beloved,
The mother of your children!

POLLIONE
There is no reproach
Which you can make me that I do not
Already feel. But in my heart
The flame is dead – extinguished by a God
Who is the foe of my peace. At my feet
I see the abyss, and therein I cast myself.

FLAVIO
Do you love another?

POLLIONE
Speak softly!
Ah yes, another ? Adalgisa!
You will see her ?
Innocent and laughing with sweetness
And love. She is a priestess in the temple
Of this blood?maddened God ? yet she seems
Like starlight in a troubled sky.

FLAVIO
My wretched friend! And does she
Love you as you do her?

POLLIONE
I am sure she does.

FLAVIO
Do you not fear
The wrath of Norma?

POLLIONE
It will be terrible,
As my remorse already shows me.
In a dream ?

FLAVIO
Tell me.

Largo al Factotum (Il Barbiere di Siviglia)

“Largo al factotum” (Make way for the factotum) is an aria from The Barber of Seville (Il Barbiere di Siviglia) by Gioachino Rossini, sung at the first entrance of the title character; the repeated “Figaro”s before the final patter section are an icon in popular culture of operatic singing. The term “factotum” refers to a general servant and comes from the Latin where it literally means “do everything.”

Italian

Largo al factotum della città.
Presto a bottega che l’alba è già.
Ah, che bel vivere, che bel piacere
per un barbiere di qualità! di qualità!

Ah, bravo Figaro!
Bravo, bravissimo!
Fortunatissimo per verità!

Pronto a far tutto,
la notte e il giorno
sempre d’intorno in giro sta.
Miglior cuccagna per un barbiere,
vita più nobile, no, non si da.

Rasori e pettini
lancette e forbici,
al mio comando
tutto qui sta.
V’è la risorsa,
poi, del mestiere
colla donnetta… col cavaliere…

Tutti mi chiedono, tutti mi vogliono,
donne, ragazzi, vecchi, fanciulle:
Qua la parrucca… Presto la barba…
Qua la sanguigna…
Presto il biglietto…

Qua la parrucca, presto la barba,
Presto il biglietto, ehi!

Figaro! Figaro! Figaro!, ecc.
Ahimè, che furia!
Ahimè, che folla!
Uno alla volta, per carità!
Ehi, Figaro! Son qua.
Figaro qua, Figaro là,
Figaro su, Figaro giù.

Pronto prontissimo son come il fulmine:
sono il factotum della città.
Ah, bravo Figaro! Bravo, bravissimo;
a te fortuna non mancherà.

English Translation

Make way for the factotum of the city,
Hurrying to his shop since dawn is already here.
Ah, what a fine life, what fine pleasure
For a barber of quality!

Ah, bravo Figaro!
Bravo, bravissimo!
A most fortunate man indeed!

Ready to do everything
Night and day,
Always on the move.
A cushier fate for a barber,
A more noble life, is not to be had.

Razors and combs,
Lancets and scissors,
At my command
Everything’s there.
Here are the tools
Of my trade
With the ladies… with the gentlemen…

Everyone asks for me, everyone wants me,
Ladies, young lads, old men, young girls:
Here is the wig… the beard is ready…
Here are the leeches…
The note is ready…

Here is the wig, the beard is ready,
The note is ready, hey!

Figaro! Figaro! Figaro!, etc.
Ah, what frenzy!
Ah, what a crowd!
One at a time, please!
Hey, Figaro! I’m here.
Figaro here, Figaro there,
Figaro up, Figaro down,

Swifter and swifter, I’m like a thunderbolt:
I’m the factotum of the city.
Ah, bravo Figaro! Bravo, bravissimo,
You’ll never lack for luck!

Ein Schwert Verhieß Mir Der Vater (Die Walküre)

Die Walküre (The Valkyrie), WWV 86B is the second of the four music dramas that constitute Richard Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen, (English: The Ring of the Nibelung). It was performed, as a single opera, at the National Theatre Munich on 26 June 1870, and received its first performance as part of the Ring cycle at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus on 14 August 1876.

German

Ein Schwert verhieß mir der Vater,
ich fänd’ es in höchster Not.
Waffenlos fiel ich in Feindes Haus;
seiner Rache Pfand, raste ich hier: –
ein Weib sah ich, wonnig und hehr:
entzückend Bangen zehrt mein Herz.
Zu der mich nun Sehnsucht zieht,
die mit süßem Zauber mich sehrt,
im Zwange hält sie der Mann,
der mich Wehrlosen höhnt!
Wälse! Wälse! Wo ist dein Schwert?
Das starke Schwert,
das im Sturm ich schwänge,
bricht mir hervor aus der Brust,
was wütend das Herz noch hegt?

Was gleißt dort hell im Glimmerschein?
Welch ein Strahl bricht aus der Esche Stamm?
Des Blinden Auge leuchtet ein Blitz:
lustig lacht da der Blick.
Wie der Schein so hehr das Herz mir sengt!
Ist es der Blick der blühenden Frau,
den dort haftend sie hinter sich ließ,
als aus dem Saal sie schied?

Nächtiges Dunkel deckte mein Aug’,
ihres Blickes Strahl streifte mich da:
Wärme gewann ich und Tag.
Selig schien mir der Sonne Licht;
den Scheitel umgliß mir ihr wonniger Glanz –
bis hinter Bergen sie sank.

Noch einmal, da sie schied,
traf mich abends ihr Schein;
selbst der alten Esche Stamm
erglänzte in goldner Glut:
da bleicht die Blüte, das Licht verlischt;
nächtiges Dunkel deckt mir das Auge:
tief in des Busens Berge glimmt nur noch lichtlose Glut.

English translation (auto-translate)

A sword promised me the father,
I find it in dire need.
Without weapons, I fell into enemy’s house;
his revenge pledge, I raced here: –
a woman I saw, happy and dear:
adorable Bangs are eating my heart.
To which I now longs for,
who loves me with sweet magic,
in coercion she keeps the man,
who sneers at me defenseless!
Volsa Volsa Where is your sword?
The strong sword,
that in the storm I sway,
breaks out of my chest,
What angry heart still holds?

What is there bright in the mica light?
What a ray breaks out of the ash tree trunk?
The blind eye shines a lightning bolt:
the look laughs funny.
How the light of heart shivers me!
Is it the look of the flowering woman,
who left her behind,
when she left the room?

Nocturnal darkness covered my eye,
her gaze ray brushed me there:
I gained warmth and day.
Blessed was the sun’s light;
the crown of my head glared over her
until behind mountains she sank.

Once again, as she divorced,
met me in the evening her appearance;
even the old ash tree trunk
gleamed in golden glow:
the blossom bleaches, the light goes out;
night dark covers my eye:
deep in the bosom of mountains only lightless glowing embers.

Ah! la paterna mano (Macbeth)

Macbeth is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi, with an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave and additions by Andrea Maffei, based on William Shakespeare’s play of the same name. Written for the Teatro della Pergola in Florence, it was Verdi’s tenth opera and premiered on 14 March 1847.

Italian

Ah, la paterna mano
Non vi fu scudo, o cari,
Dai perfidi sicari
Che a morte vi ferir!
E me fuggiasco, occulto,
Voi chiamavate invano,
Coll’ultimo singulto,
Coll’ultimo respir.
Trammi al tiranno in faccia,
Signore! e s’ei mi sfugge,
Possa a colui le braccia
Del tuo perdono aprir.

English translation

Alas, a father’s hand was not there
to shield you, my dear ones,
from the treacherous assassins
who put you to death.
And in vain you called on me,
a fugitive, in hiding,
with your last gasp,
with your last breath.
Lord, bring me face to face
with this tyrant, and if he escapes me
let your merciful arms
open to him.

Dio mi potevi scagliar tutti i mali (Otello)

Otello is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Shakespeare’s play Othello. It was Verdi’s penultimate opera and was first performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, on 5 February 1887.

Italian

Dio! mi potevi scagliar tutti i mali
della miseria, della vergogna,
far de’ miei baldi trofei trionfali
una maceria, una menzogna…
E avrei portàto la croce crudel
d’angoscie e d’onte
con calma fronte
e rassegnato al volere del ciel.
Ma, o pianto, o duol! m’han rapito il mirraggio
dov’io, giulivo, l’anima acqueto.
Spento è quel sol, quel sorriso, quel raggio
che mi fa vivo, che mi fa lieto!
Tu alfin, Clemenza, pio genio immortal
dal roseo riso,
copri il tuo viso
santo coll’orrida larva infernal!

English translation

God! Thou couldst have rained upon my head
every affliction of poverty and shame,
made of my heroic battle-honors
a heap of ruination and a lie …
and I should have borne the cruel cross
of torment and disgrace
with patience
and resigned me to the will of heaven.
But – oh tears, oh the pain! –
to rob me of that vision
in which my soul was garnered joyfully!
That sun has been snuffed out,
that smile, that ray
which gives me life and happiness!
That sun has been snuffed out, etc.
Mercy, thou immortal
rose-lipped Cherubin,
cover at the last thy holy face
with the horrid mask of hell!

Niun mi tema (Otello)

Italian

OTELLO
Tant’osi?…
Niun mi tema
s’anco armato mi vede. Ecco la fine
del mio camin…Oh! Gloria! Otello fu.
Lascia cadere la spada. Va presso al letto, contemplando Desdemona
E tu…come sei pallida! e stanca, e muta, e bella,
pia creatura nata sotto maligna stella.
Fredda come la casta tua vita…
e in cielo assorta.
Desdemona! Desdemona!…Ah…morta! morta! morta!…
estraendo furtivamente dalle vesti un pugnale
Ho un’arma ancor!
si ferisce

CASSIO
Ah! ferma!

LODOVICO, MONTANO
Sciagurato!

OTELLO
Pria d’ucciderti…sposa…ti baciai.
Or morendo…nell’ombra…
in cui mi giacio…
Un bacio…un bacio ancora…ah!…un altro bacio…
(muore)

English translation

OTHELLO
Would you dare?
Let no one fear me
though he see me armed.

Here is my journey’s end …
Oh! Glory!
Othello’s day is done.
(Letting his sword fall to the ground, he goes to the bed
and gazes at Desdemona.)
And thou… how pale thou art!
And weary, and mute, and beautiful,
pious creature, born ‘neath an evil star.
Cold, even like thy chastity,
and gathered into heaven.
Desdemona! Desdemona!
Ah!… Dead! Dead! Dead!
(furtively producing a dagger from his robe)
I have another weapon!
(stabs himself)

CASSIO
Ah, stop!

LODOVICO, MONTANO
O bloody period!

OTHELLO
Before I killed thee, wife, I kissed thee thus.
Now dying… in the shadow where I lie…
a kiss… another kiss…
ah!… another kiss…
(dies)

‘O Sole Mio

“O sole mio” is a globally known Neapolitan song written in 1898. Its lyrics were written by Giovanni Capurro and the melody was composed by Eduardo di Capua. There are other versions of “‘O sole mio” but it is usually sung in the original Neapolitan language. ‘O sole mio is the Neapolitan equivalent of standard Italian Il sole mio and translates literally as “my sunshine”.

Neapolitan lyrics

Che bella cosa è na jurnata ‘e sole,
n’aria serena dopo na tempesta!
Pe’ ll’aria fresca para già na festa…
Che bella cosa na jurnata ‘e sole.

Ma n’atu sole cchiù bello, oi ne’,
‘o sole mio sta nfronte a te!
‘o sole, ‘o sole mio, sta nfronte a te,
sta nfronte a te!

Quanno fa notte e ‘o sole se ne scenne,
me vane quasi ‘na malincunia;
sotta ‘a fenesta toia restarria
quanno fa notte e ‘o sole se ne scenne.

Ma n’atu sole cchiù bello, oi ne’,
‘o sole mio sta nfronte a te!
‘o sole, ‘o sole mio, sta nfronte a te,
sta nfronte a te!

English translation

What a beautiful thing is a sunny day!
The air is serene after a storm,
The air is so fresh that it already feels like a celebration.
What a beautiful thing is a sunny day!

But another sun that’s brighter still,
It’s my own sun that’s upon your face!
The sun, my own sun, it’s upon your face!
It’s upon your face!

When night comes and the sun has gone down,
I almost start feeling melancholy;
I’d stay below your window
When night comes and the sun has gone down.

But another sun that’s brighter still,
It’s my own sun that’s upon your face!
The sun, my own sun, it’s upon your face!
It’s upon your face!

Mario Del Monaco (1969)
Legendary Italian tenor Mario Del Monaco (27 July 1915 – 16 October 1982) was one of the greatest tenors of all time.

Sources

Svanir le voci lyrics on Operas-Arias.com
Die Walküre on Wikipedia
Macbeth (opera) on Wikipedia
Ah! la paterna mano lyrics on Operas-Arias.com
Otello on Wikipedia
Niun mi tema lyrics on Operas-Arias.com

M. Özgür Nevres

Published by M. Özgür Nevres

I am Özgür Nevres, a software engineer, a former road racing cyclist, and also an amateur musician. I opened andantemoderato.com to share my favorite music. I also take care of stray cats & dogs. This website's all income goes directly to our furry friends. Please consider supporting me on Patreon, so I can help more animals!

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1 Comment

  1. Teräksellistä äänen vivahteita suurella sydämmellä ja ammattiosaamisella.Tunne Skaala jota hän käytti äänesään tavoittaen sen tulkinnalliset syvyydet kuin herkyydet.Yksi suurimmista laulajista esiintymis lavoillla Pravismo Veritas.

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