Come paride vezzoso – L’elisir d’amore

As the graceful Paris

Handed the apple to the most beautiful woman,

my beloved country girl,

I offer you these flowers.         

But more glorious than him,

I am happier than him,

Because as a reward for my gift          

I will carry away your lovely heart.

I see clearly in that little face

That I am making my way into your heart.

It’s not surprising;

I’m gallant, I’m a sergeant;

There’s no beauty that can resist

The sight of a crest;

To Mars, the god of war,

Even the mother of love gives way.

Tito Gobbi as Sergeant Belcore in a somewhat dated film version of Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore.

Largo al factotum – Il Barbiere di Siviglia

Make way for the city’s factotum.
Make way! La la la la la la la LA!
Early to his shop, it’s already dawn.
Early! La la la la la la la LA!
Ah, what a beautiful life, what a lovely pleasure
for an excellent barber!

Ah, bravo Figaro!
Bravo, well done!
Bravo! La la la la la la la LA!
Truly a most fortunate man!
Bravo!

Ready to do everything, night and day
Always moving about.
It’s the best abundance for a barber,
A more noble life, no, it cannot be found.
La la la la la la la la la la la la la!

Razors and combs
Pointers and scissors,
at my command
Everything is here.

Here are the tools,
Then, the trade
with the ladies, with the gentlemen.

Everyone asks for me, everyone wants me,
women, guys, elderly, young girls:
Here is the wig, there is a beard.
Here a leech, there a ticket.

Figaro...
Alas, what a fury!
Alas, what a crowd!
One at a time,
please!...

Figaro! I’m here.
Hey, Figaro! I’m here.

Figaro here, Figaro there…
Figaro up, Figaro down…

Swift, I’m as quick as the lightning:
I am the city’s jack of all trades.

Ah, bravo Figaro! Bravo, very good;
Fortune will not fail you.

Tito Gobbi as Figaro in Rossini's Barber of Seville.

Film 1946.

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.