Songs in Autumn

LA CONTESSA:

Cosa mi narri!

e che ne disse il conte?

SUSANNA:

Gli si leggeva in fronte

il dispetto e la rabbia!

LA CONTESSA:

Piano;

che meglio or lo porremo in gabbia.

Dov’è l’appuntamento

che tu gli proponesti?

SUSANNA:

In giardino.

LA CONTESSA:

Fissiamgli un loco. Scrivi.

SUSANNA:

Ch’io scriva? Ma, signora…

LA CONTESSA:

Eh, scrivi dico; e tutto

io prendo su me stessa.

“Canzonetta sull’aria …”

SUSANNA:

“Sull’aria …”

BOTH:

“Che soave zeffiretto

Questa sera spirerà

Sotto i pini del boschetto.”

LA CONTESSA:

Ei già il resto capirà.

SUSANNA:

Certo, certo il capirà.

What are you telling me!

And what did the Count say to that?

You could see in his face

such spite and anger!

Hush;

it will be easier to entrap him now.

Where is the appointment

that you proposed?

In the garden.

Let’s set a place. Write.

Me, write? But, my lady…

Just write, I say; and I’ll take

all the blame upon myself.

“A little song on the air…”

“On the air…”

“What a gentle breeze

Will whisper tonight

Under the pine trees in the grove.”

And the rest he will understand.

Yes, he’ll surely understand.

Giunse alfin il momento

che godrò senza affanno

in braccio all’idol mio.

Timide cure!

uscite dal mio petto;

a turbar non venite il mio diletto.

Oh come par

che all’amoroso foco

l’amenità del loco,

la terra e il ciel risponda,

come la notte

i furti miei seconda!

Deh vieni, non tardar,

o gioia bella.

Vieni ove amore

per goder t’appella,

finchè non splende in ciel

notturna face—

finchè l’aria è ancor bruna

e il mondo tace.

Qui mormora il ruscel,

qui scherza l’aura,

che col dolce susurro

il cor ristaura,

qui ridono i fioretti

e l’erba è fresca.

Ai piaceri d’amor

qui tutto adesca.

Vieni, ben mio,

tra queste piante ascose!

Ti vo’ la fronte incoronar di rose.

Finally the moment comes

when I may seek pleasure without worry

in the arms of my idol.

Fearful doubts,

vanish from my heart;

do not come to temper my delight.

Oh, how it seems

that to my amorous fire

the loveliness of the place

and the earth and sky respond,

just as the night

mimics my connivings!

Oh come, don’t delay,

my beautiful joy.

Come to where love

calls you for enjoyment,

until the nocturnal torch

no longer shines in the sky,

until it is dark again

and the world is silent.

Here the stream murmurs,

here the winds play

and with sweet whispers

revive the heart,

here the little flowers laugh

and the grass is fresh.

Everything here seduces

to the pleasures of love.

Come, my dear,

among these hidden trees!

I wish to crown your brow with roses.

Mĕsíčku na nebi hlubokém,

svĕtlo tvé daleko vidí,

po svĕtĕ bloudíš širokém,

díváš se v příbytky lidí.

Mĕsíčku postůj chvíli,

řekni mi, kde je můj milý?

Řekni mu, stříbrný mĕsíčku,

mé že jej objímá rámĕ,

aby si ale spoň chviličku

vzpomenul ve snĕní na mne.

Zasvĕt’ mu do daleka,

Řekni mu, kdo tu naň čeká!

O mnĕli duše lidská sní,

at’ se tou vzpomínkou vzbudí!

Mĕsíčku, nezhasni, nezhasni!

O Moon, high in the deep sky,

Your light sees a long way,

Wandering about the wide world,

Peering into human dwellings.

O Moon, stand still for a moment,

Tell me, where is my love?

Tell him, silvery moon,

That I am embracing him,

So that for at least a brief moment

He will remember me in his dreams.

Light him up, far away,

Tell him who is here waiting!

If a human soul dreams of me

Let this longing memory wake him!

O Moon, don’t disappear, don’t disappear!

LAKME:

Viens, Mallika, les lianes en fleurs

Jettent déjà leur ombre

Sur le ruisseau sacré qui coule, calme et sombre,

Eveillé par le chant des oiseaux tapageurs!

MALLIKA:

Oh! Maîtresse.

C’est l’heure où je te vois sourire,

L’heure bénie où je puis lire

Dans le coeur toujours fermé de Lakmé!

BOTH:

Sous le dôme épais

Où le blanc jasmin

À la rose s’assemble,

Sur la rive en fleurs,

Riant au matin

Viens, descendons ensemble.

Doucement glissons;

De son flot charmant

Suivons le courant fuyant;

Dans l’onde frémissante

D’une main nonchalante

Viens, gagnons le bord,

Où la source dort

Et l’oiseau, l’oiseau chante.

LAKME:

Mais, je ne sais quelle crainte subite

S’empare de moi,

Quand mon père va seul à leur ville maudite,

Je tremble, je tremble d’effroi!

MALLIKA:

Pour que le Dieu Ganeça le protège,

Jusqu’à l’étang ou s’ébattent joyeux

Les cygnes aux ailes de neige,

Allons cueillir les lotus bleus.

LAKME:

Oui, près des cygnes aux ailes de neige,

Allons cueillir les lotus bleus.

Come, Mallika, the flowering vines

Are already throwing their shadows

Onto the sacred stream that flows, calm and dark,

Awoken by the song of the boisterous birds!

Oh, mistress,

The hour has come for me to see you smile,

That blessed hour when I can see

Into Lakme’s shuttered heart!

Below the wide dome

Where the white jasmine

And the rose are gathered,

On a riverbank full of flowers

Laughing in the morning,

Come, let us go down there together!

Let us gently glide;

Let us follow the fleeing tide

Of this charming stream;

On the rippling wave

Without any care,

Come, let us reach the shore

Where the spring sleeps

And the birds, the birds sing.

Yet I don’t know what sudden fear

Takes hold of me;

When my father goes alone to that cursed city,

I tremble with dread!

So that the god Ganesh protect him,

Let us go to the pond, where joyfully

The swans with wings of snow splash about,

To gather the blue lotus blossom.

Yes, near the swans with wings of snow

Let us gather the blue lotus blossom.