Si può – Pagliacci

May I? I may
Ladies! Gentlemen!
Excuse me if I alone introduce myself
I am the Prologue:
Since yet in the scene
The author uses ancient masks;
In part he wants to bring back the old customs,
And send me back to you.
But not to tell you as before:
“The tears we cry are false!
Of spasms and our martyrs
Do not be alarmed!”
No! No. The author has sought instead
To depict a glimpse of life.
He believes utmost that the artist is a man
And that he must write for men,
And be inspired by the truth.
A nest of memories
Was singing at the bottom of his soul one day,
And he wrote with genuine tears,
And his sobs beat the tempo!
And so, you will see love
As human beings love each other;
You will see the sad fruits of hate.
The spasms of pain,
Shouts of rage, you will hear,
And also laughter!
And you, rather than
Our poor actors’ changes,
Consider our soul,
Since we are men of flesh and bone,
And from this orphan world
We breathe the same air as you!
I’ve told you the concept...
Now listen as it is carried out.
Let’s go. Begin!

Tito Gobbi as Tonio in a 1946 film version of Leoncavallo's Pagliacci.