Non piu, tutto ascoltai

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Non più tutto ascoltai...Non temer, amato bene", K. 490, is a concert aria by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart for solo soprano or tenor and orchestra, composed in Vienna in 1786. The text of this aria is taken from Mozart's 1781 opera Idomeneo, by Giambattista Varesco. Originally written for the tenor voice, the aria is mostly now performed by sopranos.[1][2] The aria was published by Breitkopf & Härtel in 1881.[3]

Description[]

Divided into two parts, the Recitative and Aria are usually sung by the same performer. The recitative "Non più tutto ascoltai - No more, I listened to everything" begins in allegro in the key of C-major. The aria commences at bar 52, marked rondo andante in B-flat major, introduced by the solo violin, which accompanies the singer to the finale at bar 172. Both are in common time and written in the treble clef. The orchestra consists of two clarinets, two bassoons, two French horns and solo violin.[1] A typical performance takes around ten minutes.

The characters are Ilia, princess of Troy and her beloved Idamante, prince of Crete. Ilia begs Idamante to forget her and choose Elektra for his bride, but Idamante romantically refuses this request, stating he would die of grief if this occurred.[4]

History[]

The opera Idomeneo was performed mostly for aristocratic amateur players in Vienna in March 1786. Two new pieces were added to the 1781 opera, more suited to such a concert performance rather than a full opera production. Non piu, tutto ascoltai was inserted as the new beginning of the second act. Held in the private theatre of the Prince Auersperg, Johann Adam. Non piu, tutto ascoltai was sung by the tenor Baron Pulini. The solo violin accompianment was played by Mozart's friend Count August Hatzfeld.

The solo violin part described as "ravishingly beautiful" by the scholar H.C. Robbins-Landon, who also declared the aria "the equal of anything of in The Marriage of Figaro" on which Mozart was working on at the time. Other performers included Countess Hortense Hatzfeld, nee Comtesse Zierotin (the wife of August's half-brother, Clemens), as Elettra, and Giuseppe Antonio Bridi from Rovereto as Idomeneo.[5][6][1]

Text[]

Ilia:
Non più. Tutto ascoltai, tutto compresi.
D'Elettra e d'Idamante noti sono gli amori,
al caro imegno omai mancar non dei,
va, scordati di me, donati a lei.

Idamante:
Ch'io mi scordi di te? Che a lei mi doni
Puoi consigliarmi?
E puoi voler ch'io viva?

Ilia:
Non congiurar, mia vita,
Contro la mia costanza!
Il colpo atroce mi distrugge abbastanza!

Idamante:
Ah no, sarebbe il viver mio di morte
Assai peggior! Fosti il mio primo amore,
E l'ultimo sarai. Venga la morte!
Intrepido l'attendo, ma ch'io possa
Struggermi ad altra face, ad altr'oggetto
Donar gl'affetti miei,
Come tentarlo? Ah! di dolor morrei!

Non temer, amato bene,
Per te sempre il cor sarà.
Più non reggo a tante pene,
L'alma mia mancando va.
Tu sospiri? o duol funesto!
Pensa almen, che istante è questo!
Non mi posso, oh Dio! spiegar.
Stelle barbare, stelle spieiate,
Perché mai tanto rigor?
Alme belle, che vedete
Le mie pene in tal momento,
Dite voi, s'egual tormento
Può soffrir un fido cor!


No more,
I have heard everything
Electra and Idamante's bond
is well known


You wish that I should forget you?
And give myself to her?
Then you expect me to live?


My beloved
Do not attempt to shake my firm resolve
This dreadful blow has given me too much grief!


Ah no! My life would be far worse than death!
Let death come, I await it fearlessly.
But how could I attempt
to warm myself at another flame,
to lavish my affections on another?
Ah!
I should die of grief!

Fear nothing, my beloved,
my heart will always be yours.
I can no longer suffer such distress,
my spirit begins to fail me.
You sigh? O mournful sorrow!
Just think what a moment this is!
O God! I cannot express myself.
Barbarous stars, pitiless stars,
why ever are you so stern?
Fair souls who see
my sufferings at such a moment,
tell me if a faithful heart
can suffer such torment?

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Non piu, tutto ascoltai": Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
  2. ^ " "Non più tutto zascoltai...Non temer, amato bene"". MusicBrainz. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  3. ^ "No more, I listened to everything ... Fear not, beloved well, Recititive and Aria in B-flat Major for tenor and orchestra". l'Ochrestra Virtuale del Flaminio. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  4. ^ "Not anymore. I listened to everything, including everything". The Liedernet Archive. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  5. ^ H.C. Robbins Landon, Mozart: The Golden Years, New York: Schirmer, 1989, pages 183-4 ISBN 0028720253.
  6. ^ The New Grove Mozart (1980) Stanley Sadie, p. 76 ISBN 0333341996

External links[]

Retrieved from ""