The legendary Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti gave a concert at New York’s Central Park on June 26, 1993, accompanied by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Leone Magiera. More than 500,000 listeners gathered for Pavarotti’s free performance on that day.
Pavarotti’s Central Park Concert Program
With start times in the video above:
- 0:00:00 Overture
- 0:06:47 Giuseppe Verdi: Quando le sere al placido (from Luisa Miller)
- 0:12:55 Saverio Mercadante: Flute Concerto in E minor, 3rd Movement “Rondò russo (Allegro vivace scherzando)”. Soloist: Andrea Griminalli.
- 0:19:58 Gaetano Donizetti: Fra poco a me ricovero (Edgardo’s aria) from Lucia di Lammermoor
- 0:27:00 Giuseppe Verdi: I vespri siciliani overture. I vespri siciliani is a five-act opera by Giuseppe Verdi, first written in French for the Paris Opéra under the title Les vêpres siciliennes. It premiered in June 1855 and was translated into Italian soon afterward. The libretto was written by Eugène Scribe and Charles Duveyrier, based on their earlier work Le duc d’Albe. The opera’s story is loosely inspired by the Sicilian Vespers, a historical uprising that took place in Sicily in 1282.
- 0:36:04 Francesco Cilea: Lamento di Federico from L’arlesiana
- 0:40:44 Billy Strayhorn: Take the “A” Train [Guest singers: The Boys Choir of Harlem director: Walter J. Turnbul]
- 0:44:16 Duke Ellington: It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing) [Guest singers: The Boys Choir of Harlem, director: Walter J. Turnbul]
- 0:47:26 Calvin Bridges: I Can Go to God in Prayer [Guest singers: The Boys Choir of Harlem, director: Walter J. Turnbul]
Lyrics
Verdi: Quando le sere al placido, Rodolfo’s aria from Luisa Miller
Luisa Miller is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) to an Italian libretto by Salvadore Cammarano (1801-1852), based on the play Kabale und Liebe (Intrigue and Love) by the German dramatist Friedrich von Schiller (10 November 1759 – 9 May 1805).
Quando le sere al placido
chiator d’un ciel stellato
meco figgea nell’eterelo
sguardo innamorato,
e questa mano stringer
midalla sua man senita…
Ah! mi tradita!
Allor, ch’io muto, estatico
da’ labbri suoi pendea,
ed ella in suon angelico,
“amo te sol” dicea,
tal che sembrò l’empiereo
apirisi all’alma mia!
Ah! mi tradia!
English translation
When the nights are placid
cheater of a starry sky
meco figgea in the ether
the look in love,
And this holds me
from his senile man…
Ah! betray me!
Then, I am silent, ecstatic
from his lips his pendea,
and she in angelic sound,
“I love you,” he said,
so that he seemed the impiereo
open yours to mine!
Ah! it betrays me!
Fra poco a me ricovero
“Fra poco a me ricovero” is Edgardo’s aria from Gaetano Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, sung by the tenor near the end of the opera. It comes in Act III, at the tombs of the Ravenswood family, shortly before Edgardo kills himself.
At this point, Edgardo believes Lucia has betrayed him by marrying Arturo. In reality, she was manipulated and forced into the marriage. Edgardo does not yet know the full truth.
He is waiting near the Ravenswood tombs for a dawn duel with Enrico, Lucia’s brother. He is not afraid of death; he actually welcomes it. The Opera Guide synopsis describes the scene this way: Edgardo waits at the tombs, thinks bitterly of Lucia’s apparent faithlessness, later learns of her death, realizes he has misjudged her, and stabs himself, hoping to join her in death.
The phrase “Fra poco a me ricovero” means roughly “Soon, a refuge for me…”
The opera was written by Gaetano Donizetti, with a libretto by Salvadore Cammarano, and was first performed at the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples on 26 September 1835. Ricordi describes it as one of Donizetti’s most continuously performed and popular operas.
Italian
Tombe degli avi miei, l’ultimo avanzo
D’una stirpe infelice
Deh’! raccogliete voi. – Cessò dell’ira
Il breve foco … sul nemico acciaro
Abbandonar mi vo’.
Per me la vita
È orrendo peso! … l’universo intero
E’ un deserto per me senza Lucia! …
Di liete faci ancora
Splende il castello! Ah! scarsa
Fu la notte al tripudio! Ingrata donna!
Mentr’io mi struggo in disperato pianto
Tu ridi, esulti accanto
Al felice consorte!
Tu delle gioje in seno, io … della morte!
Frà poco a me ricovero
Darà negletto avello …
Una pietosa lagrima
Non scorrerà sù quello!
Fin degli estinti, ahi misero!
Manca il conforto a me!
Tù pur, tù pur dimentica
Quel marmo dispregiato.
Mai non passarvi, o barbara,
Del tuo consorte a lato …
Rispetta almen le ceneri
Di chi morià per tè.
English translation
Tombs of my ancestors,
Take in the last remnant
of a doomed family.
The brief fire of anger is gone.
I shall give myself up
to my enemy’s sword.
Life is now a dreadful weight to me.
The entire world is empty,
a desert without Lucia.
The castle still glitters
with joyful lights.
Ah, the night was too short
for their merrymaking!
Ungrateful woman!
While I am consumed
by hopeless tears,
You laugh and rejoice
beside your fortunate husband.
You live in joy.
I go to death.
Soon, a forgotten grave
will be my refuge.
Not one merciful tear
will fall upon it.
Even the comfort of the dead
is denied to me.
And you, you too, forget
that scorned tombstone.
Never pass by it, cruel one,
beside your husband.
Only respect the ashes
of the man who died for you.
È la solita storia del pastore [Lamento di Federico]
“È la solita storia del pastore”, also known as “Lamento di Federico”, is a famous tenor aria from Act II of Francesco Cilea’s opera L’arlesiana (1897).
The aria is sung by Federico, a young man hopelessly in love with a woman from Arles, the unseen “Arlesiana” of the title. His family, however, wants him to marry Vivetta, a kind young woman who has loved him since childhood. Federico cannot return her feelings because his heart belongs entirely to L’Arlesiana.
Left alone, Federico reads the letters of l’Arlesiana, which reveal that she has another lover. Devastated by the discovery, he reflects on his heartbreak and sings this deeply sorrowful lament. The aria expresses his loneliness, disillusionment, and emotional collapse as he realizes that the woman he loves does not truly belong to him.
Italian
È la solita storia del pastore…
Il povero ragazzo voleva raccontarla
E s’addormì.
C’è nel sonno l’oblio.
Come l’invidio!
Anch’io vorrei dormir così,
nel sonno almen l’oblio trovar!
La pace sol cercando io vo’.
Vorrei poter tutto scordar!
Ma ogni sforzo è vano.
Davanti ho sempre di lei
il dolce sembiante.
La pace tolta è solo a me.
Perché degg’io tanto penar?
Lei! Sempre lei mi parla al cor!
Fatale vision, mi lascia!
Mi fai tanto male! Ahimè!
English translation
It’s the old tale of the shepherd…
The poor boy wanted to retell it
And he fell asleep.
There is oblivion in sleep.
How I envy him!
I, too, would like to sleep like that
To find oblivion at least in slumber!
I am searching only for peace.
I would like to be able to forget everything!
Yet every effort is in vain.
Before me, I always have
her sweet face.
Peace is ever taken from me.
Why must I suffer so very much?
She, as always, speaks to my heart.
Fatal vision, leave me!
You hurt me so deeply! Alas!
Take the “A” Train
“Take the ‘A’ Train” is a famous jazz standard composed by Billy Strayhorn and best known as the signature tune of the Duke Ellington Orchestra. Written in 1939, it took its title from Ellington’s directions to Strayhorn when he invited him to New York, telling him to take the city’s new A subway line to Harlem.
The piece became especially important in 1940, when a dispute over ASCAP broadcast fees prevented Ellington from freely performing many of his own works on the radio. Ellington asked Strayhorn and his son Mercer, who were affiliated with BMI, to create new music for the band. “A Train” replaced “Sepia Panorama” as the orchestra’s theme.
The song was first recorded for radio in January 1941 and commercially in February 1941. Its bright swing style, elegant structure, and Harlem associations made it one of Ellington’s defining works. Lyrics were later popularized by Joya Sherrill, while Ray Nance became closely associated with its vocal and trumpet parts.
The tune appeared in films, broadcasts, recordings, and later pop culture. It entered the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1976 and was included in NPR’s list of major 20th-century American musical works, and remains an important jazz landmark today.
Take the “A” Train Lyrics
You must take the “A” train
to go to Sugar Hill way up in Harlem.
If you miss the “A” train
you’ll find you ve missed the quickest way to Harlem.
Hurry, get on, now it’s coming.
Listen to those rails a thrumming.
All board! Get on the “A” train.
Soon you will be on Sugar Hill in Harlem.
Duke Ellington: It Don’t Mean a Thing [If It Ain’t Got That Swing]
“It Don’t Mean a Thing, If It Ain’t Got That Swing” is a 1931 jazz composition by Duke Ellington, with lyrics by Irving Mills. First published by Mills, the song went on to become one of the best-known jazz standards of the twentieth century. Jazz historian Gunther Schuller later described it as “now legendary” and called both the piece and its title prophetic. In 2008, Ellington’s 1932 recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Ellington composed and arranged the music in August 1931 while performing at the Lincoln Tavern in Chicago. According to Ellington, the song’s famous title came from a saying used by trumpeter Bubber Miley, one of the important early members of Ellington’s orchestra. Miley was seriously ill with tuberculosis at the time and died in 1932, the same year the song was released.
The song was first recorded by Duke Ellington and His Orchestra for Brunswick Records on February 2, 1932. Ivie Anderson provided the vocal, while trombonist Joe “Tricky Sam” Nanton and alto saxophonist Johnny Hodges played the instrumental solos. In later performances, trumpeter Ray Nance often sang the vocal part.
Ellington later wrote that the song became famous because it expressed a feeling widely shared among jazz musicians of the period. Its title also helped popularize the word “swing” in American popular music, before the Swing Era fully emerged later in the 1930s.
It Don’t Mean a Thing [If It Ain’t Got That Swing] lyrics
It don’t mean a thing, if it ain’t got that swing
(doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah)
It don’t mean a thing, all you got to do is sing
(doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah)
It makes no difference
If it’s sweet or hot
Just give that rhythm
Everything you’ve got
It don’t mean a thing, if it ain’t got that swing
(doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah)
It don’t mean a thing, all you got to do is sing
(doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah)
It makes no difference
If it’s sweet or hot
Just give that rhythm
Everything you’ve got
It don’t mean a thing, if it ain’t got that swing
(doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah)
It makes no difference
If it’s sweet or hot
Just give that rhythm
Everything you’ve got
It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing
It don’t mean a thing, all you got to do is sing
(doo-ah)
It makes no difference
If it’s sweet or hot
Just give that rhythm
Everything you’ve got
Don’t mean a thing, all you’ve gotta do is swing
It don’t mean a thing, all you’ve gotta do is sing
It makes no difference
If it’s sweet or hot
Give that rhythm
Everything you’ve got
It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing
(doo-ah, dooooo-aaaaah)
Don’t mean a thing
Calvin Bridges: I Can Go to God in Prayer
I Can Go to God in Prayer” is one of those gospel songs whose power comes from directness. Written by Calvin Bridges in 1976 and made famous by Albertina Walker’s 1981 live recording, it turns private distress into public worship. Its call-and-response structure makes the song feel like a conversation between a suffering believer and a reassuring church congregation.
Verse 1
Makes no difference what the problem,
(I can go to God in prayer).
Yes, I have this blessed assurance,
(I can go to God in prayer).
He will take my gloom and sorrow,
(turn it into light).
He will comfort, strengthen, and keep me,
(I can go to God in prayer)
Chorus
I can call Him when I need Him,
Our Father, up in heaven;
I can go to God in prayer,
I can go to God in prayer.
Verse 2
Sometimes my burdens they get so heavy,
(I can go to God in prayer).
I have found one who is so faithful,
(I can go to God in prayer).
He will take my gloom and sadness,
(turn it into light).
He will never, ever forsake me, Lord
(I can go to God in prayer).
Chorus
Sometimes my burdens they get so heavy, Lord, Oh Lord
(I can go to God in prayer).
Yes, I have this blessed assurance,
(I can go to God in prayer).
He will take my gloom and sorrow,
(turn it into light).
He will never, never forsake me
(I can go to God in prayer).
Chorus
Bridge
He can work it out, He can work it out;
(yes, He can),
(yes, He can),
(yes, He can),
(oh yes, He can).
I know without a doubt, I know without a doubt;
(yes, He can),
(yes, He can),
(yes, He can),
(oh yes, He can).
He will brighten up your way, each and every day
(yes, He can),
(yes, He can),
(yes, He can),
(oh yes, He can).
Sources
- Quando le sere al placido text on Operas-Arias website
- Lucia di Lammermoor on Wikipedia
- Fra poco a me ricovero lyrics on the Operas-Arias website
- È la solita storia del pastore [Lamento di Federico] on Wikipedia
- Take the “A” Train on Wikipedia
- It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing) on Wikipedia
