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Près de l'étang, sur la prêle Vole, agaçant le désir, La Libellule au corps frêle Qu'on voudrait en vain saisir. Est-ce une chimère, un rêve Que traverse un rayon d'or ? Tout à coup elle fait trêve À son lumineux essor. Elle part, elle se pose, Apparaît dans un éclair Et fuit, dédaignant la rose Pour le lotus froid et clair. À la fois puissante et libre, Sœur du vent, fille du ciel, Son aile frissonne et vibre Comme le luth d'Ariel. Fugitive, transparente, Faite d'azur et de nuit, Elle semble une âme errante Sur l'eau qui dans l'ombre luit. Radieuse elle se joue Sur les lotus entr'ouverts, Comme un baiser sur la joue De la Naïade aux yeux verts. Que cherche-t-elle ? une proie. Sa devise est: cruauté. Le carnage met en joie Son implacable beauté.
Text Authorship:
- by Charles Camille Saint-Saëns (1835 - 1921), "La libellule", written 1890, appears in Rimes familières, in 1. Strophes, no. 1, Paris, Éd. Calmann Lévy, first published 1890 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by James Francis Brown (b. 1969), "La Libellule", 2011, first performed 2011 [ soprano, flute, cello, piano ], from Songs of Nature and Farewell, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Charles Camille Saint-Saëns (1835 - 1921), "La libellule", 1894, published 1894 [ high voice and piano or orchestra ], Éd. Durand [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Garrett Medlock) , "The dragonfly", copyright © 2020, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Johann Winkler
This text was added to the website: 2020-03-29
Line count: 28
Word count: 135
Near the pond, upon the horsetail Flies, teasing desire, The Dragonfly with the fragile body Which one wishes in vain to catch. Is it a chimera, a dream Which traverses a ray of gold? All of a sudden she takes a rest In her light flight. She goes away, she lands, She appears in a flash And flees, scorning the rose For the lotus, cold and pale. At once strong and free, Sister of the wind, daughter of the sky, Her wing shivers and quivers Like Ariel’s lute. Fleeting, transparent, Fashioned of blue sky and night, She looks like a stray soul Upon the water which shines in the shadow. Radiant, she plays On the open lotuses Like a kiss upon the cheek Of the green-eyed naiad. What is she searching for? A victim. Her motto is: cruelty. The carnage [turns] to joy Her relentless beauty.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2020 by Garrett Medlock, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Charles Camille Saint-Saëns (1835 - 1921), "La libellule", written 1890, appears in Rimes familières, in 1. Strophes, no. 1, Paris, Éd. Calmann Lévy, first published 1890
This text was added to the website: 2020-04-13
Line count: 28
Word count: 146