OK, I confess. I don't know Italian, so I have to rely on subtitles and translations when I listen to operas (I mostly listen to Baroque operas, so Italian is the lingua franca). After listening to enough heart wrenching arias, I realized I could pretty much get by by just knowing a few Italian words, because, alas, operas are all based on a few universal themes. So those key words show up again and again. (Don't get me wrong, I still want to learn Italian so I can appreciate operas, especially the diction, even more.) Sometimes when I was driving and listening to opera CDs, I couldn't make out the scene of an aria, but those words would always orient me and take me home.
Love - ok, probably the most important word in any language, let alone in opera. It's also extremely easy to recognize the word since its incarnation in Italian, French, and Spanish all share the Latin root "amor". I don't really have to spell it, do I?
Heart - what is love without a heart? (Wait, it exists in simplified Chinese!) It has the Latin root "core" and you will notice it sometimes spelled as "cor". How could I forget this word since I learned it from Renee Fleming's heart wrenching performance of Alcina, in the aria "Ah, Mio Cor" (Ah, My Heart). Now that's a heartbroken woman!
Life - probably one of the first Italian words I learned, interestingly, from someone's name. Vita it is. I recently reencountered this word while watching the 2008 Glyndebourne performance of "L'incoronazione di Poppea", in the final duet, "Pur ti miro, pur ti godo"(I gaze at you, I possess you). The haunting beauty (and irony) of this duet left me totally speechless for a very long time. (I love this duet so much, I will probably write a separate post on it later.)
Yes, he calls her his life now, but he will kick her to death one year later. (This, you will not see in the opera.)
Death - what can life be without it's counterpart? It is morte, very easy to remember since the word immortal shares the same Latin root.
Farewell - can anyone imagine an opera where two lovers never separate? Whether it's addio, or adieu, you will recognize it in no time. Lately I was quite moved by the aria "Addio, Roma" (sung by the ill fated empress Ottavia, who was banished by Nero to leave Rome on a raft without water and die).
Anne Sofie von Otter sang Ottavia. Wow, what a performance!!!
Dear - Not a very important word, but I noticed it recently in two Handel arias I like, "Cara Speme"(dear hope), and "Cara Spoza"(dear wife), just in case you were wondering why there are so many "cara"s there.
Yes/No - Si, si, si (a no is also no even in Italian, I like "No!" in German the best, "Nein!", so strong and determinant!)
Beauty - I lost count how many of my coworkers from Europe (regardless of nationalities) were named "Bella" and it was even before the Twilight saga.
Unfaithful/Treacherous
Really a major theme in opera (as in life, love and betrayal are never out of fashions), I learned that from one of my favorite Handel arias, "Scherza Infida".
You don't need to know Italian to hear the pain of betrayal, do you?
No comments:
Post a Comment