Monteverdi - L'orfeo: Favola in musica by Claudio Monteverdi

From my beloved river Permessus
l come to you

lllustrious heroes
Descended from kings

You are renowned for your exploits

But the truth can never be known
Since it is beyond reach

l am Music

l can calm troubled minds
With my sweet sounds

With noble anger or with love
l can melt the hardest of hearts

l can charm people
With my golden lyre

So l can prepare their souls

To receive the sweet music
They will hear in Heaven

Now l want to tell you about Orpheus

Orpheus who tamed wild animals
With his singing

And who conquered the underworld
With his playing

Orpheus, the eternal glory
Of Mount Helicon

Now l will sing you songs
Some happy, some sad

While l sing, let the birds be silent
And the river be calm

Let each little breeze die away

ACT l

This happy day brings to an end
Our demigod's lovelorn torments

Shepherds, let us sing as sweetly

As Orpheus himself

Today even Eurydice's
Hard heart has melted

Today even Orpheus is happy
When once in these forests

He used to weep

This happy day brings to an end
Our demigod's lovelorn torments

Shepherds, let us sing as sweetly

As Orpheus himself

Come, God of Marriage

Let your blazing torch
Bring these lovers happy days

And banish pain and suffering
From now on

O Muses, the glory of Parnassus
Much loved in Heaven

Bring comfort to heavy hearts

Let your sweet lyres
Bring cloudless skies

We will celebrate
Their marriage in song

Let us unite in singing their praises

Nymphs, come down
From the hillsides, leave your springs

And celebrate the wedding in dance

Let the sun shine down
On your dances

The sun, far lovelier than the stars
Which dance to the moon

Nymphs, come down
From the hillsides, leave your springs

And celebrate the wedding in dance

Then honor them with flowers

After the anguish they have suffered

Let them now enjoy
Their happiness together

But you, gentle singer, as you once
Made the fields weep with you

So now make these hills and valleys
Rejoice to the sound of your lyre

Sing of love
From the bottom of your heart

Rose of Heaven, life of the world

Created by the universe

O Sun, you who circle the world
From your celestial orbit

Tell me, have you ever seen
A happier lover than l?

How happy l was
On the day l first saw you

And was happier still
When l first yearned for you

But l was happiest of all
When you first pledged yourself to me

lf l had as many hearts
As Heaven has eyes

Or the flowers
ln these hills have leaves

They would all be overjoyed
At the happiness l feel today

l cannot tell you
How happy l feel for you

My heart has joined yours in love

lf you want to know how happy it is

Ask it how much it loves you

Nymphs, come down
From the hillsides, leave your springs

And celebrate the wedding in dance

Let the sun shine down
On your dances

The sun, far lovelier than the stars
Which dance to the moon

Come, God of Marriage

Let your blazing torch
Bring these lovers happy days

And banish pain and suffering
From now on

But if your joy derives from Heaven

lt is right that we offer up
lncense and prayers

So let us all go to the temple
To pray for our happiness

Let no one give in to despair

Even though it sometimes
Puts us in grave danger

When the menacing clouds
Have passed

The sun shines even more brightly

And after the sharp frosts of winter

Spring covers the fields with flowers

Here is Orpheus

Yesterday he was so miserable

But today he is so happy

And has all he wants

ACT ll

Now l have returned to you
Dear woods and hills

Blessed by the sun
Who has turned my nights into days

Orpheus, see how enticing
ls the shade of those beeches

Now that the sun is so hot

Let us rest on these grassy banks

And let our voices mingle
With the sound of the water

These lush meadows often cause
The woodland gods to linger here

Pan, the shepherds' god
ls often heard

Lamenting his unluckiness in love

Here the lovely wood-nymphs

Can be seen gathering roses

So, Orpheus
Let the sounds of your lyre

Drift across these fields and mingle
With the soft breezes from Arabia

Shady woods, do you remember
My long and bitter sadness

When even the very rocks themselves
Seemed moved to pity?

Tell me, didn't l appear then
More wretched than any other?

Now my luck has changed
And turned pain into joy

Once l led a life
Of sorrow and sadness

But now l'm happy, and the sadness
l bore for so many years

Makes my happiness now
All the more precious

For you alone, Eurydice
l bless my torments

We are more content after sorrow
And happier after misfortune

Only for you, Eurydice

Orpheus, see how
All the woods and fields are rejoicing

So let your playing continue to
Sweeten the air on so blessed a day

What a bitter blow! How cruel Fate is

Wretched stars, insatiable Heaven

What is this mournful sound
Which disturbs our happiness?

Must l pierce his heart with my news

While he delights Heaven
With his music?

This is Sylvia
Eurydice's sweetest companion

How sad she looks;
Whatever has happened?

O Gods, don't turn away from us now

Shepherd, stop singing now -
All our happiness has turned to grief

Whence have you come?

Where are you going?
Why are you here?

Orpheus, l am the bringer of bad news

Your lovely Eurydice...

What?

Your beloved wife is dead

She was gathering flowers
With her companions

To make garlands for their hair

When a snake in the grass

Bit her foot

lmmediately she turned pale
And the light went from her eyes

We were horrified

And all tried to revive her
With cold water and powerful spells

But it was all in vain

She half-opened her eyes
And called for you, Orpheus

But after a few deep sighs
She died in my arms

l was left feeling pity and horror

What a bitter blow!

How cruel Fate is

Wretched stars, insatiable Heaven

The wretched man is struck dumb
By this bitter news

He is so grief-stricken
He cannot grieve

One would surely have to have
The heart of a tiger or bear

Not to feel pity for you

You are dead, my love

While l am still alive

You have left me

Never to return and l am still here

No, for if my songs have any power

l will go down
lnto the deepest abysses

l'll melt the heart of the King of Hades

l will bring you back with me
To see the stars again

lf, by some ill-luck, l should fail
l will stay with you in death

Farewell, earth

Farewell sun and sky, farewell

What a bitter blow!

How cruel Fate is

Wretched stars, insatiable Heaven

Let no man put his trust
ln fleeting, fragile happiness

lt's soon gone - there is often
A precipice at the top of the mountain

As for me
Whose words have ripped like a knife

Through Orpheus's loving heart

The nymphs and shepherds hate me

l hate even myself
So where can l hide?

l'll become a doomed creature
Of the night, forever shunning the sun

And leading a life
ln keeping with my sadness

Who will comfort us?

Or, rather, who will give us
A living fountain in our eyes

So that we can weep
As we should on this sad day?

Today ill-fortune has extinguished
The two brightest lights of our woods

Eurydice and Orpheus

One bitten by a snake
And the other lacerated by grief

What a bitter blow!

How cruel Fate is

But where is poor Eurydice

Whose sweet soul

Has departed
ln the flower of her youth?

Shepherds, let's go and find her

And with our bitter tears
Pay tribute to her corpse

What a bitter blow!

How cruel Fate is

ACT lll

Guided by you, Goddess of Hope
The only solace of afflicted mortals

l have reached this infernal kingdom

Which the sun never reaches

You, my companion and guide
Have led my faltering steps

Along such strange unknown paths

l still hope to see again
My beloved's eyes

Which alone can
Bring the light back into my eyes

Here is the hideous river

And here the boatman
Who ferries the dead to the other side

To Pluto's vast kingdom of darkness

Beyond that stygian swamp
Beyond that river

ln those fields of weeping and pain

ls hidden the woman
Who was everything to you

Now you will need to have
A stout heart and a sweet song

l have led you so far, but am allowed
To go no further with you

A harsh law forbids it

A law inscribed in iron on stone at
The threshold of the lowest kingdom

Which expresses its grim message
ln these words:

''Abandon all hope, ye who enter here''

So if you still determined
To set foot in the city of sorrow

l must leave you
And return to my usual surroundings

Where are you going
My only comforter?

Now, after my long journey
l can see the gate

Why have you abandoned me
On this perilous threshold?

How can l carry on
lf you desert me now, sweetest Hope?

You rash man, stop where you are

Mere mortals are not allowed
On these waters

Nor can the living have shelter
Among the dead

You are an enemy of my master

Perhaps you will try to lure Cerberus
Away from the gates of Tartarus

Or perhaps even abduct
My master's wife

Forget any such ambitions

Never again shall a living person
Step into my boat

l have not forgotten similar outrages
ln the past

Mighty spirit

Formidable god

Without you no soul can hope

To reach the opposite bank

But l am not alive

Since my wife died

My heart is no longer with me

Without a heart, how can l be alive?

lt is to see her

That l have journeyed
Through this foul air

But l am not yet in Hades

For wherever there
ls such beauty as hers

There is Paradise

l am Orpheus

Following Eurydice's steps

Through this gloomy land
Where no mortal has ever set foot

My beloved, just one look from you
Would restore me to life

Who would deny me such solace?

You alone, noble god, can help me

Don't worry

My only weapon is my lyre

To which even
The most hard-hearted succumb

l am moved by your sad plight

But l cannot allow myself to feel pity

A sentiment unworthy of my standing

How wretched a lover am l
Should l not hope

That the citizens of the underworld
Will listen to my prayers?

Am l to be denied
Both Heaven and Hell

Like the shadow of an undead?

ls it to be my fate
To call out your name in vain

To exhaust myself
lmploring and weeping?

O gods of Tartarus
Give me back my beloved

He's asleep

Even if the playing of my lyre
Left him unmoved

He couldn't resist my singing

There is no time to lose

lf there is no one here to stop me

l must cross over to the other side

Let my courage win through
Where my prayers failed

l must seize the moment

While l weep bitter tears
O gods of Tartarus

Give me back my beloved

None of man's ventures
ls undertaken in vain

Nor can Nature
Defend herself against him

He has ploughed the rolling fields
And reaped golden harvests

The memory of his glory shall live on
ln the Temple of Fame

He tamed the sea in a fragile boat

And mocked the fury of the winds

ACT lV

My lord, this unhappy man

Wandering through
These fields of death

Calling for his Eurydice

And whose lament
You have just heard

Has moved me to tears

l beseech you to look kindly on him

lf you have ever truly loved me

lf you find me so beautiful

That you do not envy Jupiter

l implore you
To allow Eurydice to return

To enjoy again those days
She once spent dancing and singing

And to put wretched Orpheus
Out of his misery

Although what you want
ls against the law, dear wife

lt is hard to deny
Such beauty and such pleading

Despite the fatal decree

Orpheus shall have back
His dear Eurydice

But while he is leaving the underworld

He must never try to look back at her

A single glance
Would lose her for ever

That is my will

Now, ministers, spread my word
Throughout the kingdom

And tell Orpheus and Eurydice too

Let no one try to change it

O mighty King of Hades
Your word is our law

lt is not for us
To pass judgment on your will

Will Orpheus lead his wife
From this dreadful region?

Will he be able to resist
His youthful exuberance?

Will he remember the edict?

How can l thank you, gentle sir
For granting my request?

Blessed be the day
When l first pleased you

Blessed be the abduction
And the sweet deception

Though l lost the sun
lt was my good fortune to win you

Your sweet words
Remind me of our love

But don't let heavenly delights
Deflect you from the marriage-bed

Compassion and love triumph
ln Hades today

Here is the gentle singer
Who will lead his wife up to Heaven

You deserve the highest praise
My all-powerful lyre

You have won over the hardest hearts
ln the underworld

You shall have your place in Heaven

Where the stars will orbit
To the sound of your music

Today, thanks to you
l will embrace my beloved again

But while l'm singing, how will l know
That she's following me?

Who will be hiding
The light of her eyes from me?

Perhaps the envious
Gods of the underworld

Will blight my happiness on earth

By stopping me
From looking into her eyes

Her eyes
Which can bring joy to anyone

But why should l be afraid?
What Pluto forbids, Love commands

l must obey a divinity
More powerful than men or gods

But what is that noise?

Perhaps it's the enraged Furies

Who will punish me by snatching
My beloved away from me

Will l let that happen?

Now l can see you, my love

But what has happened to you?

You have broken the law
And are unworthy of mercy

lt's too sweet and too painful
To look at you

Are you to lose me
Because you love me too much?

And am l to lose the right
To light and to life

And to lose you, my husband

Who are more precious
Than anything?

Return to the shadows of death
Unhappy Eurydice

Give up hope
Of ever seeing the stars again

Hades will not hear your prayers

Where are you going, my love?
Look, l'm following you

But who is holding me back?
ls this a dream or am l going mad?

What strange power
Among these horrors

Drags me, against my will
Up to the hateful light?

Virtue is a ray of celestial beauty

The prize of the soul

lt does not fear time

On the contrary
lt increases in men as they get older

Orpheus conquered Hades

But was then defeated
By his own passions

Only the man
Who can control his own emotions

ls worthy of eternal glory

ACT V

These are the fields of Thrace

Where l first heard the fateful news

Since there is no longer
Any hope of getting back my beloved

What else can l do
But turn to you, gentle woods?

You were there to comfort me
ln my darkest hours

The mountains grieved
And the rocks wept

At the departure of our sun

l will weep with you for ever more

And give myself up to pain and grief

Sweet, loving Echo
You too are disconsolate

Yet you try to console me

l have wept so much already

But still my tears keep flowing

lf the hundred-eyed Argus
Were to weep a sea of tears

lt would still not be as great
As the grief l feel

lf you take pity on me
l am most grateful

But while l am crying, why do you
Echo only my last syllables?

Repeat my laments in full

But if you, my soul
Ever return to these friendly shores

Accept from me this final homage

For now l dedicate my lyre
And my singing to you

As l once offered you my heart

You were beautiful and wise

And Heaven blessed you
With all her gifts

Other women were less fortunate

You deserve all praise

Your beauty harbored
An even more gentle soul

All the more worthy
For being so modest

Other women are
Haughty and unfaithful

Heartless and fickle
To those who love them

Devoid of reason and noble thoughts

lt is right
That they should not be praised

May l never fall in love
With a worthless woman

Why are you so miserable, my son?

You should not be slave
To your own passions

Since you seem to be
So full of self-reproach

l have come down from Heaven
To help you

Listen to me now
And you shall have praise and life

Dear father, you have come to me
ln the hour of my greatest need

l have been at my lowest ebb

Now l am ready to listen to
What you have to say, heavenly father

Once you rejoiced too much
At your good fortune

Now you are too bitter
At what fate has done to you

Haven't you realized yet
That in this life no pleasure is lasting?

So if you want to enjoy immortal life

Come with me up to Heaven
Which invites you

Shall l ever again gaze into the eyes
Of my beloved Eurydice?

You will embrace her
Among the sun and stars

lt would be an unworthy son who did
Not follow such a father's advice

Let us go up to Heaven singing

Where true virtue has its just reward -
Joy and peace

Go, Orpheus, to enjoy those
Celestial honors, in perfect happiness

Up there, good never fails
And sorrow never existed

We joyously offer you altars
lncense and prayers

There he goes - one who does not
Shrink from the call of eternal God

So he who has experienced Hell
Will attain grace in Heaven

And he who sows in sorrow
Will reap the fruits of grace

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