The gondola ride | Fly, quick little boat

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by Carlo Pepoli, Conte (1796 - 1881)

Translation © by Johann Gaitzsch

Voli l'agile barchetta

Language: Italian (Italiano)

Our translations: ENG

Voli l'agile barchetta 
voga, voga marinar 
or ch'Elvira mia diletta
a me in braccio sfida il mar.

Brilla in calma la laguna
una vela non appar
palli detta e in ciel la luna
tutto in vita a sospirar.

Voga, voga marinar...

Se ad un bacio amor t'invita
non temer mio bel tesor
tu saprai che sia la vita 
sol nel bacio del amor.

Ma già un zeffiro sereno 
dolce ondeggia il mar...
vieni Elvira a questo sen'
vieni e apprendi a palpitar!

Voga, voga marinar...

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• G. Rossini

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Text Authorship:

by Carlo Pepoli, Conte (1796 - 1881) [author's text not yet checked 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 Gioacchino Antonio Rossini (1792 - 1868), "La gita in gondola" [sung text checked 1 time]
by Georgine Schubert (1840 - 1878), "Barcarole", published 1875 [ voice and piano ], from Lieder und Gesänge, Erste Folge, no. 4, Dresden, Hoffarth [sung text not yet checked]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

ENG English (Johann Gaitzsch) , "The gondola ride", copyright © 2003, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Louis-Ernest Crevel de Charlemagne) , "Un tour en gondole", from the 1st volume of Rossini's Soirées musicales, Schott, first published 1835
GER German (Deutsch) (G. Friedrich) , "Die Gondelfahrt", from the 1st volume of Rossini's Soirées musicales, Schott, first published 1835

Researcher for this page: Johann Gaitzsch

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 18
Word count: 85

The gondola ride

Language: English after the Italian (Italiano)

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 Fly, quick little boat
 row, row, o boatman
 now that my sweet Elvira
 is in my arms, defy the sea!

 The lagoon shimmers in calm
 Not a sail is in view
 The pale moon crosses the sky
 Everything invites our sighs.

 row, row, o boatman ...

 If love invites you to a kiss
 Don't be afraid my precious one,
 You will realize that life exists
 Only in the kiss of love.

 But already a soft breeze
 Sweetly ripples the sea
 Come, Elvira, to my heart
 Come and discover how it beats!

 Row, row o boatman ...

Text Authorship:

Translation from Italian (Italiano) to English copyright © 2003 by Johann Gaitzsch, (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 Italian (Italiano) by Carlo Pepoli, Conte (1796 - 1881)
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 18
Word count: 95