Qual vita è questa mai
Language: Italian (Italiano)
Qual vita è questa mai,
che a vivere incomincio?
E qual funesto, terribile segreto
Orfeo m’asconde?
Perché piange e s’affligge?
Ah, non ancora troppo
avvezza agli affanni che
soffrono i viventi,
a sì gran colpo
manca la mia costanza;
agli occhi miei si smarrisce la luce,
oppresso in seno mi diventa affannoso
il respirar.
Tremo, vacillo, e sento fra l’anguscia
e il terrore da un palpito crudel
vibrarmi il core.
Che fiero momento, che barbara sorte,
passar dalla morte a tanto dolor!
Avvezzo al contento d'un placido obblio,
fra queste tempeste si perde il mio cor!
Vacillo, tremo…
Text Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Nika Kožar) , copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Nika Kožar
This text was added to the website: 2019-04-11
Line count: 21
Word count: 98
What kind of life is this
Language: English after the Italian (Italiano)
What kind of life is this
that I am about to live?
And what deadly terrible secret
Orpheus hides from me?
Why is he crying, why is he grieving?
Ah, not yet am I
accustomed to the woes that
torment the living,
underneath such heavy blow
my steadiness falters;
in my eyes the light blurs,
the heaviness in my chest makes it difficult
for me to breathe.
I tremble, I falter, and I feel, amongst agony
and terror, the treacherous heartbeat
in my chest again.
What a cruel moment, what savage fate,
to pass from death to great pain!
I grew accustomed to blissful nothingness,
among these tempests my heart loses its way!
I falter, I tremble…
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- Translation from Italian (Italiano) to English copyright © 2019 by Nika Kožar, (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:
This text was added to the website: 2019-04-11
Line count: 21
Word count: 117
