Sono andati? - La Boheme

Mimi

Are they gone? I was pretending to sleep
So I could be alone with you
I have so many things that I want to say to you
Or just one, but it’s as big as the sea
As deep and infinite as the sea
You are my love and my whole life ...

Rodolfo
Ah, Mimì, my beautiful Mimì!

Mimì
Am I still beautiful?

Rodolfo
As beautiful as the dawn.

Mimì
You made the wrong comparison.
You meant: as beautiful as a sunset.
"They call me Mimì,
They call me Mimì
I don’t know why."

Rodolfo
He returned the swallow and the chirps to the nest.

Mimì
My bonnet, my bonnet!
Ah! Do you remember when
I came here, that first time, there?

Rodolfo
I remember it!

Mimì
The light had gone out…

Rodolfo
You were so upset!
And then you lost the key.

Mimì
You were looking so hard for it.

Rodolfo
Looking and looking.

Mimì
My dear sir,
I can tell you now:
You found it very quickly.

Rodolfo
I was helping destiny.

Mimì
It was dark and you could not see me blushing
"What a cold little hand
If you warm it up!..."
It was dark and you took my hand.

Placido Domingo and Mirella Freni in the final act of Puccini's La Boheme.

Che gelida manina - La Boheme

What a cold hand,

Let it warm up.

What's the use of looking?

You won’t find it in the dark.

But fortunately

It’s a full moon tonight,

And here the moon

We have nearby.

Wait, Miss

I want to say some things

Who I am, and what I do,

How I live. Would you like to hear them?

Who am I? I am a poet.

What do I do? I write.

And how do I live? I live.

In poverty, my happiness

Lavished by a great Lord,

rhymes and hymns of love.

For dreams and chimeras

And castles in the air,

I have the soul of a millionaire.

One time, from my chest

They stole all my jewels

Two thieves, with sharp eyes.

They came in with you just now,

And both my used up dreams

And my good dreams,

Quickly disappeared!

But I won't take the theft to heart

Since, since you’ve been in the room

there's hope!

Now that you know me,

You talk, eh! Come on. Who are you?

Say whatever you like!

Placido Domingo sings this famous aria from Puccini's La Boheme.

Paris, 1977.