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by Lorenzo Da Ponte (1749 - 1838)

Una donna a quindici anni
Language: Italian (Italiano) 
Una donna a quindici anni    
dée saper ogni gran moda,
dove il diavolo ha la coda,
cosa è bene e mal cos'è;
dée saper le maliziette
che innamorano gli amanti:
finger riso, finger pianti,
inventar i bei perché;
dée in un momento
dar retta a cento;
colle pupille
parlar con mille;
dar speme a tutti,
sien belli o brutti;
saper nascondersi
senza confondersi;
senza arrossire
saper mentire;
e, qual regina
dall'alto soglio,
col «posso e voglio»
farsi ubbidir.
(Par ch'abbian gusto
di tal dottrina.
Viva Despina
che sa servir!)

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

  • by Lorenzo Da Ponte (1749 - 1838), no title [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 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791), "Una donna a quindici anni", K 588 no. 19, first performed 1790, from opera Così fan tutte, no. 19 [sung text checked 1 time]

Researcher for this page: Andrew Schneider [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2018-06-18
Line count: 26
Word count: 89

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