Act! While I’m going mad, I don’t know what I’m saying anymore,
Or what I’m doing!
Yet I must, force yourself!
You are Pagliaccio!
Put on the jacket,
And the powdered face.
The people pay, and they want to laugh here.
And if the harlequin flies to you Colombina,
Laugh, Pagliaccio, and everyone will applaud!
Transform the spasms and the crying into jokes
The hiccups and the pain into a smirk, Ah!
Laugh, Pagliaccio,
At your shattered love!
Laugh at the sorrow that poisons your heart!
Placido Domingo as Canio in Leoncavallo's Pagliacci.
Metropolitan Opera, 1978. Conductor: James Levine.
Holy shit
ReplyDeleteBRILLIANT translation. Pagliaccio, still one of the most powerful roles I've ever encountered...
ReplyDeleteGodamn mafia opera theme song found it by the movie untouchables
ReplyDeleteThis made me cry lightly with joy so beautiful!!!
ReplyDeleteGigli breaks my heart performing this...every time I listen to it.
ReplyDeleteYeah its pretty dope
ReplyDelete