39) SERSE (Xerxes) Opera in three acts Libretto by Nicola Minato and Silvio Stampiglia, First performed on April 26, 1738 CHARACTERS Serse (Xerxes), King of Persia: mezzo-soprano Arsamene, his brother, in love with Romilda: mezzo-soprano or counter-tenor Amastre, a foreign princess, betrothed to Serse but spurned by him: mezzo-soprano Ariodate, a prince, vassal to Serse, commander of the army and father of Romilda: bass Romiilda, daughter of Ariodate, in love with Arsamene: soprano Atalanta, her sister, secretly also in love with Arsamene: soprano Elviro, servant to Arsamene: baritone or bass Soldiers, Swains, Attendants, Knights ‘The action takes place in the Middle East, in about 465 BC THE PLOT Serse and his brother Arsamene are in love with the same girl, Romilda. Romilda loves Arsamene, and Serse in retaliation banishes him from his kingdom. Serse is already betrothed to Amastre, who is distressed by his infidelity but disguises herself in manly military uniform to be near him and regain his love. Atalanta, Romilda's sister, is also in love with Arsamene, The other less than serious figures in this plot are the comic servant Elviro and Romilda’s father, Ariodate, the bumbling commander of Serse's army, whose ‘misunderstanding of the king's instructions leads to the opera's dénouement. ACTI A garden with a summer house on one side. In the center is a plane tree to whose shade Serse addresses affectionate praise. His brother Arsamene and Arsamene's clownish servant Elviro watch as sweet music is heard, and Romilda, in the summer house, sings in gentle mockery of Serse; he is in love with a tree, but it responds only with the rustle of its leaves. Serse questions Arsamene about the singer, but Arsamene (who, unknown to Serse, is Romilda’s lover) pretends he does not know, Romilda sings a more lively song and Serse is completely captivated: he loves her, he says, and wants her as his wife. He orders the dumbfounded Arsamene to tell Romilda of his wishes, but Arsamene pleads shyness and Serse decides to do his own wooing. Arsamene warns Romilda of what is about to happen, inadvertently giving hope to Romilda's sister Atalanta that Romilda will yield to Serse and leave Arsamene (whom she secretly loves) to her. She sings a song to love as if imitating her sister, but really expressing her own feelings. Serse thinks Romilda's reluctance to respond to his advances has something to do with Arsamene, and banishes Arsamene from court. He openly declares his love for Romilda, but she remains unmoved. ‘The scene changes to a courtyard. Amastre, a foreign princess appears, disguised as a man; she is betrothed to Serse, but he has abandoned her and she now seeks revenge. Romilda’s father, Ariodate, enters at the head of a troop of soldiers and announces a victory for the Persian armies. He presents captured enemy insignia and prisoners to Serse. As a reward Serse promises a royal husband for Romilda “equal to Serse". Serse wonders how his reputation may be affected by taking Romilda for his wife, but concludes that kings may do as they please. Amastre, overhearing and unable to contain herself, accuses him of lying, but then pretends that she was talking to someone else, Arsamene gives Elviro a letter for60 Romilda, he laments his separation from her. Atalanta tests her sister Romilda by telling her that Arsamene has found a new lover, but Romilda sees through Atalanta’s lie and says that her love will remain true. Atalanta nevertheless believes that flirtation and deceit will get her what she wants. AcTIL Elviro, disguised as a flower vendor and singing snatches of street ditties, is on his way to deliver Arsamene's letter to Romilda, but pauses to tell Amastre about Serse's passion for Romilda. Amastre inveighs against her deceiving lover Serse, and Elviro is easily persuaded to deliver Arsamene's letter to Atalanta, who promises to give it to Romilda, The plot thickens when, encountering the lovesick Serse, Atalanta gives him the letter, pretending it was written to her and claiming that Arsamene is only pretending to love Romilda, which, she assures Serse, Arsamene will persist in denying. Serse seizes his chance and shows the letter to Romilda, who seems to believe it was written to Atalanta but persists in rejecting the advances of Serse. He reacts with considerable passion. Once alone, Romilda gives way to Jealousy, but Amastre is even more upset and only Elviro's intervention prevents her suicide. Elviro tells the unfortunate Arsamene what he has heard from Atalanta, namely that Romilda has yielded to Serse's advances. Serse comes with Ariodate to inspect the famous bridge’, but Arsamene, still suffering from the shock of spurned love, continues his lamentations, until discovered by Serse, who proclaims his intentions not only to pardon his brother but to unite him with the woman he now knows he loves: none other than Atalanta! Arsamene, in spite of disappointment, seems to take heart from the new situation, and continues to express confidence not only in his love for Romilda, but in the belief that itis requited. Atalanta will have none of the advice offered by Serse on hearing this, that she should forget Arsamene, but Serse half convinces himself to take comfort from the precarious position of the lover who does not know whether to hope or despair. Elviro witnesses the storm which causes the bridge of boats to collapse. Serse, overheard by Amastre, bemoans the sting of jealousy, Serse sighing for Romilda, Amastre for Serse: a dramatic situation, both complex and full of irony. Amastre, unobserved, watches Serse attempt yet again to seduce Romilda, but Romilda stands firm and when Amastre in soldierly disguise takes her side, the guard intervenes on Serse’s orders. Only Romilda’s standing with ‘the king induces them to withdraw, and Amastre leaves Romilda to finish the act with a celebration of the steadfast quality of her love for Arsamene. ACTIN In a gallery Arsamene and Romilda are found arguing, but they are swiftly reconciled when Atalanta admits she has deceived them. She resigns herself to finding another lover. Serse again urges Romilda to marry him. She tells him to seek her father’s permission: she will ‘obey her father's orders. Arsamene reproaches her, but she says it is death, not marriage, that awaits her. The scene changes to a grove, where Serse asks Ariodate if he is happy for Romilda to marry "a person equal to us, and of our blood". Ariodate, assuming that Arsamene is the person in question, gladly agrees. Romilda appears, ready to reject Serse. She tells him that Arsamene is her lover and that they have kissed. Serse says this is a ruse to thwart him, and gives orders, for Arsamene's execution. Amastre offers to help Romilda by giving her a letter to take to Serse; she reflects on the grief she has brought on herself by loving one who has betrayed her. Romilda and Arsamene quarrel, the latter blaming Romilda for his death sentence. " This is historically the real bridge made with boats, which Xerxes had built across the Hellespont, uniting Asia with Europe.61 ‘The final scene takes place in the great temple of the sun. Romilda and Arsamene appear, still quarreling, but Ariodate tells them that they are to be married with Serse's full consent, and joins their hands in confirmation. This causes them to be happily reconciled. Serse arrives, expecting to marry Romilda, and is furious when Ariodate explains what he has done. His anger is intensified when a page brings @ letter sent by Romilda upbraiding him for his ‘treachery in love, and when the letter is revealed to be from Amastre, he explodes with rage. He draws his sword and orders Arsamene to kill Romilda with it. Amastre (still disguised and unrecognized) intervenes, asking Serse if he truly wishes treachery to be avenged. He says he does, and Amastre tums the sword on him, revealing who she really is. Serse begs her forgiveness and receives it; his love for her will be renewed. He blesses the marriage of ‘Arsamene and Romilda. All celebrate the union of love and honor.eo Serse, Act I ACTI (A lovely lookout over a magnificent garden in the middle of which stands a plane tree. Serse is under the tree.) ARIA SERSE ‘frondi tenere € ——‘bbelle del mio platano aimats Frondi tenere e belle. del mio _platano amato, Fronds tender and lovely of my planetree —_—beloved, per voi risplenda il fato per voi risplenda—_—il fato. for you mayshine _—fate. (May fate shine upon you, tender and lovely leaves of my beloved plane tree.) ‘twoni ‘lampi © protfelle Tuoni, lampi € —— procelle (May) thunder, lightning and _—_tempests nom voltraddsino mai la ‘kara ppatfe non v'oltraggino «mai Ia cara pace, not outrage ever your _ precious peace, ne ‘dsunga a profanarvi ‘austro rapatfe né—giunga a —profanarvi austro apace. nor manage to profane you (a) south wind rapacious. (and may a preying south wind never profane you.) (and may your peaceful quietude never be disturbed by a howling wind blowing from the south.) ‘ombra mai fu di_—_vedsetabile Ombra mai fu di_—_vegetabile (A)shade never was of nature ‘kara ed amabile sdiave piu cara ed amabile soave pit cherished and __ pleasant, gentle more, (Never was a shade in nature more cherished, pleasant and gentle.) (He remains admiring his plane tree. Enter Arsamene and a weary Elviro; Romilda is on the lookout.) ARSAMENE, sjam Siam We have ELVIRO intends Intendo. Tunderstand.Serse, Act I 63 ARSAMENE ELVIRO ‘dove alberga segwite Dove alberga... Seguite! Where lives... Goon! ARSAMENE, ‘dot mio l'idol mio. the idol mine. (...my beloved.') ELVIRO ‘dite ‘pure Dite pure. Goon. ARSAMENE 2 se On, se Oh, if (only) ELVIRO si kozi_ Si, cosi. 8... Yes, that's how itis. ARSAMENE tu dove Tu, dove” vai? You, where are you going? ELVIRO (going towards the plane tree) mem'vads ad appo'ddsarmi ke di ‘sonno io. ‘kado Menvado ad appoggiarmi, che di sonno io endo. Tmgoing to._lean against something, for with sleep _I am falling. (to lean against (that plane tree], before I fall asleep on my feet.) ARSAMENE vjen kwi ‘pronto ti diko Vien qui pronto, tidico. Come here now, Tell you. (Strains of soft music are heard.) ‘sento un so'ave kontfento Sento un —_soave concento. Thear some soft strains, ' »My beloved! in poetic Italian can be said in many different ways: idol mio, mio bene, mia vita, mio {tesoro, mio mume, mio amore, and in inverted forms, vita mia, amore mio, tesoro mio and some others. ? There are several disyllables in Italian that cause Phrasal Doubling, that i, they cause the inital ‘consonant in the following word in a phrase to double. They are dove/ove, qualche, contra/contro, sovralsopra and come. Notice the phonetics in this phrase: [Jove vvai].64 Serse, Act I ELVIRO andjam Andiam Let's draw nearer. ARSAMENE andjam Andiam, Let us go. ELVIRO son di romilda “kwesti villaddsi Son di Romilda questi villaggi? Are they of Romilda these habitations? (is this where Romilda lives?) ARSAMENE si laffami udire Si, lasciami udire. Yes, letme listen, ELVIRO koi ‘ddella tfitta ‘ppoko diskosti Cosi? della citta poco discosti. Thus from the city little distant, (Not too far from the city, either...) ARSAMENE nom parlar pju Non parlar pia. Don't talk any more. (Keep quiet!) ELVIRO men ande'ro a dormire Men’ anderd. a dormire. Tmgoing to sleep. ARSAMENE non ti partir Non ti partir... Don't go away... ARIA ROMILDA‘ 2 wi O vol. Oh you. > One ofthe little known rules of Phrasal Doubling (Raddoppiamento Sintatico) is that when a word ends in an accented vowel, such as casi and citi, it causes the initial consonant of the following word inthe phrase to double, ergo, {koi '‘ddella} and [fta ‘ppoko} “This short aria is interrupted several times by Atsamene, Elviro and Serse.Serse, Act I ARSAMENE “kwesta e — romilda Questa & —— Romilda. That is Romilda, ROMILDA 2 voi ke penate O voi, che —_penate... Oh you, who suffer. ELVIRO romilda © wer Romilda, 2 ver Romilda, that's _right... ARSAMENE ELVIRO si tatfi e ki favella Si, tack, E chi favella? Yes, keep quiet! ‘And who — is speaking? (Ihaven't said a word.) ROMILDA O voi, che penate per ‘kruda_belta un per cruda_belta! Un fora cruel beauty! (a) SERSE (overhearing his name) kwi si ‘kanta il mio ‘nome Qui si canta il mio nome? Here itsbeing sung my — name? (Do I hear my name being sung here?) ROMILDA (continuing her aria) un ‘serse mirate ke dun ‘ruvido ‘tronko Un —Serse mirate, che d'un ruvido tronco A Serse behold, who bya coarse tree trunk (Behold this Serse, all aflame over the trunk [of a plane tree],) ppur non korrisponde ‘altro al suo epur non corrisponde altro al suo which yet doesn't answer otherwise to. his ke mormorio di_—_fronde che mormorio di_fronde. than (bya) murmuring —_of (its) leaves. SERSE ARSAMENE arsamene mio ‘sire Arsamene! Mio Sire! ‘Arsamene! My — Sire! 65 attfezo sta acceso sta, aflame is, amor amor, love,66 Serse, Act I SERSE udite Udite? Do you hear? SERSE ARSAMENE konoffete ki sia jo no sipore Conoscete chi sin? Jo? No, Signore. Do youknow who that might be? 12 No, mylord. SERSE ARSAMENE io si aime ke dselozia makkora Tosi. hime, che —gelosia m'accora!) Ido. (Alas, what jealousy disheartens me!) (how I am consumed by jealousy!) SERSE ARSAMENE ke dite ke amerei sentirla arjkora Che dite? Che — amerei sentirla ancora. What did yousay? That T'd love tohearher again. ARIA ROMILDA va goidends —_verttsozo e bells Va godendo —-vezz0so e bello Is enjoying, charming and_—_lovely kwel niffello la liberta quel ruscello la liberta. that —_brooklet its freedom. (Charming and lovely, that brooklet revels in its freedom.) e€ tra erbe kon ‘onde ‘kjare E tra erbe con onde chiare ‘And among grasses, with waves. clear, ‘eto al ‘mare korends va lieto al mare correndo va. happy towardsthe sea running it goes. (And among the fields, with clear waves, happily it rushes towards the sea.) SERSE kwel ‘kanto a = um bel amor ‘lanima ‘sfortsa Quel canto a = un _—_beel amor anima sforza. That song to a __beautiful love _mysoul forces. (That song motivates my soul to a beautiful amorous feeling.) per mia ‘dama la fJelgo Per mia dama Ia scelgo. For my courtesan. I choose her. (Fchoose this woman to be my mistress.)ARSAMENE 2 ddei ke (ODeit che (Oh gods! What sipnor ‘ella Signor, ella Mylord, she ma ‘parmi ma parmi Serse, Act 67 ‘sento sento!) am T hearing!) © romilda e printfipessa 2 Romilda, = & principessa, is Romilda, she isa princess, non komyvenga ‘non convenga. but —_itseems tome (that) she’s unfit to... SERSE emi ditfeste Eh! midiceste Ah! You told me no konofferla or ‘kome non conoscerla. Or come? you did not know her. Now how come?... ARSAMENE sol lakonosk> al ‘nome Sol laconosco al_-—nome, lonly knowher by name, SERSE eal ‘Kanto arora sea dama non komvjen E —al__ canto ancora. Se a dama non com ‘And byher voice, even If fora courtesan _—_she's unfit, sara mmia ‘spoza lapprovate sara mia sposa. Liapprovate? she shall be my bride, Do you approve? ARSAMENE sinnor aun re non litfe ‘erdsere al ‘tron Signor, aun Re — nonlice ergere al trono Sire, fora king isnot in keeping _—toelevate. tothe throne ki no ne redsina chi non Regina. someone whoisnot(a) queen. SERSE per ‘dama non konjyjen ‘spoza non ‘litfe Per dama non convien, sposa non lice. Fora courtesan she's unfitting, (fora) bride _ it's not in keeping. ‘nulla virpiatfe © ~——_idsido il —_konisigko Nulla vi piace. Eg rigido il consiglio. Nothing, pleases you. Ts harsh your advice, (Your advice is harsh.)68 Serse, Act I mi sia kompapna al “S00 Misia compagna al_—soglio, She shall be (my) companion onthe throne. (She shall be at my side on the throne.) le direte ke io kozi_‘wokto Le direte che To cost voglio. You shall tellher that «‘Tloveher. = T_——thus_—_ wish it. is my wish.) ARSAMENE SERSE io si voi To? Si voit r Yes, you! ARSAMENE SERSE no no il ‘modo di parlarle tferkatelo Non ho modo di parlarle. Cereatelo. Idon't have way to speak to her. Find one! ARSAMENE SERSE ma ‘sire © = se nom posso perke Ma Sire, e€ se —_ mon posso... Perche? But Sire, and if ‘cannot... Why? ARSAMENE ma lamodestja. e al fine Ma lamodestia e¢ ——alfine... But modesty as wellaas.. SERSE intezi io Kel diro Intesi. To gliel dird, Tunderstand, I shall tell her myself, ka parlar ‘mexko apprezi ch’a parlar meglio appresi. forhowto speak, better (than you) —_T have leamed, (since I fobviously] am better at speaking than you.) DUO SERSE io le diro kke amo ne mi zgomenta'ro To ledird che T'amo, ne misgomentard. 1 shalltell her that Tove her, nor _—_shall Tbe intimidated. e ——perke =mmia ta ‘bramo so kwel ke = far dowro E perch’ mia la bramo so quel che far dovrd. ‘And because mine Idesire her (to be) Iknow that which do I must. (And since I desire her to be mine, I know [well] what to do.) (Serse exits. Arsamene remains and is joined by Romilda, Atalanta and Elviro.)ARSAMENE tule dirai ke Tu ledirai che You shall tellher that ‘kwella betta kke —‘brami Quella belth che — brami Serse, Act I 0 ‘ami ma non taskolte'ra Yami, ma —_non t'ascoltera. youloveher, but she won't listen to you. ‘solo di = me sara solo di me sara. That beauty that youcovet only tos me_shall belong, ROMILDA ‘Arsamene! ARSAMENE rormilda 2 ddei Romilda, oh Dei, Romilda, oh gods, dsutrato amore giurato amore sworn love pavento ke ilo pju volte a me pavento che iltuo pi volte a = me fear that your many times to me tu non 'sparga doblio tu non sparga d'oblio. you may not consign to oblivion. (Romilda, oh gods, I fear that the love you have so many times sworn to me may be consigned to oblivion.) ROMILDA ARSAMENE perke pparli kozi bs benio il re Perché parli cosi? Lo so benio. nN Rew Why do you speak thus? 1 know full well The king... ATALANTA ROMILDA ki ‘serse e© ke da me_—_rikjede Chi? Serse? E che da = me_richiede? Who? Serse? ‘And what from me does he want? ARSAMENE tente'ra a tua ‘fede Tentera latua fede. He will tempt your faithfulness. ATALANTA (aside) se pwo vVintferle (Se pud—_vineerle (If hecan vanquish (to Romilda) vjen attfezo Vien acceso Becomes aflame il koro me fellitfe il cor, oh me felice!) her heart, oh happy me!) ‘opi kor dal tuo—bel_-—‘zgwardo ogni cor dal tuo —bel_—sguardo. every heart by your lovely glance. (CYour beauty enflames the hearts of every man around.) ROMILDA io non temo To —_nontemo. 1 am not afraid. ARSAMENE io pavents To _pavento. 1 am afraid.10 Serse, Act I ATALANTA (aside) ed io tuttardo (Ed io tutt'ardo) (And I ‘am all aflame.)* ‘dimmi arsamene =~ ‘Kredi Dimmi, Arsamene, € cred Tell me, Arsamene, and do you believe ke la dgermana = mia tradirti ‘passa che In germana = mia_tradirti possa? that the sister mine betray you can? (that my sister could betray you?) ARSAMENE ‘krollan le ‘kwertfe atnnoze Crollan Te quercie annose Collapse the -—oaks age-old a ‘una gran ‘skossa a una gran scossa. before a great earthquake. (Even the hardiest oak collapses in an earthquake.) ROMILDA ATALANTA (aside) ma ro'milda a fosse injfida Ma —Romilda (Ah! fosse 5 But — Romilda resists (Ah! If she only were unfaithful!) ROMILDA mai sara ‘alma mia date difffolta Mai sara Valmamia da te_—_—_disciolta. Never shall be ‘my soul from you tom asunder. (My soul will always be yours.) ARSAMENE ke dilletto Che dilettot What happiness! ATALANTA ke ‘dokka askolta (Che doglia!) Ascolta! (What grief!) Listen! ARIAS ATALANTA (flrtatiously, to Arsamene) si. mio ben io vivo per te sol Si, mio. ben, io vivo’ per te — sol, Yes, my — beloved, 1 live for you alone, 5 Let us not forget that Atalanta is also enamored of Arsamene. In this aria Atalanta isnot speaking of her own love for Arsamene, but rather making fun of Romilda's pledge of fidelity by sarcastically mocking her.Serse, Act I n io per te = 'moro io per te~— moro. 1 for you die. (Lam dying of love for you.) ‘amo ki mife'ri € ppure al mio. gran Amo chi mi feri, epure al mio gran Tlove he who wounded me, and yet for my great no no ristoro non ho ristoro. Thaveno comfort. (Love you, [Arsamene}, though you deeply wounded me [by spurning my love], and I find no comfort for my grief.) romilda motte e€ di. va_—esklatmando koi Romilda notte e€ = di_—sva_—esclamando csi: Romilda night and day goes exclaiming thus: jo per te ‘moro io per te ~— vivo sol jo per te ~— moro. To per te vivo sol. "L for you di 1 for you live only.” (These are the words Romilda shouts out night and day: "I die for you and live only for you.") (She exits) ELVIRO ‘presto sipnor vjen ‘serse Presto, Signor, vien Serse! Quickly, my lord, Serse is coming! ARSAMENE (hiding with Elviro) io kwi—mitfelo To qui micelo. 1 here shall hide. (Serse enters and addresses Romilda. Arsamene and Elviro are in hiding.) SERSE “kome kwiprintfipessa altel. sereno Come qui, Principessa, al ciel_sereno? How come (you're) here, _ princess, under sky serene? (You here, princess, under the open clear sky?) forse ‘ashi imgvi darsamene —_uffiste Forse agli d’Arsamene — usciste? Perhaps atthe im of Arsamene you came out? (Was it Arsamene's call that made you come out?) ROMILDA ‘ekki nom mi kjaimo Egli non ‘mi chiamd. He — did not call me.2 Serse, Act SERSE ROMILDA parlowi, almeno ma ‘sire Parlowi’ almeno. Ma, Sire... He spoke to you, _—_at least. But, Sire. SERSE ‘basta dite romilda fats al ‘tron ‘addi Basta; udite. Romilda, ilfato al_—tronooggi Enough. Listen. Romilda, fate onthe throne today vi'skordse amor _vinddsemma il ‘serto viscorge, amor v'ingemma il serto, places you; love is adorning with jewels your crown. (Listen, Romilda: fate today has placed you on my throne, and your crown, by the [power of my] love, is adored with jewels.) ROMILDA non tantalto io nono'merto Non tant'alte. Io non ho merto. Ido not such heights. I do not deserve it, SERSE ne so—ben la_—skaldgone arsamene —_—smoffende. Ne so ben I cagione, Arsamene —_m’offende, Forit Iknow well the reason. ‘Arsamene _affronts me, ARSAMENE (stepping forward with Elviro) io ‘sire olga iltfel_ ke voffenda To? Sire, tolga Ciel che —_voffenda. 1? Sire, heaven forbid that __I should offend you. ROMILDA ei non saipea Ei non sapea.. He — didn't know... SERSE (to Romilda) tatfete Tacete. Be silent. (to Arsamene) © wi —_velotfe Tundse da “kwesta ‘korte E voi veloce Junge da questa corte And you, quickly, far from this court ma ma... however... * Parlowi: an inversion of vi parld. A very archaic, poetic form, in which the final accented 6 of parlé ‘causes the init consonant of vi to double (Phrasal Doubling) and in so doing the accent falls off, ergo, parlovvi. Other examples: crovalla (inversion of la trove (he/she found her); farolio (inversion of lo fard, | will doit).Serse, Act I B kwal torrente votdsete il pjede qual torrente volgete il piede. like a torrent point your foot. (leave my court at the speed of a torrential river.) ARSAMENE andro bbegke innotfente André, bench innocente. Ishall leave, although (Iam) innocent. SERSE ‘pure se promettete—_la'ffar romilda Pure, se promettete —_lasciar Romilda... However, if youpromisetorelinquish _Romilda.. ELVIRO (in his master's ear) eite ip Is fat Eh!dite! To lo fard, Tellhim yes! Til doit! SERSE ‘posso, wzarvi pjetate -posso usarvi ietate. ~-Leould show you merey. ARSAMENE 0 ‘kwesto no Oh! Questo no! Oh! Not that! ARIA ARSAMENE ‘mekko im voi kol_—mio_partire Meglio in voi col_—mio_partire Itsbetter in you with» my — departure dgelozia sestingwe'ra gelosia stestinguera. jealousy shall be extinguished. (With my departure your jealousy will be more easily abated.) io mem'vado al = mio. motrire To menvado —al_—smio._morire, 1 shall go to my — death, voi restate in iberta voi restate in —_liberta. you remain in freedom. (and leave you to enjoy your freedom.) (He exits with Elviro. Serse remains and Romilda stands quite motionless, avoiding Serse's eyes.)4 Serse, Act I SERSE bellissima ro'milda © non fellate lado'rats sembjante Bellissima Romilda, eh, -—non_—celate T'adorato ——_sembiante! Most beautiful Romilda, oh donot hide your adored —_face! uditemi romilda io ‘sono amante Uditemi, —Romilda, io sono_amante. Hear me out, Romilda, 1 am _inlove. € ppur tatfete arjkora E pur tacete ancora? And yet you keep silent still? ‘dite un si ‘dite, unm ‘dite.kio.— ‘mora Dite un si, dite. un no; dite ch'io_ mora. Say buta "yes", say uta "no"; say that I should die. (or even say that you wish me dead!) ARIA SERSE di tatfere © di skernirmi_—— a krudel ki tinseppo Di tacere edi schernirmi, ah,crudel, chi t'insegndt To keepsilent and to mockme, — ah, cruel one, who taught you! (Whoever taught you to keep silent and to mock me thus, you cruel one!) > Iaffate idesser ‘belle © lasciate a'esser belle, Either cease being (so) lovely, ‘kare ‘utfiamate ‘stelle care luci,’ amate stelle, dearest eyes, beloved stars, > tfessate di ferirmi © cessate di ferirmi, or cease to wound me, ke mai pju vi segwiro che mai pi vi seguird! sothat never again Tneed pursue you! (Serse exits. Romilda remains alone.) ROMILDA ‘aspide ‘sono a detti_twoida'more Aspide sono. A’ — detti tuoi d'amore (An) asp Tam. Atthe words yours of love * Luci (lights), lumi (fires), rai (rays), puplle (pupils) are all poetic ways of referring to one's eyes. ‘The curent word is occne wo makkkjar nd-vud macchiar Tdon't wish to taint (Lam [as unfeeling as] an asp. I don't wish to taint my heart Serse, Act I 18 dimfedetta il mio ‘kore d'infedelth il mio core. with infidelity my heart. [thoughts of] unfaithfulness ‘when you speak to me with words of love.) ARIA ROMILDA nemmen kon ‘lombre dimfedelta N@ men con ombre d'infedelta Noteven with a shade of unfaithfulness ‘yoko traidire “anima mi voglio tradire Vanima mia; dolwish to betray my souls © sel mio ‘bene suo mal sifa e sel mio bene suo mal sifa, and if my _ beloved his harm causes to himself, (and if my beloved [Arsamene] comes to harm,) inkolpi amore incolpt amore, let the blame be love, non dgelovzia non gelosia. not jealousy. (let love, not jealousy be the cause.) (She exits. The scene changes to a courtyard. Enter Amastre, disguised as a man, followed bya squire) ARIA AMASTRE, se ‘kandso Se cangio Though Tchange ma —nellamore ‘sono ma —nell'amore sono but in love Tam 'spokKa non ‘kandso ‘kore spoglia, non —cangio core, clothing, Idon't change (my) heart, listessa Vistessa. the same. (Whatever my disguise, my heart is steadfast and my love [for Serse] does not change.) (She withdraws to one side. Enter Ariodate, followed by soldiers guarding prisoners and booty captured in battle.) ARIODATE, puinnammo amitfi Pugnammo, amici, We fought, (my) friends, © ‘stette per noi ‘bella vittoria © stette per noi bella vittoria, and itwas for us aglorious. victory.6 Serse, Act I AMASTRE, ‘dunkwe © vinto il re ‘moro Dunque & vinto il Re moro? Then was vanquished the king moorish? 9 noi felitfi O noi felici! Oh how happy we are! (How happy we are that the Moorish king was defeated!) ARIODATE ed akkreffe di 'serse. oppor la gloria Ed aceresce = di_—=Serse_ ognor Ia gloria! ‘And — grows of — Serse bythehour the —_glory! (And Serse's glory swells by the hour!) CHORUS SOLDIERS sa Ja ‘tromba ke kjamo He ‘skjere allarmi Gia la tromba che —chiamd Je schiere all'armi, Already the trumpet that called the troops. to arms or si'foxke in doltfi_‘karmi or —siscioglie in doli_carmi, now softens sweet strains, © vittorje a noi rimbomba © vittorie a noi rimbomba. and victories, for us __resounds. (Already the trumpet resounds, softening into sweet strains and announcing victory that called the troops to arms.) AMASTRE (aside) ‘ekko ‘serse 9 ke —‘volto ke splenidore (Ecco Serse, oche volto, oche splendore!) (Behold Serse, oh what features, oh what splendor!) SERSE (to Ariodate) arjodate vabbbratt{> il ‘vostro ‘ferro Ariodate, v'abbraccio; il vostro ferro” Ariodate, embrace you; your sword ‘sempre ‘porta vittoria sempre porta vittoria. always brings victory. ° A sword (spada) has several other poetic names; ferro (iron), acciara/acciaio (steel, lama (blade), which can mean a sword, a dagger, stiletto or any pointed weapon.Serse, Act I n ARIODATE del ‘vostro ‘nome sol ‘kwesta © la gloria Del vostro nome sol questa &@ a gloria, Due to your name alone this is the glory. (Our glory is owed to your name alone.) SERSE im ‘premjo de dizadsi In premio de’ disagi Asa reward forthe hardships ora ‘djamo ‘alla ‘vostra tfitta ch'ora diamo vostra cittd, which now weimparted to your city, ke di_—nostrarmi = fatta © ©——_pjattsa che di nostr'armi fata, @ = piazza which for ourarmy made was a garrison a sostener limpreza —datene a sostener ‘impresa _—_d'Atene, for sustaining _—the struggle _—_of Athens, (In compensation for the hardships endured by your city, which has become our army's garrison in the struggle against Athens,) or vi prometto. romilda ‘vostra fikka or —viprometto: Romilda, ——_vostra figtia, now I promise you: Romilda, your daughter, avra ‘spozo reale della ‘serse avra sposo reale, della Serse, shall have (a) husband royal, ofthe lineage of Serse, a ‘serse_ e'gwale a Serse eguale. to Serse the equal. (shall have a royal husband, a man of Serse’s own lineage, a man equal to Serse himself.) ARIODATE, kozi arditi famtazmi nel penisjer non ammetto Cosi arditi fantasmi' nel __pensier Such bold dreams inmy thoughts SERSE ‘ite koi prometto Ite. Cosi prometto, Go. This I promise. "® Fantasmi are wild dreams or illusions in poetic Italian. Ariodate is saying "not in my wildest ‘dreams could I have believed this could happen’.B Serse, Act I ARIA ARIODATE soddsetti —al_—=—smio.—_vollere ‘Castri nom 'vokko no Soggetti al mio__volere gl'astri non voglio, no. Subject to my ~—will_thestars Idon't want, no. (Ldon't want the stars subject to my whim.) ma kwel ke = fan le sfere. ‘sempre lodar satpro Ma quel che fan le sfere, sempre lodar saprd. But that which do the —_ spheres, always praise Iwill. (But whatever is determined by the heavens shall always eam my praise.) CHORUS SOLDIERS Gia la tromba, ete. (Ariodate and soldiers exit. Serse alone, later Amastre, meanwhile in hiding with her squire.) SERSE "oweste vittorje io ‘kredo Queste vittorie, io eredo, These victories, 1 believe, predikono —triomfi ‘ako al mio. amore predicono —_trionfi anco. al mio__amore. augur triumphs also to = my —_ love, (bode well for my triumphs in love.) AMASTRE (aside, from her hiding place) ‘parla dime ai Vinto si mio. kore (Parla dime; hai_—vinto, si, mio. core.) (He speaks of + me! ‘You've won, yes, my —_ heart!) SERSE impattsjente io vivo. dabbrattfar_kwel_aimato mio te'z0r9 Impaziente io vivo d'abbracciar quel amato mio tesoro. Impatiently 1 live toembrace that beloved treasure of mine. AMASTRE, © di ds9ja_nom moro (Edi gioia non moro!) (And of joy I donot die!) (could simply die of joy!) SERSE ma pur ke dra amastre e ——loffezo suo padre Ma pur che _—_dira Amastre, © — Poffeso suo padre But yet what willl Amastre say and that offended father of hers del mio ime'nes del mio novels amore del mio _imeneo, del mio novello amore? of my marriage, (and) of | my new love? (But what will Amastre and her offended father say of my marriage and my new love?)Serse, Act I AMASTRE (angrily) © kozi_mmiskerniffe il —_traditore (E cost mischernisce il _traditore?) (And thus he mocks me... the traitor?) SERSE bere di Teddso ‘sangwe non sia Benché di reggio. sangue non sia Although of -— royal blood not be (my beloved may not be of royal blood,) ‘una vaissalla illustrar possio ‘kolle mie una vassalla illustrar poss'io colle mie a vassal ennoble Tcan with my (Ican ennoble [a woman of common blood] by marrying her.) al fin “krede detfente il voler Al fin crede decente il —voler Ultimately believes appropriate the —_will dun gran redse il © ‘mondo d'un gran Rege il mondo. ofa great king the —_ world. (Ultimately the world deems the will of a great king appropr AMASTRE (aloud) ‘ment Mentit You lie! SERSE (turning around) ki parla olla ki ‘sjete Chi parla ol? Chi siete? Who stalking there? Who are you? AMASTRE, forastjeri ——_sippor Forastieri, Signor. Travellers, my lord. SERSE maa ki_—_smentta uw desti Ma a chi_mentita tu desti? But to whom the lie you gave? (Whom did you calla liar?) AMASTRE, almio kompanpo ke —_sostetner volea ‘Almio compagno, che sostener_——_volea My — companion, who to claim wished ke il vast. ewfrate e ke il che il —vasto.-Eufrate e che i that the vast. «Euphrates... and thatthe 9 ‘Tidolo mio Vidolo mio, my idol, ‘nottse nozze. marriage. ‘ponte ke fate ponte che fate. bridge that you build...80 Serse, Act I sarebbe esposto a venti sarebbe __esposto a venti; would be exposed tothe wind(s); (Lwas calling my companion a liar, who claims that the bridge you're building will be ‘exposed to the winds;) io per_—diskorso allor ‘ssi fo per —discorso altor dissi 1, in disagreement then sai (indicating Serse) tu 'menti tu menti, "you lie." SERSE “Toki mi rassembrate ‘ite ont Scioechi mi rassembrate, ite tontanit Fools you seem to me; go far away from here! (Amastre exits.) non de ‘render ra‘dgone il mio dekoro ‘Non dee render ragione itmio decoro. Mustn't give reasons my dignity. ‘sempre mi'toma —im'mente il bel ka'doro Sempre mitorna —inmente —il bel ch'adoro. Always retumsto mymind the beauty whom I adore. (My dignity constrains me not to use excuses, but the lovely woman whom I adore is always ‘on my mind.) ARIA SERSE, ju ke ‘penso ‘alle fjamme del ‘kore Pit che penso alle — fiamme del core, The more ‘think ofthe flames inmy heart, piu lardore kreffendo sem va pit Vardore crescendo sen va, the more myardor_—_growing goes on. (the more I burn with passion.) e — ilmio petto © —ritfetto bem —poko E —ilmio petto @ ——ricetto ben poco And my breast isa receptacle very _ insufficient di kwel ‘foko ke ‘pena di quel foco che pena for that fire that suffering gives me. (But my breast can hardly bear the fire that consumes me and makes me suffer [the pangs of love}.)Serse, Act I (He exits. Enter Arsamene and Elviro.) ARSAMENE (giving a letter to Elviro) 81 ‘ekkoti il oko elviro a ——_romilda Io ‘porta Eccoti il foglio, Elviro,a_ -—-Romilda_—_—‘lo porta. Here's the letter, Elviro, to. _Romilda take it (take it to Romilda,) ELVIRO ‘sjete pur rizoluto Siete pur risoluto? Are you then decided? ARSAMENE si ‘vane Si, vanne! Yes, go! ELVIRO (starting to leave, but then returning) io salto ke parlarle volete Io visaluto, che parlarle volete; I id you farewell; that to speak toher you wish; ‘altro non le skrivete altro non le serivete? anything else you won't write her? (Goodbye. You wish to speak to her; don't you want to write her anything else?) ARSAMENE nD Not No! ELVIRO ma ‘sono voi sapete kom voi banidito Ma sono, voi sapete, con voi_—_—bandito, But Tam, you know, with you banished, (Ihave been banished along with you,) € se son Konoffuto—_sjete € se son conosciuto? Siete and if Tam recognized? Are you ARSAMENE ‘vane non tardar Vane, non tardar ! Go, dont delay any longer! ELVIRO ‘kome je Io da dar Come glie I'ho da dar? How tohermustI (to) _ give? (How should I deliver it to her?) pur rizoluto pur risoluto? absolutely resolved?2 Serse, Act I ARSAMENE ‘pensatfi u Pensaci tu. Figure it out yourself. ELVIRO ke strava'gante Che stravagante What an odd ARIA ELVIRO sippor laffate fer a me Signor, lasciate far oa me, My lord, leave todo to me, (leave it to me,) io lo _penisato "bene jo Tho pensato bene! T have thought it out quite well! ‘korro ‘volo parts vo Corro, volo, parto, vo Tnun, I fly, Tleave, Tm going, € piu presto. tome'ro e pit presto tornerd, and more swiftly Tshall return, ke se alvessi ‘ali al pie che se avessi I'ali_ ali than asif Thad wings onmy feet! (and I shall return faster than iI had wings on my feet!) (He exits.) ARIA ARSAMENE non so se sia la'speme Non so se sia_—_laspeme Tdon'tknow if tbe hope ke mi sostjene im vita > aspro che stiene in vita, 0 Taspro that sustainsme alive or the bitter (is it hope that keeps me alive, or is it my bitter pain?) so ke kwestalma —‘dgeme So che quest'alma_—_geme Tknow that my soul ‘moans mio mySerse, Act I 83 da kke mmi fu rapita la “‘dgoja. del mio. kor dache mi fu rapita la gioia. del mio cor. since was from me takenaway the joy of = my_—heart. (I know that my soul has been sighing ever since the joy of my heart [Romilda] was taken from me.) (He exits. Enter Amastre.) AMASTRE, tradir di tedsa ‘spoza la fe_-—_promessa Tradir di regia sposa In fe ~—_promessa? Tobetray ofa royal bride the faith promised? ({Could Serse} betray the promised faithfulness to a royal bride [such as myself]?) © — kjame'allo il ‘mondo un —_dettfente voller E —chiamerallo"’ il mondo un —_decente voler? And willcallit the world a_——_ decent wish? (And will the world approve of such a wish?) no ke == de tedsi_son e — Klementsa No, che de’ regi son e —— clemenza No, for of kings are justice and clemency i piu gram predsi i pid gran regi. the most noble virtues. (No, for justice and clemency are a king's noblest virtues.) ARIA AMASTRE, sapra ‘delle mie offeze Sapra delle mie —offese Willknow for my _ offenses bem vendikarsi il kor ben vendicarsi il cor. rightfully to avenge itself the heart. (My heart shall find its rightful vengeance for the slights I have endured [from Serse}.) kolui ke lira attfeze prove'ra il mio furor Cotui che ira accese provera ilmio furor. Thatman who my ire ignited shall feel my — fury. (She exits. Enter Atalanta and Romilda,) ATALANTA al fin sarete ‘spoza al ‘Vostro ‘serse Al fin sarete sposa al vostro Serse. ‘At last youshall be (the) bride to your Serse. Inversion of fo chiamerd: again a case where Phrasal Doubling dictates that any word ending in an accented vowel chiamerd will cause the following consonant in the phrase to double (chiamerallo), while the accent falls off.84 Serse, Act I ROMILDA ke = mio ‘serse_ none Che? Mio Serse none. What? My —Serse he isn't. ATALANTA. ‘meno arsamene Meno Arsamene. Neither (is) Arsamene (yours). ROMILDA ‘ekki si perke ‘llamo Egli si, —_perehé Tamo. Heis, yes, because Hove him, ATALANTA ‘ekki no perke ‘parte ‘ezule errante Egli no, perehé parte esule errante. Not him, because he is leaving, (as an) exile wandering. (he is now a wandering exile.) perdete un reper um —_perduts amante Perdete un Re per un perduto amante. Youarelosing a king onaccountof_a —_lost lover. ROMILDA perduto aimante © —‘kkome Perduto amante- € ~—-come? Lost lover - and why so? ATALANTA ail kore attfezo ‘daltre ‘fjamme Ha il core _aceeso d'altre fiamme. Hehas the heart _afire with another flame. (He is carrying a torch for someone else.) ROMILDA diki Dichi? Whose? (Who might it be?) ATALANTA ben — Io saprete Ben _losaprete. Well you will know. (You ought to know.) ROMILDA ‘dunkwe adjero arsamene elt Dunque odierd Arsamene, e al Re Then Ishouldhate Arsamene and tothe kingSerse, Act I 85 fi afffetti ‘tutti datro ke dite gli affetti tutti dard. Che dite? the affections all__~—‘Tshould give, What are you saying? (and tum my affection to Serse? What are you saying?) ATALANTA allor pridente —_—tferto vi kjamero Allor prudente certo vichiamerd, ‘Then prudent certainly will call you, (Pd say it would be wise.) ed arsamene = in 'spozo is kjede'ro ed Arsamene in’ —_sposo io chiedera. and Arsamene asa bridegroom = T——_will ask, (and then I could ask Arsamene to become my bridegroom.) ROMILDA eke ‘dunkwe lamate Echedunque I'amate? Then you love him? ATALANTA noma poi lame'ro No, ma poi Yamerd. No, but afterwards I shall love him. (might soon learn to love him.) ROMILDA esi tosto potrete ‘render da'more E si tosto potrete render d'amore ‘And so quickly will you be able to tum into love i vostri ‘sensi attfezi ivostri sensi accesi? your senses. enflamed? ‘(And could you [really] turn your enflamed senses into love so quickly?) ATALANTA mi sfortse'r9 Mi sforzerd. I shall force myself. (Cll do my best.) ROMILDA a ke—pur'troppo—intezi Ah! Che pur troppo _intesi. Ah! For —_ indeed Thave understood. (Itis all too clear to me now!)86 Serse, Act I ARIA ROMILDA se idol mio rapir mi wwoi Se idol mio rapir_ mi vuoi, If the idol mine tossteal from me you wish, (Ifyou wish to steal my beloved from me,) ‘kandsa dezio ke vanita cangia desio, che vanita. change your desires, for itis (pure) vanity. (come to your senses.) kwei oltfi ‘atfi_znodar nom pwoi Quei dolei tacit snodar non puoi, Those sweet bonds untie ‘you cannot ke legaro Ia liberta che — milegaro la liberth. which tethered my freedom. (You shall never untie the sweet bonds [destined] to tether my freedom.) (Romilda exits. Atalanta remains alone.) ATALANTA per rapir kwel_ te'zoro ke te ‘kolma di ‘dsoja Per rapir quel _tesoro che te colma di —_gioia To steal that treasure, which you fills with joy me se amor nom ‘basta e me se amor non basta, and me —withanguish, if love _is not enough, adoprero. ——_KKinjganni adoprerd —_gl'inganni. Ishall employ deceit. (if love is not sufficient to steal that man who so fills you with joy and me with such anguish I shall resort to deceit [to accomplish my aims.]) ARIA ATALANTA un ‘fenno leddsaidretto. un ‘rizo’_—_vettso'zetto Un —cenno leggiadretto, un riso_vezzosetto, A gesture quite graceful, a smile quite coquettish, um ‘mots di pupille pwo far innamo'rar un moto di pupille pud far innamorar. a twinkle ofthe eyes can make a man fallin love. luzinge ‘pianti © frodi Lusinghe, pianti e ——_frodi Flattery, tears and guileSerse, Act I 87 son ‘anke tferti_ ‘modi ke ‘destano faville son anche certi_ modi che — destano faville, are also. certain methods that awake sparks, tuto io liso far © tutto io liso fan and allofthis -I_—sknowhow todo. (Flattery, some tears and guile are also good ways of stoking a fire [in a man’s heart), and I am an expert in all those things!) END OF ACTI88 Serse, Act It (A square in the city with an arcade. Enter Amastre, then Elviro, who is selling flowers.) ACT I ARIA AMASTRE sperantse mie __fermate nom Speranze mie, fermate, non Hopes mine, stop; do not ARIA! ELVIRO a ki voller fora di Ah! Chi voler flora ai Ah! Who wants flowers from (Ah! Chi vuole fiori d'un bel giardino?) dsatfinta indiana tulipana Giacinta, indiana, —_tulipana, Hyacinths, cotton plants, tulips, (Giacinti, indian, tulipani, gelsomini?) e ki kio E chi ch'io ‘And who would ever say that I (would ever guess) ma se del ‘fok4o_ poi Ma se del foglio poi But if —_aboutthis_ letter then mi lafate —ayjkor milasciate —_ancor forsakeme again. ‘bella dsardina bella giardina? lovely garden? dgelsomina gelsomina? Jasmine? ‘sono el sono Elviro? were Elviro? sapesse sapesse found out the (what if the king finds out about this letter?) AMASTRE, ke ‘parla ‘ekki del re Che parla egli del Re? What ishetalking about. the king? ELVIRO “kreds arsamene —_‘pjanti_e Credo Arsamene pantie I think Arsamene tears and © ke per‘ mosKe al fin € che per —moglie alfin il and that fora wife finally the sospiri al ‘vento sospiri al vento sighs tothe wind re lara Re Tava, king will have her. (the king will have Romilda.) AMASTRE il reper 'moske (1 Re_— per __moglie? Chi (The king... for (a) wife? Who? ‘yfeli ke Cieli, che Heavens, what Re? king? spardse'ra spargera, will be shedding, 'ssento sento?) do I hear?) " Elviro is using what I call "Tarzan Italian" (me Tarzan, you Jane — we eat coconut yesterday, we give Cheeta banana the day after tomorrow.) T will put the sentences in correct Italian for the reader's benefit,Serse, Act Il 89 ELVIRO ‘serse perro ddovrebbe aver per ‘spoza Serse perd dovrebbe aver per _—_spos: Serse however should have fora wife ‘dama di ‘redo ‘sangwe € nom va'ssalla dama di regio sangue enon —_vassalla; alady of royal blood and not -—_acommoner; (una dama di regio sangue e non una vassalla.) ‘kwesta non fifa onore questa non glifa onore. this woman doesn't bring him honor. AMASTRE (aside) ‘dunkwe io ‘sono skernita a traditore @unque io sono schernita? Ah! —Traditore!) (Then 1 havebeen —_—_scomed! Ah, traitor!) (to Elviro) amiko Amico... (Listen), friend, (Elviro tries to flee.) ELVIRO a tfi fui kolto Ah! — Ci fui cotto. ‘Ah! I've been found out! AMASTRE, ‘ferma ola ik ate — perke ska'ppar Ferma, ola, dico ate, perche seappar? Stop, hey there, Imtalking toyou; why (doyoutry) to flee? ELVIRO da mia.ske —_tferkar Da mia che _—_cercar? From me what do you want? (What do you want with me?) (Da me che cercate?) voller ‘fjora komprar ma Voler fora comprar? Ma. Do you wish flowers to buy? But... (Wolete comprar dei fiori? Ma...) ke serse sara 'spozo in ‘kwesto di No! Sidice che — Serse sara sposo in questo di, No! Itis said that Serse shallbea bridegroom —_ today;90, Serse, Act It vorrei salper do ki vorrei saper di chi? Id like to know of whom? ELVIRO ma ‘dire tu ki star © perke ddimandar Ma dire tu chi_ star? E __perché dimandar? But —tellme (you) who you are? And why are you asking? (Ma dimmi tu chi sei? E perché domandi?) AMASTRE vialddgante —kuirjozo © ‘kama ire Vinggiante _curioso, e ch'ama it Re Traveller curious and wholoves the —_—king, (Lam a curious traveller fond of the king.) ELVIRO poike ti star bon wom mi dir ate Poiché ti star bon om, mi dir ate. Since you area good man, 1 — willtell(to) you. (Poiché sei un buon uom, te lo diré.) ma tatfer nom parlar Ma acer, non parlar! But — keep silent, not a word! (Ma taci, non parlare!) AMASTRE, di pur non dubitar Di pur, non dubitar. Speak away, have no doubt. (have no doubt, (1 won't breathe a word of it.) ELVIRO arjodate de ‘kista tfitta sipnor Ariodate, de _—chistacittd,_signor, Ariodate, ofthis city, my lord, ke stare a re vassallo che stare a = Re_—_vassallo, who a vassal, (Signor, Ariodate, di questa citta, chi é vassallo del Re,) aver fikka romilda aver figlia Romilda, hhasa daughter, ——-Romilda, (ha una figlia, Romilda,) © re voler_‘kista spo'zar © Re —voler__chista sposar and king wishes this woman to marry; (and the king wishes to marry this woman;) (eil Re questa donna vuole sposare;)Serse, Act I a1 ma ‘kista_ ‘sempre se mispozar —morrir ma —_chista_ sempre "Se misposar, — morir." but she always says: "If youmarry me, I will die. (ma quella sempre dice: "Se mi sposi, io morré.") AMASTRE ma romilda ‘ama il re Ma Romilda = ama il, Re? But — Romilda Toves the king? ELVIRO no ma, fratello kaver ‘nome arsamene No, ma fratello, ch'aver nome Arsamene. No, but (his) brother, who has (the) name Arsamene. (called Arsamene.) (No, ma ama il fratello del Re, che si chiama Arsamene.) AMASTRE e kwesto ‘forse i dolor swoi le 'skrive E questo forse i dolor suoi le scrive? ‘And — this man, perhaps, (of) the grief his writes her? (And this fellow has perhaps written her of his grief?) i star de'vina Abimé! Ti star devina? Alas! You are _a fortune teller? (Ahimé! Sei forse divinatrice?) (pacing up and down in agitation) Chi voler fiora di bella giardina? AMASTRE, ‘dim mit Tell me! ELVIRO nu saper altro Ni saper altro. Tdon't know anything more, (He paces some more.) Tulipana, gelsomina! AMASTRE, perke mmuttfida il ‘dwols- mayjkava_ ‘solo Perch miuccida —il_——duolo. mancava_— solo So that Imaydie of — grief, there lacked only92 Serse, Act It ‘esser tradita arykora esser tradita ancora. that I be betrayed yet again! ELVIRO Chi voler fiora, fiora! ARIA AMASTRE, or ke sete sperantse —_tradite Or che siete, speranze, _tradite, Now that youare, hopes, betrayed, si fiddsite dame si, _fuggite dame. yes, flee from me. (My hopes, now that you are betrayed, flee from me.) © in kwestanima —oppressa. dal ‘dwoto E in quest'anima oppressa_ = dal_—duolo And inthis soul oppressed by grief ‘resti ‘solo la bella mia fe resti solo bella mia f& etremain only the noble my _ faithfulness. (And may only my noble faithfulness remain in this soul oppressed by grief.) (She exits. Elviro remains, joined soon after by Atalanta.) ELVIRO wel kurjozo © partito 9 ke —_indiskreto Quel curioso & — partito, oh, che —_indisereto! ‘That strange man has left; oh how iscreet (he is)! ‘matt. non som per dirki sekreto Matto non son per dirgli secreto. A fool Lam not to tell him (about) my secret. (X'm not so foolish as to tell him my secret.) (seeing Atalanta approaching) Ja sipnora—atalanta a me sem'vjene 9 "bene LaSignora Atalanta. a me senviene. Oh bene. Lady Atalanta towards me —iscoming. Very good. ARIA ATALANTA a ‘pjandsere—ofpnora amor mi destina A piangere —_ogn'ora Amor mi destina. To weep forever Cupid destines me. (Lam destined by Cupid to weep forever.) ELVIRO (resuming his hawking in bad Italian) Ah! chi voler fiora di bella giardina? Voler giacinta, voler gelsomina?Serse, Act It 93, ATALANTA la vjen -kwa ‘dei ‘aspri_mjei_dotlori ont Vien qua! Degli aspri_ miei dolori Hothere! Come here! Ofthe bitter my pains’ lakute ‘spine adome'rs ko —_fjori Facute spine adornerd co’ fori! sharp thoms Ishall adom with flowers! (I shall adorn the sharp thorns of my grief with flowers!) ELVIRO ma omi ki star Ma mi chi_—_ star? But me who is? (But who do you suppose I am?) (Ma chi son io?) ATALANTA non so Non so. I don't know. ELVIRO mi ben gwardar ben guardar! Me well look at! (Look at me closely!) (Guardatemi bene!) ATALANTA (recognizing him) tu ‘kwivi_ 9 zventurats —‘gwarda ‘bene ke ‘port Tu —quivi? Ossventurato! Guarda bene... Che — porti? You here? Oh, poor man! Be careful... What are you carrying there? ELVIRO ‘porto um fox&> darsaimene allamata_——_romilda Porto un foglio d'Arsamene all'amata —-Romilda. Tmearrying a etter _from Arsamene tohis beloved Romi ATALANTA ame Io pordsi A me —_loporgit To me _ giveit! (Give it to me!) ELVIRO ‘gjelo darete poi Glielo darete poi? Will you to her it sive afterwards? (Will you give it to her afterwards?)94 Serse, Act II ATALANTA si sit Yes! ELVIRO ma dove Ma — dov'8? But where is she? ATALANTA sta ‘nelle ‘stantse sue skrivendo alte Sta nelle stanze sue serivendo —al_— Re. She is inthe rooms hers writing tothe king (She is in her residence, writing to the king.) ELVIRO al remake i'skrive Al Re? Ma che —_gliscrive? The king? But what _is she writing to him? ATALANTA kin lui ‘spera in lui Vive Ch'in lui spera, in lui vive. That in him she hopes, in_—him —_she lives. (That her hopes and her life lie with him.) ELVIRO e —— darsamene E _— d'Arsamene? ‘And what about Arsamene? ATALANTA ‘punto non si so'vvjene Punto non si sovviene. Atall she does not remember. (She doesn't remember him at all!) ELVIRO a tigre imfedele —_tferasta knidele Ah! Tigre infedele, cerasta crudele!? Ah! Tigress unfaithful, viper cruel! (Ah! That unfaithful tigress! That cruel viper!) ? Here we have a perfect example of the difficulty in establishing rules forthe use of the so-alled “unphonetic” Italian vowels e/0. Notice thatthe word fedele and crudele are represented phonetically: [fedele | krudete], one witha closed stressed (e] vowel and the other with an open stressed {e] vowel. Here are two words, ending in the same combination of letters and yet having a different pronunciation. And furthermore we have the exasperating situation that Italians along the boot pronounce their languege differently practically in every province - there is NO CONSISTENCY" ‘This has been proven time and again in conversations I have sustained with educated, highly cultivated Italian colleagues. The advice | have is: consult a GOOD Italian dictionary (Zingarelli, Garzanti) and keep your fingers crossed. Even learned Italians sometimes disagree with their dictionaries! Viva Talia!Serse, Act II 95 ATALANTA parti il = re savvitfina Parti. I Re s'awvicina. Leave. The king _ is approaching. ELVIRO Ah! Chi voler fiora di bella giardina, etc. (He rushes off in haste. Atalanta reads the letter in a low voice. Serse enters.) ATALANTA kon ‘kwesto fokKo. mi fairo kkonttenta (Con questo foglio. mi fard contenta.) (With this letter I'll make myself content.) (This letter will bring me happiness.) ARIA SERSE © torments ‘troppo ‘fiero Ez tormento” troppo fiero, Itis torment —muchtoo harsh lado'rar ‘kruda betta Vadorar cruda_belti, toadore acruel beauty. (He sees Atalanta, pretending to read the letter.) di wel ‘foKfo atlanta Di quel_foglio, Atalanta, Of — that letter, Atalanta, ‘itfe saper Ki arkeni lice saper gi arcani itpermitted to know the secrets? (Atalanta, could I be allowed to know what secrets are contained in that letter?) sa'cam ‘forse amo'rozi Saran forse amorosi? Could they be perhaps amorous? (Could it be a love letter?) 2 See previous footnote No. 2 regarding the inconsistency of e/o vowels in Italian. Here isthe word tormento transcribed phonetically as [tormento] with a closed [e]. However, the word pavento (meaning "fear" — not found in this text) is pronounced {paventa]. Two words, again, ending in the same combination of letters and yet pronounced differently... There are dozens and dozens of words in Italian like these, containing identical spellings that are pronounced differently. Stay on the alert: consult a good dictionary and be ready to accept corrections from an Italian conductor or coach who personally prefers the pronunciation of his city or province. Would that Italian grammarians adopted the simple method of using an accent, thus: pavento/torménto, What a joy that would be! But...it will never happen.96 Serse, Act II ATALANTA © wer ma ‘strat E ver; ma strani. Its true; but peculiar. (but they're strange secrets.) SERSE som piu Son pit Iam more curious. (Lam now even more curious to find out.) ATALANTA ma Ma... But... SERSE ma kke Ma che? But what? ATALANTA io temo mi perdonate To temo... mi perdonate? 1 fear... will you forgive me? SERSE Si Yes. ATALANTA ‘dunkwe leddsete Dunque leggete. Then read. (She hands Serse the letter. Serse looks at the signature.) de sekonda linganno 0 ippudo (eh! seconda Vinganno, —_o ignudo* (Please! second my deceit, oh naked (Please, Cupid, help me out in my deception!) SERSE ‘skrive arsamene Scrive Arsamene. Writes Arsamene. (it’s Arsamene who wrote this.) “ In poetry, Cupid, Amor or Eros (gods of love) are often referred to as the " artfero arciero!) archer!) lind, naked archers, their quiver of arrows ready to inflict blissful stings of love", These arrows in Italian are called strali damore,Serse, Act Il 7 ATALANTA ‘wero E vero! ‘That's right! SERSE (reading in a low voice) allorke nnelllibero —askozoe il ‘sole "Allorché nel'Tberoascoso 2 = il_—sole "When inthe Ebro’ hiding is the ~— sun, (When the sun sets over the Ebro,) vero motumo ‘ove _tallor__-mi‘swole verro notturno, ove talor_-misuole Ishall see at night, as usually Ido, il Taddso balenar di Vostre ‘stelle il raggio balenar di —_-vostre stelle. the rays shining of your stars (the flashing rays of your eyes.) vi a dispetto di matipna ‘sorte Wi, a dispetto di maligna sorte, There, in spite of adverse fate, > sao ‘wostr © ppur sao ddi ‘morte 0 sar’ vostro oppur sard di morte.") either Ishall be yours orelse I shall die.") a ki skrive arsaimene A chi serive Arsamene? To — whom writes ‘Arsamene? ATALANTA a mme A ome To me. SERSE a wo A voi? To you? ATALANTA vi zde'ppate Vi sdegnate? Does it anger you? SERSE stuipisko ma 'se&Ki ‘ama romilda Stupisco. Ma s'egli ama Romilda? Tam bewildered, But doeshenot love _Romilda? river flows. Arsamene imagines that his exile will ake him far off into Spain, in Westem Europe, where the Ebro98 Serse, Act It ATALANTA no sipnor ‘ella ben ‘lama No, Signor, ella bent'ama, No, my lord, she loves him very much, ma lui findse damarla ma Iui_—_finge d'amarla, but he pretends to love her, affinke ‘kkwjeta non 'sturbi il 'nostro amore affinché quieta non sturbi il nostro amore. so that (she will keep) quiet (and) not interfere with our love. SERSE ‘strana aventura ‘godisi mio ‘kore Strana avventur god mio core! Strange conniving isenjoying my _ heart! (My heart is enjoying this strange adventure!) ATALANTA ‘dunkwe vi prego 9 re se_—_—_lapprovate Dunque vipreg, 0 Re, se_approvate, Therefore Ibegyou, oh King, if you approve, ke ‘pubbliko ——_imeneo Io fattfa mio che pubblico —_imeneo lo faccis mio. that a public marriage make him = mine. SERSE ‘bella fara kke sia Vostro. "spozo Bella, fard che sia vostro sposo Lovely lady, Ishall'see that_—hebe either your groom, > preda allica mia 0 preda all'ira mia, or aprey to my ire, ARIA ATALANTA dira kamor per me Dira ch'amor perme He will say that love for me Piaigato il kor non dja iagato cor nongliha, wounded his._—heart_hasnt. (He will tell you that love hasn't wounded his heart for me.) (He will tell you that Cupid's darts haven't pierced his heart on my account.) ma non fi'date fe ‘kei findsendo va Ma non glidate f8, —_ch'egli fingendo va. But don't believehim, forhe pretending is, (But do not believe him, for he is just pretending.)Serse, Act It SERSE voi kwel ‘fokKo lalffate a meer Voi quel foglio lasciate a me per You that letter leave to meas (Leave me that letter as proof.) ATALANTA ‘bella frode se ‘dsova (Bella frode, se giova.) (A fine ruse, i it works!) SERSE itene ‘pure Itene pure. You may leave. ATALANTA ma virikordo Ma viricordo... But I remind you... SERSE eke Eche? What? ARIA ATALANTA dita kke nom —maimo Dira che non m'amd, He will say that never he has loved me, ke mai per me_—_lanjgwi che mai per me —_langul, that never for me —_he languished, ma non kredete no ke findsera ma —_noneredete, no, che finger but donot believe him, no, ‘for 99 ‘prova Prova. proof. kozi cosi. he will pretend like that. (for he will just continue to pretend.) (She exits. Enter Romilda. Serse hands her Arsamene's letter.) SERSE ingannata —_romilda ‘ekko leddsete ‘dite poi Ingannata —_-Romilda!_—_Ecco, leggete, dite poi Deceived Romilda! Here, read; tell me later se arsdmene amar dovete se Arsamene amar dovete. if Arsamene love __you should. (whether you should (continue to] love Arsamene.)100 Serse, Act I ROMILDA ‘lego Leggo. I'm reading. SERSE ne vi zde'ppate Ne vi sdegnate? Youarent outraged? ROMILDA aki skrive A chi serive? To — whom ishe writing? SERSE ‘alla sua ‘kara atalanta Alla sua cara Atalanta, To his beloved Atalanta; sapete asa io nom ‘mento sapete gi, io non mento. youknow already, I donotlie ROMILDA (aside) nom muttfider tormento (Non m'uecider, tormento!) (Do not kill me, oh] torment!) SERSE ke farete Che — farete? What will you do? ROMILDA pian'dsendo oppor Piangendo —_ognor vivra. Weeping forever I shall live. SERSE lame'rete L'amerete? Will you love him? ROMILDA lame'ro L'amerd. I shall love him. SERSE eppur ‘sempre vi tradi E pur sempre vitradi. And yet always he betrayed you.Serse, Act Il 101 ROMILDA ‘Jempja ‘sorte vwol kozi L’empia sorte vuol cosi. Cruel fate wishes it thus, SERSE se bem fjers._vingatnno lamerete Se ben fiero v'ingannd, Vamerete? If so cruelly he has deceived you, will you still love him? ROMILDA L'amerd. ARIA SERSE se bramate damar ki vizdeppa Se bramate ——d'amar chi visdegna, If youinsist —onloving_—— who. scoms you, (a man who scoms you,) vwo 2depparvi ma ‘kome non s9 vu sdegnarvi, ma come, non so. Twant to scom you(as well), but how, Ido not know. Ja vostra ira krudel me lin'sepna La vostra ira erudel me segna, Your ire cruel tome itteaches, (Your fiery rage shows me how.) ‘tento Yarlo e —— kwestalma nom pwo tento farlo e€ quest'alma —_non pud. Ty (0) doit, but my soul cannot. (Serse exits. Romilda remains alone.) ROMILDA lame'ro nom fia ‘vero ‘amerd? Non fia vero. Shall [still love him? Let itnot be true. amante traditor sotella imjfida Amante traditor, _—_sorella infidat Lover traitor, sister deceiving! godete di mie ‘pene "barbara mentsoipnero Godete di mie pene... Barbara! Menzognero! Relish my suffering... Barbarous woman! Lying man! 'amerd? Non fia vero. ma voi_-ke~—delirante——me askoltate Ma voi, che —delirante_ —me ascoltate, But you, who inmy frenzy hear me,102 Serse, Act It bramate bramate you are anxious ‘ora ora now ki ssia chi sia? who itmay be? (But you two, who hear me in my frenzy, perhaps wish to know the reason for my pitiless ‘forse sa'per forse saper pethaps to know Ja mia ‘furja krudele la mia furia crudele my — fury pitiless rage?) ARIA ROMILDA 2 dselozia ‘kwella E gelosia quella tis jealousy, that. ke tanto afffanna che tanto affanna that so afflicts del suo —_veleno Del suo —_veleno With its poison © mikondanna a © micondanna a and —condemnsme to anna tirana, tyrant, ‘anima, mia Yanima mia, this soul of mine. masperse il ‘seno m'asperse il seno, ithas sprinkled my bosom, ‘pena ria pena ria asuffering awful (She exits. Enter Amastre, about to kill herself, followed by Elviro.) AMASTRE dga ke il dwol nom mutifide muttfida ——‘kwesto ‘ferro Gia che it duol non m'uccide, m'uceida questo ferro. Since prief cannot kill me, letitkill me this sword. (let this sword kill me.) ELVIRO (holding her back) iba ke ‘fate penisate Ohiba, che fate? Pensate, Goodness, what are you doing? Think, se mivolete —‘kredere vivete sol se mivolete —_eredere, vivete sol if youmewish tobelieve, stay alive only (if you wish to believe me,) per bem mandsar =e = bevere per ben many © bevere, to well eat and drink. (to enjoy good food and drink.)Serse, Act It 103 AMASTRE, via su pria di morire Via si, pria di morire Let's 20, before dying, a kwellalma —krudel_korrjamo a dire a quell'alma—crudel corriamo =a dire to that soul cruel Ietusrun to. say: (I've decided; before dying I shall go to that cruel Serse and tell him:) ARIA AMASTRE, ‘anima infida tra‘dita io ‘sono Anima infida, tradita io sono. Soul unfaithful, betrayed Tam. vient muitfida io ti perdono Vien, tu m'uceida, io _—_—ttiperdono. Come, (you) kill me, T forgive you. (Oh Serse, you unfaithful man, you've betrayed me. Kill me, and I shall forgive you.) (She leaves in a fury. Elviro stays and Arsamene enters soon after.) ELVIRO © ppattso affe EB paz affe! He's crazy, by my faith! ARSAMENE (entering) EWiro.. ELVIRO voi wi sippor furddsamo Voi qui, Signor? Fuggiamot You here, mylord? —Letus flee! ARSAMENE ke ti disse romilda Che tidisse Romilda? What saidto you Romilda? ELVIRO ad atallanta ‘djedi il foo © © mi ‘disse Ad Atalanta —diedi_‘il_~—foglio, emi disse, To Atalanta Tgave the letter, and she told me ke lavostra = ro'milda amava il re che Invostra. ~—-Romilda. = amava il §~— Re, that your Romilda loved the king, ke tava a lui skrivends che — stava a tui serivendo. that she was to him writing, (and was writing to him.)104 Serse, Act I ARSAMENE, “nnera imfedeltate 9 'mostro orrendo Di nera infedeltate omostro —_—orrendo! Of _ blackest infidelity oh monster horrendous! (Oh most horrendous monster of blackest infidelity!) ma nom “bene _interidesti parla a = me Ma, non bene _intendesti? Parla a me. But, not well you understood? Speak to me, (But have you misunderstood?) ELVIRO vo ‘detts da ‘kama eke ‘skrive al re Viho detto gia, ch'ama e che — serive al Re Ivetold you already that she loves and that she's writing the king. ke vollete di pju Che — volete di pit? What do you want more? ARSAMENE forse skerso Forse scherzi? Perhaps she was jesting? ELVIRO dio ‘parls ‘woppo da ‘wero ‘Ohibat Parlo troppo da vero. Oh dear! Te spoken toomuch in truth, (Lthink I've said too much already!) ARSAMENE 0 di tigre. krudel ‘kore ju fjero © — di_— tigre crudel core pid’ fiero! Oh, ofa tiger cruel aheart more savage! (Oh [Romilda, you have] a more savage heart than that of a cruel tigress!) ARIA ARSAMENE ‘kowella ke tutta fe perme laygwia damore Quett che tutta perme Janguia d'amore, That woman, who all faith forme languished with love, (That woman, faith incarnate, who so languished in love for me,) mo ke ju mia none no, che pit mia none, no, for nolonger_ mine she is, perduto > il ‘kore perduto ho il core. lost Thave the heart (Ihave lost her heart.)Serse, Act IT ke pensa iltfel ke fifa Che pensa illciel che fa’ What thinks heaven that she will do? (What does heaven imagine she will do?) non sa kol suo —_rigore Non sa col suo —_rigore Does itnotknow, in. — its severity punir Ki reo_ssemvadi tanto punir chi reo senva di tanto topunish he who guilty is of ~— such 105 errore errore. transgression? (Does [heaven] in its severity not know how to punish a guilty person for such transgressions?) (Arsamene and Elviro exit.) (The scene changes to a bridge built with adjoining boats, linking Asia to Europe on the Hellespont. Along the shore is Serse’s camp. There is a storm at sea with thunder and lightning over the bridge.) CHORUS OF SAILORS la virtute sol potea ‘dsundser——tazja Lavirtute sol potea_giunger TAsia Genius alone could connect Asia ‘viva ‘serse Viva Serset Longlive _Serse! SERSE (to Ariodate) Ariodate! ARIODATE, sippore Signore. My lord, SERSE del ‘mare ad ‘onta € sin. del Del mare ad onta e — sin del Ofthe sea in spite and even _of the (In spite of the {turbulent] sea and the fickle wind) ‘seppi ‘dgunser aykor ‘sesto ad seppi giunger ancor Sesto ad Imanaged to unite again Sestos to allaltra iva alaltra riva, with the other shore. ‘vento vento wind imfido abido ‘Abide. Abydos. ® Sestos and Abydos are the two ancient cities on opposite sides of the Hellespont (now called the Dardanelles), the strait joining the Sea of Marmara and the Aegean Sea which separate Europe from Asia.106 tu vane ‘pronts Tu vane pronto You go quickly ARIODATE ubbiditro Ubbidird. I shall obey. SERSE pria ‘della ‘tertsa Prin della terza Before the third in europa in Europa to —_ Europe Serse, Act I ad ordinar le skjere ad ordinar le schiere. to assemble the_-—ranks. aurora di pa'ssar aurora di pasar dawn of crossing el mio volere #1 mio volere. is my wish. (My wish is to cross into Europe before the [break of] the third day.) ARIODATE per essempjo Per — essempio Asan example kon katratteri con caratteri with letters de redsi_ itwoi glotjozi ‘predsi de’ Regi tuoi gloriosi pregi to kings, your glorious merits dor Ja fama ‘skriva aor Ja fama seriva. of gold fame let write. (As an example to [future] kings, may fame write of your glorious merits in golden letters.) CHORUS La virtute sol potea, etc. (Ariodate and soldiers exit. Arsamene enters.) ARIA ARSAMENE per dar fine Per dar fine To — putan end ki mizvena chi misvena’ who will kill me, SERSE arsamene ‘ove Arsamene, ove Arsamene, where ” Svenare, literally, "rip out my vei ‘alla mia alla mia to my per —pjeta per pieti? for _pity’s sake? andate andate? are you going? "and, by extension, “kill”. This is strictly a poetic form. Ammazzare and uccidere are the current verb forms.Serse, Act It 107 ARSAMENE aber ‘onda di ete sol per skordarmi A ber onda di Lete, 1 per scordarmi To drink the water of Lethe," only to forget ke fratel mi ‘sjete che — fratel mi siete. that abrother youre tome. SERSE ‘Yfessi. lo zdenpo Cessi_ lo sdegno. Cease this anger. ARSAMENE e im voila tira’nnia Ein voi_letirannia, And in you tyranny. (And you, stop being a tyrant.) SERSE ‘VoK&o. spo'zarvi al bel ke vinna'mora Voglio sposarvi al bel che v'innamora, Iwish to marry you off tothe lovely woman whom you love. ARSAMENE, emi skernite arjkora E _mischernite ancora? So are you mocking me still? SERSE so di kwal_fjamma ardete So di qual fiamma ardete. Tknow with what flame you burn, (I know whom you love so ardently.) (Lknow for whom you're carrying a torch.) ‘lessi_ le vostre ‘note imjvan tatfete Lessi_le vostre note. Invan tacete. Tread your letter. Itsuseless to keep silent. ARSAMENE (aside) a keromilda’ 9 ddei mostro il mio ‘fokKo (Ah! che Romilda, 0 Dei, mostrd i mio fogtio! (Ah! Romilda, oh gods, she showed him my letter!) ed or ke ~— I komfesso. € © ke da 1p sapete Ed or _che__loconfesso? ~E che _— gid lo sapete? ‘And now that Tconfessit? And that already you know it? * Lethe, the river of oblivion in the lower world, a drink of whose water brought forgetfulness.108 Serse, Act Il SERSE per kon'sorte —davrete Per consorte —ravrete. Fora wife ‘you shall have her. ARSAMENE ‘ora latffate kio vi batfi la man Ora lasciate vi baci la Now allow may kiss your hand. SERSE ‘tanto lamate Tanto Tamate? So much you love her? ARSAMENE piu ke = lanima mia Pid che ‘anima mia. More than my own soul. SERSE ke non ditfeste ria Che nol diceste pria? Why didn't yousayso before? ‘ambo in un ‘stesso di ambo in un __ stesso di, both ofus, on the same day, di ro'milda di Romilda. 1, (the) bridegroom of -——_-Romilda... ARSAMENE ed io di ki Ed io di chi? And I of whom? SERSE datalanta D'Atalanta. Of Atalanta, ARSAMENE e —-kozi voi mingannate E —cosi_ voi m'ingannate? And thus you deceive me? (Do you think you can deceive me like this?) SERSE so ke atallanta amate So che Atalanta, amate. Tknow that Atalanta you love,Serse, Act It 109 ARSAMENE ‘amo romilda ‘Amo Romilda. Tlove Romilda. SERSE © nom findsete piu Eh! non fingete pit Oh, dont _ pretend any longer! (enough pretending!) ARSAMENE, ‘dunkwe romilda a me _—_non kontfeddete Dunque Romilda a ~—sme_—_non concedete? Then Romilda to me_—_-you will not grant? SERSE Ib s0 non la volete Loso: non la volete. Tknow it; youdon't want her. ARIA ARSAMENE si la'voké9 = ela otter Si, lavoglio, e ~—Anotterrd. Yes, Iwanther and ‘I shall have her. ese illtfel per me non ‘splende Ese _ileiel per me —_ non splende, And if heaven upon me will not shine, ‘Kempi ‘mostri © tombre otrende gliiem mostri e Hombre orrende the evil monsters and _—the ghosts_-»—_—horrendous di kotfito imvokers di Cocito invocherd. of Cocytus? I shall invoke. (He exits. Enter Atalanta and Serse-) ATALANTA (to Serse) vigkino ettfelso Vrinchino, _eccelso Tow to you, supreme SERSE nego arsamene Negd ‘Arsamene Denied Arsamene re Re. King. ‘dessere dessere being ‘vostro a'mante vostro amante, in love with you, ° The river of lamentations; one of the five rivers in Hades.110 Serse, Act IT © per romilda sol ‘effi © ——_‘kostante e per Romilda —sol_—egli_« @ ~—costante. and for Romilda alone he is constant. (seems only to be true to Romilda.) ‘dunkwe da wer nom vama_ Dunque daver non vam: Therefore, in truth he doesn't love you; e voi laffate disoffrir —tante ‘pene © voi, —_lasciate disoffrir ante pene and you, avoid suffering such anguish e© non enon by not loving him. ARIA ATALANTA voi mi ke non lami Voi midite che non 'ami, You tell me that I shouldn't love him, ma non ‘dite se potro ma non dite se potrd. but youdonotsay if Twill be able to do so. ‘woppo ‘belle son le ‘stelle Troppo belle son le stelle, Far too lovely are the stars, (eyes) kal suo volto il tfel dono ch'al volto ilciel dond, which to his face heaven granted; “woppo ‘stretti ‘troppo ‘sono kwei_le'gami troppo stretti, troppo sono quel legami too tight, fartoo tight are those bonds ‘onde amor minkateno onde amor m'incatend. with which love has enchained me. (She exits) SERSE saia lieve ‘oni ‘doxka Saria lieve ogni doglia, Would be bearable every pain, se potesse un amante se _potesse un amante if could a loverSerse, Act Il Mm amare dizamar ‘sempre a sua voKKa amar e — disamar sempre a sua —_vogtia. Jove and fall out of love always at his) leisure, (Every pain would be bearable if lover could always fall in love and out of love at his leisure.) ARIA SERSE ‘kore ‘spera_e = 'temepenando. = oppor. koi Tl core spera e — teme penando —ognor cosi, ‘The heart hopes and fears, suffering always like this: se gode'ra in amore saper agjkor nom pwo se godera in amore, saper ancor non pud. if itwillrejoice in love; to know yet it cannot. (My heart lives in hope and fear, never knowing if love will bring any pleasure.) To'kjeggo alla mia_—_‘speme ‘ella mi ‘ditfe si Lochieggo alla mia_speme, ella midice si, Task (of) my __ beloved, she tells me "yes"; ma ‘freddo timore ‘sento ke dite 9 ma poi_freddo timore sento che dice no. but then icy fear ‘Tfeel that tells me “no”. (but then in icy fear I feel that she tells me "no". (He exits. Enter Elviro.) ELVIRO me imfelitfe 29 zmatrito il mio padrone Meinfelice, ho smarrito —ilmio._padrone! Unhappy me, Ihave lost my — master! ma mi komfesso ‘reo som ‘pattso_affe Ma miconfesso reo, son pazzo afe, But —_Tconfess myself guilty; Tm crazy by my faith! (But its my fault;) ‘ekki a zmatito, «sme Egii ha smarrito. me, He has lost me. ‘forse per ‘kwesto'ponte ei se ne ado Forse per questo ponte ei se ne andd? Maybe by this bridge he has taken off? no kio.—_nol ‘vedo 9 No, ch'io nol vedo, no. No, forl cannot see him, no. ma wal adombra. il, tfel_—_‘nubilo oskuro Ma = qual_adombr: il ciel nubilo oscuro! But what _ blackens the sky —acloud dark? (dark cloud is blackening the sky?)112 Serse, Act II ‘sento ke ‘londe ‘fremono Sento che I'onde fremono, Thear that thewaves _are crashing, ‘sento ke —larja‘sibila son restato alloskuro sento che l'aria sibila; son restato all'oscuro, Thear that the air whistles; Thave remained in the dark. (Thear the wind howling;) ‘voKKo im fretta Vogtio in fretta; want in ahurry; si'spettsa il ‘ponte si spezza il ponte, it's falling apart, the bridge, ate fa kor gamibetta ate, fa cor, _gambetta. asforme, take heart, I'm gonna shake a leg. (The bridge is breaking up; I think I'll just scurry off.) perke mneimiko al_~—smio._—_tempera‘mento Perch nemico al mio. temperamento Because inimical to my temperament © lakkwozo elemento 2 Tacquoso elemento. is the aqueous element. (Because water is repulsive to me.) ARIA” ELVIRO del mio ‘karo. ‘bakko amabile Del mio caro Bacco amabile Of my —dear__-Bacchus friendly nellimpero suo __potabille ‘amo ‘solo dabitar nellimpero suo _potabile amo solo d'abitar. inthe empire his potable Tlove solely to dwell (Lonly like to dwell in my dear friend Bacchus’ drinkable empire.) lakkwa ‘rende ipokon'driako L'acqua rende ipocondriaco, Water tums you into a hypochondriac, ilbom vin sin nel ddzodiako ilbon vin sin nel zodiaco good wine into the zodiac "© This aria should be sung in the "buf¥o" style ofthe later operas of Rossini or Donizetti, as the character dictates, . The singer should adopt the comical vocal production assiciated with such characters as Duleamara (L'Elisir d'amore), Bartolo (I! Barbiere di Siviglia), or Taddeo (L'Ttaliana in Alger)Serse, Act Il 13 Jamia testa fa inaltsar Iamia testa fa inalzar. my — head causes to lift. (but good wine lifts your spirits to the stars of the zodiac!) (He exits. The scene changes to a secluded place nearby. Serse is on one side and Amastre on the other.) DUET SERSE gram ‘pena © dselozia Gran pena & — gelosia, A great torment is jealousy, AMASTRE, lo sa ilmio kor pja'gato Losa il mio cor —_piagato, Itknows it my heart wounded, (My wounded heart knows it full well,) SERSE per ‘altri io son sprettsato per altri fo son sprezzato, for anotherman 1 am spumed, AMASTRE, pec ‘altri anjkio tradita per altri anch'io tradita, for another woman Tam also betrayed, SERSE e — lamia fe skernita e — lamia @ —schernita, and my — faith scomed, AMASTRE, skernita © ‘alma mia schernita, = @ = V'alma mi seomned is mysoul. SERSE, AMASTRE Gran pena & gelosia. SERSE AMASTRE, SERSE ‘aspra ‘sorte ‘empje ‘stelle 2 romilda kruidel Aspra sorte! Empie stelle! © — Romilda —_erudel! Bitter fate! Wicked stars! Oh —_Romilda cervel! AMASTRE, SERSE AMASTRE, ‘serse rubelle ki parla un imfelitfe Serse rubelle! Chi parla? Un infelice. Callous Serse! Who _ is talking? ‘An unhappy man.4 Serse, Act It SERSE e Kosei tw E chi sei tu? And who are you? AMASTRE, uy ke viservi in gwerrae —fui_—fetrito Un che —_viservi in guerrae —ful_—ferito. One who served you in.» war aand- was wounded. SERSE wok tornar a servirmi ‘Vuoi tornar a servirmi? Would you comeback to.-—_serve me? AMASTRE SERSE {fi pense'ro perke Ci penserd. Perche? Tl think about it Why? AMASTRE, perke nom vwo —servir ‘sentsa mertfe Perch non vud servir senza mere’. Because Ido not wish to serve without reward. SERSE ke ijgrato Che? Mi trovasti ingrato? What? You found me (to be) ungrateful? AMASTRE, son rimasto ingannats Son rimasto ingannato. Te been deceived. SERSE (seeing Romilda approaching) ma sem'vjene il mio. ben ‘skostati (Ma sen viene il mio_ ben.) Scostatis (But she'scoming, my beloved.) Go away appresso noi parlerem == ‘tengo un affar_kimiporta appresso —noi_—parlerem. Tengo un —affar_ch'importa. Afterwards we will tak. Thave a matter that is important. ritomi a me Ritornia — me_ in breviore. Retum to me soon. AMASTRE. tome'ro pper tua ‘pena 9 traditore (Tornerd per tua_—_pena, o traditore!) (Iwill retum for your punishment, oh betrayer!) (She withdraws to one side, Romilda enters.)Serse, Act II 115 SERSE romilda © sara wer ke ‘sempre Romilds, e sara ver, che sempre Romilda, and canitbe tue that forever im 'vano ‘piandser mi laffe'rete ke ‘dite rispontdete in vano pianger mi lascerete? Che dite? _Rispondete! in vain weeping you will leaveme? What say you? Answer me! ARIA ROMILDA val piu kontento kore Val pit contento—core, Is worth mote acontented heart ke ‘kwanto il ‘mondo aiduna che quanto il mondo aduna, than all that the — world contains. (A contented heart is worth more than all of the world's riches.) pju val um — ben damore Pid val un ben @'amore, More is worth one happiness of love, ke ‘tfento di fortuna che —cento di fortuna, than ahundred of fortune, (A single happy love is worth more than a hundred happy fortunes.) SERSE ywo ‘kabbjam fine. imjei_ dolor i Vud ch'abbian fine imiei_dolori Iwant that there bean end tomy pain immense. (to the immense pain {I suffer].) ROMILDA SERSE la'ffate kio tfipensi no ‘datemi la destra Lasciate ch'io ci pensi. No, — datemi la destrat Let me think about it. No, give me your right hand! AMASTRE (suddenly appearing) ala fermate kil re —_vigganna on! Fermate, ch'il, “Re —_v'inganna! Hothere! Stop, forthe king is deceiving you! SERSE kardimento € ——_‘kwesto Ch'ardimento & questo? What daring is this? (How dare you?) (to his soldiers)116 Serse, Act II olla kon'dotto sia in oskura ola Condotto = sia. in._—oscura Youthere! Led. hebe into adark (Lead this man into the darkest dungeon!) AMASTRE (drawing her sword ready to defend herself) morito Morird Iwill die importuna _‘strano disturbo ‘Temerita importuna! Strano disturbo! ‘Temerity (most) importunate! Strange disturbance! (What bothersome boldness!) (Gerse leaves in anger. The soldiers set upon Amastre, who defends herself) ROMILDA > mia ‘bona fortuna (O mia bona fortuna!) (Oh, my good fortune!) (to the soldiers) tfessate lla Cessate, olat Stop, you there! (The soldiers stop fighting.) © woi ‘prode gwerrjero —_riponete kwel ‘brands E voi, prode guerriero, —_riponete. —quel_—brando; And you, brave warrior, sheathe your sword; (to the soldiers, as they exit) ‘ite approvera—‘serse il mio_kommando ite, approvera —Serse il mio commando. 0; shall approve Serse my command. (erse shall approve my orders.) AMASTRE la fortuna la vitae © ‘esser mio La fortuna, la vita, e — esser My — fate, my life. and my very being in etems obligato in eterno obligato. in all eternity obliged. (are grateful to you forever.)Serse, Act It 7 ROMILDA ite nom vifermate ke se vernisse. il re Ite, non vifermatet_ Che sevenisse il ~—Re. Go, donot tarry! For — if'shouldcome the king. ‘ditemi ‘solo ke —vinidusse. = del re Ditemi solo, che viindusse del_—-Re Tell me one thing, what induced you of the king. a sturbar le vokke a sturbar Ie voglie? to disturb the wishes? (what induced you to provoke the king's anger?) AMASTRE, perke wivwol ——sfortsar ‘desserki ‘mote Perche vi vuol sforzar d'essergli __-moglie Because he wants to force you to be his wife e — fjamme piu graidite ‘vardono il sen © —— fiamme pit gradite vardono il sem. and flames more pleasant are buming in your bosom. (while another loving flame bums in your bosom.) ROMILDA partite Partite. Leave, (Amastre leaves.) ARIA ROMILDA ki ‘fede Chi cede Whoever bows amante no ne amante non & loving isnot. (The woman who bows t triomfa in Trionfa in Ittriumphs in Jimvitia vitta the unvanquished al furore di ‘stelle nubelle al furore di stelle rubelle, tothe fury of stars treacherous, 1 treacherous fate's fury cannot know the meaning of love.) amore del ato spjetato amore del fato _spietato love ofthe fate pitiless mia fe mia fe. my — faith, (My unvanquished faithfulness triumphs in love, scoming pitiless fate.) END OF ACT IL118 Serse, Act II ACTIN Sinfonia (A gallery. Arsamene, Elviro, Romilda.) ARSAMENE ‘sono ‘vani i pretesti Sono vani i pretesti. Are vain the —_pretexts. ROMILDA si ad atalanta skrivesti Si, ad Atalanta serivesti. Yes, to Atalanta you wrote. ARSAMENE ROMILDA ROMILDA/ARSAME! elvicoparle'ra si atalanta dita amare ‘pene Elviro parlera. Si, Atalanta ira, (Oh amare pen Elviro will tak Yes, Atalanta will talk, (Ohbitter grief) ROMILDA ‘ekko atatlanta ‘vjene Ecco Atalanta —_viene! Here, Atalanta is coming! (Atalanta enters.) ATALANTA ai skoperty. «=e jganno eke fatto (Ahi Scoperto 2 inganno! Eche fard?) (Woe! Discovered is myddeceit! + What _ shall Ido?) ELVIRO “brut imbroai_ soy kwesti Brutti imbrogli son questi! Unpleasant mess is this! 2 la febbre e la votfe Ho la __febbre, ela voce. Thave a fever, and my voice, (to Atalanta) de sipnora ‘dite per karita Deh, Signora, dite per carita, Please, my lady, tell (them) for charity's sake kwel ke ditfeste ame quel che — diceste ame. that which you told (to) me.Serse, Act I ATALANTA ‘dissi_romilda ‘skrive ed ‘ama Dissi: Romilda serive ed ama Isaid: Romilda wrote and loves 9 i re Re. the king. (Romilda loves the king and wrote to him.) ARSAMENE ke volete di pju Che — volete di pia? What do you want more? (more do you want?) ROMILDA ‘dunkwe ingannate Dunque ingannate? ‘Then you lied? ATALANTA ‘piano nom vadirate ‘dissi Piano, non v'adirate! Dissi Easy does it! Don't get angry! Tsaid per far partire il ‘servo per far partire il servo, to make leave the servant, kozi cosi, that ke voleva parlarvi che —voleva_parlarvi. who wanted to speak to you. (Lonly said that in order to make the servant go away, because he wanted to speak to you.) ROMILDA segwite pur som ‘pronta ad askoltarvi Seguite pur, son pronta ad —_ascoltarvi. Go on; Tam ready to listento you. ATALANTA serse mi sopraddsunse === preze il = fokko, Serse misopraggiunse e ——prese ‘il_—_—foglio. Serse caughtup withme and took the —_letter. (to Arsamene) io per dsovarvi dissi To per giovarvi dissi 1, imorderto help you out, said: © skrito a= mme mi finsi aimante @ — seritto'a me, _—mifinsi amante, itwas written to me; _—Tpretended _to be the loved one, ed ingainnato il re ed hoingannato il = Re. and Imisled the king,120 Serse, Act IIT ARSAMENE or ke ite romilda Or che dite, Romilda? Now what do youhave to say, Romilda?” ROMILDA Or che dite, Arsamene? ARSAMENE ke vaidoro Che v'adoro, That —Tadore you! ROMILDA ke ‘siete. il karo ‘bene. Che siete il caro__bene! You are my dear _beloved! (They embrace.) (to Atalanta) ‘fate atallanta pur 'kwanto salpete Fate Atalanta pur, quanto sapete: You do, Atalanta, whatever you wish; arsamene il mio ben nom mi torrete Arsamene —ilmio_ ben non mi torrete! ‘Arsamene my —_ beloved one _you shall not take from me! ARIA ATALANTA. momma se. tu mii sprettsi No, mo, se tu_—_—smisprezzi, No, no, if you_scormme, motir nomvwo = nonin morir non vud no, no. todie Idonot wish, no, no. fo ‘tferti ‘vettsi kol mis Fo certi_ vezi col mio Tiluse some coquettish glances with my kun ‘altro aimante trovar ch'un altro amante trovar and another lover to find (Il know how to find myself another lover.) (Atalanta exits. Romilda and Arsamene remain, followed. sembjante sembiante, face, saipro saprd. Til know how. ‘soon after by Elviro and Serse.)Serse, Act IIT 121 ROMILDA (to Arsamene) ‘ekko in ‘seppo di fe=— sa ‘destra amika Ecco, segno di f@ = In_—destra amica. Here, as token of faith, my righthand friendly. (Here, take my right hand as token of my faithfulness.) ELVIRO ‘ekko ‘serse Ecco Serse. Here's Serse! ARSAMENE 2 ke JJa'gura Oh, che —sciagurat Oh, — what misfortune! ELVIRO ed io —_vaspetterro fwor ‘delle ‘mura Ed io —_v'aspetterd fuor delle mura. And Twill wait for you outside the city walls. ROMILDA (to Arsamene) naskoridetevi Nascondetevi. Go hide. ARSAMENE (hiding, as Serse enters) p'sorte ‘Oh sorte! Oh fate! SERSE ke Che What a kwel gwe'rjero. doar la libertate a quel guerriero = donar la Iibertate? to that warrior to grant his freedom? ROMILDA illsuo valore suo valore. His valor. SERSE ‘tutto potete © vostro il repino Tutto potete, @ vostro il ~—_regno, Anything youmay do; is yours. my kingdom el ‘kore da ‘siete mia redsina el core. Gia siete mia Regina. and my heart. Afterall, youare my queen.122 ROMILDA sinnor Signor, My lord, SERSE de Deh! ‘Ont non Non Don't ROMILDA negara Negard Tshall deny SERSE ‘frandger Franger To break down Serse, Act Ill ‘volo tantalts © gran rovina volo tantalto = @ == gran_rovina, a flight so high isa great nuin (to aspire to such heights would be my ruin.) ne'gate piu negate pid. deny any longer. ‘ssempre sempre. always. io ben satpro intentdete rommilda io ben saprd... intendete, Romilda? I well knowhow... do you understand, Romilda? (know how to break down [your obstinacy]...do you understand me, Romilda?) ROMILDA (aside) ai ke fara che fara?) what will he do [to me?]) SERSE nom partiro ssc pria ‘basta ke ‘dite Non partird se che dite? T shall not leave if What do you say? ROMILDA ke del mio dgenitor lassenso Che del mio genitor Vassenso. That from my — father the consent. SERSE © ppoi ke ‘dubbjo ve E poi che — dubbio v'e? ‘And afterwards, what doubt is there? (And after he consents, what doubt is there [that you will accept my proposal]?) ROMILDA ubbidiro il mio re Ubbidirs —iltmio Re. Ishall obey my —_ king. SERSE ‘vado a ‘Kjederlo © intanto Vado a chiederlo, ~ ¢ ~—_—intanto Tam going to askhim, and — meanwhile,Serse, Act II 123, mi ‘stillo in “dsoja mi stillo in gioia, Ishall drip with joy. (I shall rejoice in my good fortune.) ROMILDA ed io mi struggo im pjanto (Ed io mistruggo in pianto.) (And 1 shall consume myself in tears.) ARIA SERSE per ‘rendermi beats ‘parto_velttsoze ‘stelle Per rendermi —_beato arto, vezzose stelle, Inorderto be happy, Igo, graceful stars, € ppoi pupille ‘belle a woi_—ritorne'ro epol, upille belle, a voi ritornerd. andthen, my lovely eyes, to you I shall return, (Romilda of the lovely eyes,) farfalla al vostro lume il ‘Kore innamorato Farfalla al vostro lume, il core innamorato butterfly at _—your_ light, my heart enamored ardendo Je sue ‘pjume fenitfe io skordsero ardendo ——lesue_piume fenice io scorgerd. aflame its feathers (as a) phoenix 1 shall become. (My enamored heart is like a butterfly [captivated] by your light, and I shall become as a phoenix risen anew, feathers aflame.) (Serse exits. Arsamene and Romilda remain alone.) ARSAMENE ubbidiro almio re 0 ~— ke _—_‘timpids amor ‘Ubbidird. © almio Re?" Oh, che _limpido amor, “Ishall obey my — king?" Oh, what pure love, ke ‘bella fe che bella fe! what lovely faith! ROMILDA (half in a faint, held up by her ladies-in-waiting) ai kio mi moro Ahit —ch'io Ah! Tam ARSAMENE Romilda?124 Serse, Act IIT ROMILDA (ina faint) vi fermate ‘Vi fermate! Stop! ARSAMENE Romilda? ROMILDA andate ‘see il re sovvelnirmi—potra Andate, Serse il Re sowvenirmi —_potra, Go; Serse the king remindme _will be able ‘kwando muttfidera quando m'uceiderd. when he will kill me. (Go; Serse the king will be able to remind me when he kills me.) ARSAMENE ‘tanto movdjate Tanto m'odiate? So much you hate me? ROMILDA ‘tanto vaidoro addio vilaffo Tanto v'adoro! Addio, vilasclot Somuch adore you! Farewell, leave you! ARSAMENE vi fuggo Vi fuggo... I flee from you... ROMILDA. e dove andate ‘idolo mio E dove andate, idolo mio? ‘And where are you going, idol of mine? ARSAMENE ‘dove vwol fjera ‘sorte ¢€ voi ‘dove Dove vuol fiera sorte, € voi dove? Wherever wishes cruel fate, and you, where? ROMILDA ‘alla ‘morte Alla morte. Tomy death ARSAMENE e ‘dite al ‘trono ke promesso—vifu Eh! dite al tromo, che —promesso. vi fu Come now! (Rather) say tothe throne, which promised was to you.Serse, Act IIT 125 ROMILDA vi laffo addio ‘nom mi veldrete piu Vilascio, addio, non mi vedrete pia. Lam leaving you; farewell, you shall not see me any longer. (She is carried away, helped by her attendants.) ARIA ARSAMENE amor tiranno amor per ome no nai pieta Amor, tiranno Amor, per me non hai pieta, Love, tyrannous love, for me —-youhaveno pity, “farm layjgwie connor © ‘troppa krudetta farmi languir ognor 2 tropa crudelta, tomakeme languish always is toomuch —_ cruelty. uy kore um =— peta soltanto soffrir non sa Un core, un —_petto_soltanto soffrir non sa, A heart, a breast alone suffer thus cannot, (No heart or breast alone could endure such suffering; > ‘kandgatempre al = dwol 9 ‘dammi liberta © cangiatempre al duol_ 0 = dammi libertat either grantrelief tomy grief or —_giveme freedom! (He exits. The scene changes to a wood, where Serse and Ariodate are talking.) SERSE (to Ariodate) ‘kome dds vi attfe'nammo ‘spozo del ‘nostro ‘sangwe Come gid viaccenammo, sposo del nostro sangue ‘As wel already said to you, ahusband of ~—our_—_blood. a piatfer ‘vostro destinjams a romilda a pincer vostro destiniamo a ——-Romilda. atthe pleasure yours wedestine for Romilda. (As I have said already, and with your consent, a man of my bloodline] is destined to ‘become Romilda's husband.) ARIODATE ‘alto © © lonore e Alto & —— lonore! E. Lofty is thehonor! And. SERSE lapprovate assentite L'approvate? Assentite? Do you approve? Do you consent? " Serse is using the "royal WE",126 Serse, Act IIT ARIODATE ‘bramo sol dubbidirvi Bramo sol d'ubbidirvi. desire only to obey you. SERSE, ‘dunkwe dite verra tra'poko nelle ‘vostre ‘stantse Dunque udite:_verra tra poco nelle vostre stanze Then listen: will come in brief into your rooms persona, egwale a moi del nostro. ‘sangwe persona eguale a i, del nostro sangue. aperson equal to of our blood. Yate ke ‘vostra ‘fikfa per sus ‘spozo latfetti Fate che —vostra figtia per suo sposo Vaccetti. See that your daughter for her husband accepts him. ARIODATE del ‘vostro ‘sangwe © kozi ‘moto ame Del vostro. sangue? E —cosinoto a me? Of — your blood? ‘And assuch known to me? SERSE “kwanto ‘serse Quanto Serse! Just like Serse! ARIODATE (aside) arsamene ‘altri no ne (Arsamene, altri non 2.) (Arsamene... another it cannot be.) (It must be Arsamene....it can be no one else.) ARIA ARIODATE, del fel damore ‘sorte si bella ki mai sper Del Ciel d'amore — sorte si_—bella, chi mai sperd. From heaven of love, fate so _lovely_ whoever hoped for. (Who could have hoped for such a glorious fate [as mine] to come down from heaven, arisen ‘out of love?) per mio splenidore = kwal fu = la_— stella ke © lampe'ddso. Per mio splendore qual fu = la_—stella. che —_‘lampeggid! For my — splendor, which was the —star_— that -— glowed? (What glowing star is it that will [enhance] my position?) (He exits. Romilda is about to leave, full of anger.) ROMILDA il suo ‘serto_rifjuto e ‘dite a sense Tisuo serto rifiuto! E dite aSerse His crown Trefuse! And tell SerseSerse, Act IIT 127 in riportarki_ il, ‘dono. in riportargii il, dono asyou givehimback his gift, ke ida amante ad ‘altri ‘spoza io ‘sono che fida amante ad altri sposa io sono. thatatrue loving woman to another and) betrothed §= Tam, (that I am a loving woman faithfully betrothed to another man.) (coming face to face with Serse himself) SERSE fermatevi mia ‘spoza e == mia_re'dsina Fermatevi, mia sposa e —mia_-Regina! Stop, my bride and = my queen! ROMILDA ke ‘ddite ime kozi nom mi kjamate Che dite? ‘Ohima, cosi_ non mi chiamate! What are you calling me? Oh dear, thus do not call me! SERSE perke Perch? Why? ROMILDA perke oskutrate il dekaro real Perch oscurate il decoro Because you taint your decorum royal... SERSE ‘kome Come? How so? ROMILDA askoltate —arsamene = mamo Ascoltate! Arsamene —m'amd... Listen to me! Arsamene _has been my lover... SERSE Printfipjo —_imfausto Principio _infausto. Astart (This is starting off rather badly.) ROMILDA fu modesto e fede! Fu modesto e — fedel. He was modest and faith128 Serse, Act IIT SERSE “basta Basta! Enough! ROMILDA. servimmi _tatfito adorattore Servimmi, tacito adoratore. He served me, quietly (and) lovingly. (He served me lovingly but chastely.) SERSE a muttfidete Ah! M'uccidete! Ah! Youare killing me! ROMILDA ma ardito al fin Ma ardito alfin... But growing bolder, at last... SERSE ke Che? What? ROMILDA. non ardisko 9 ‘sire marro'ssisko —sippor Non ardiseo, 0 Sire; m'arrossiseo, Signor, Ido not dare, Sire, Tam blushing, my lord; ‘parts © lo skrive'ro Parto € —— loscriverd. Ishall leave and write it to you. SERSE no nn segwite No, no, seguite! No, no, 0 on! ROMILDA non so se ardire > 8 Non so se ardire ose Idon'tknow if audacity or if (1 don't know if he grew bolder, or by simple chance...) SERSE ake nom 'posso piu Ah! Che non posso piat Ah! Icannot stand it any longer! non lo dito non lo dird. won't say it. fortuna fu fortuna fu... by chance it was...Serse, Act IIT ROMILDA le sue labbra akkost Lesue labbra accostd... His lips he drew close... SERSE ‘dove Dove? Where? ROMILDA alle mie ee Alle mie... e. To my... and... and SERSE © vibatfo no ne ‘ditelo E vibacid, nome? Ditelo! ‘And he kissed you, isn'titso? Say it! ROMILDA a'ppunto ‘Appunto! Exactly! SERSE per fudd le mie ‘nottse ‘ora mentite Per fuggir Te mie nozze, ora mentite. In order toavoid my nuptials, now you lie. (You are lying to avoid marrying me.) ma siasi_ il = ver, 9 Ma siasi il = ver, ono But beit the truth or not: ‘delle sue ‘kolpe ‘abbja il kastigo Delle sue cole abbia il castigo. For his transgression may hehave the punishment. (But he must be punished for his transgression.) (to his guards) ola ‘pronti volate arsaimene uttfidete ont Pronti volate, Arsamene uccidete! Hothere! Quickly fly to Arsamene (and) kill him! (to Romilda) vedova, di —_kwel ‘bata Vedova di quel_bacio, Awidow of that kiss, 129130 Serse, Act Ill poi ‘spoza mi satrete poi sposa mi sarete. then bride tome you shall be. (You shall first become a widow because of that kiss and then you shall be my bride.) (He exits ina fury.) ROMILDA mio re mio ‘spozo si 9 amare ‘pene Mio Re, mio _sposo, sit Oh amare penet My — king, my — bridegroom, yes! Oh, bitter _ suffering! (All right, be then my king and bridegroom!) (to the guards) fermate e viva il ‘karo. mio arsatmene Fermate, ¢ viva’ il, caro. mio. Arsamene! Stop, and letlive the dear my —_Arsamene! (Don't follow Serse's orders; and let my dear Arsamene live!) (Amastre enters, holding a letter in her hands.) ROMILDA ‘prode gwerjer Prode guerrier.. Valiant warrior... AMASTRE, sipnora ROMILDA a me —venite se nel petto._noidrite ‘alma korteze A me —venite! Se nel. petto_nodrite alma cortese To me come! If —inyour breast. younourish a soul_kindly © pia le mie pregjere dite e pia, Temie preghiere udite. and compassionate, my entreaties _ listen to. (Come here! If you have a kindly and pious soul in your breast, hear my entreaty.) AMASTRE kommandi € nom pregjere = a= me_—_pordser dovete Commandi e non preghiere =a == me_—_porger dovete. Commands and not entreaties. == to. me_— ask for ‘you must. ‘(You must command me and not beseech me.) jo misowengo ke — toXfeste il mio pje To misovvengo, che —_toglieste mio pid 1 canremember that youfreed == my —footSerse, Act IIT 131 da ‘attfi di_—_-kwelllempjo—_injgrato re aa lacei di quell'empio, _ingrato Re. from the tethers of thatwicked, ungrateful king. ROMILDA . ingratissimo a'ppunto ‘e&si_kommanda Ingratissimo appunto! gli commanda ‘Most ungrateful indeed! He is ordering ke arsamene ——_suttfida che Arsamene —_svuccida. that Arsamene should be killed. im voi il mio kor In voi ilmio cor In you omy — heart _ trusts. tferkatelo © per voi ‘nota fi sia Cercatelo, ¢ per voi nota glisia Look for him, and through you known beto him "kwesta sententsa ria questa sentenza ria, this sentence (so) cruel. (Search him out and tell him about this wicked sentence.) AMASTRE ‘vado ‘pronto. a servirvi ed io vipriego Vado prontoa —servirvi, ~—ed_—sio.—vipriego Iwill go atonce to serveyou, and. «ss T_——aamasking you di far rekare al re._-—‘kwesto mio. foo di far recare al Re questo mio —_foglio. to make reach the king this my —_ letter. (to see that the king gets this letter of mine.) ROMILDA ‘volo per ispe'dirlo = 9S min.—_—kordokKo Volo per ispedirlo. © Oh mio _cordogliot Ifly to deliverit. Oh, my heartache! (Romilda leaves.) ARIA AMASTRE, kaidson son io del_— mio. dolore Cagion son io del mio dolore Thereason am 1 — for. =o my _—_ suffering e€ so perke e so_perehe. and Tknow why.132 ‘ama il kor Ama il cor Loves the heart kon 'uoppo con troppo with too much mio un mio un mine a amore kon amore, con love, with Serse, Act IIT traditore traditore traitor, ‘woppa troppa too much, (Amastre exits. Enter Arsamene and Romilda.) ARSAMENE ro'milda injfida e© dime pensa arjkora Romilda —_infida, edi me _—_pensa ancora? Romilda unfaithful, and of ~~ me_ thinks still? (s the faithless Romilda still thinking of me?) ROMILDA romilda ke vadora di voi 'pensa_ad oppora Romilda, che _—_v'adora, di voi pensa_ad ogn'ora, Romilda, who adores you, of you thinks always. ARSAMENE per spronarmi = a_—partire Per spronarmi =a —_—opart To urge me to leave, nom per salvar ki ‘vama non per salvar chi v'ama not to save one who loves you, ‘ite ke —‘serse ‘brama il mio motire dite che Sersebrama ilmio morire. you're saying that Serse wishes my death. (You're only telling me of Serse's sentence to make me go away, not to save the man who loves you.) DUET ROMILDA, ARSAMENE troppo oltraddsi——_igganni la mia ‘fede Troppo oltraggi (inganni) ta mia fede, Too much you insult (deceive) += my _—_—oyalty, ‘alma fjera ‘kore ijgrato alma fiera, core ingrat soul merciless, heart ungrateful! ROMILDA © tiranna la mertfede E tiranna la mercede Itis tyrannical the -—_ rewardSerse, Act IT 133 ke ritfeve il mio ‘petto innamo'rats che —riceve ilmio petto innamorato. that receives my breast enamored. (My enamored breast is receiving a most cruel reward.) ARSAMENE none ‘kwestala mertfede —ke_—ssi'deve questa Ia mercede~—che__—sideve this the reward that is owed al mio ‘petto innams'rato al mio petto_innamorato. to my _ breast enamored. (My enamored heart does not deserve this reward.) (They exit by different sides. The scene changes to a grand and brightly lit hall. In the background there is an effigy ofthe sun, standing before an altar, on which a fire is burning. A chorus of priests stands around the effigy.) CHORUS. to ke ‘dgove destino Cid che Giove destin’, That which Jupiter has destined, impetdir ‘Iwomo non sa impedir Tuomo non sa. to impede man does not know how. (cannot be hampered by man.) (Ariodate, Arsamene and Romilda enter.) ARIODATE (seeing Arsamene) ‘ekko Ip 'spozo io ben ne fui pre'zago Ecco 10 sposo! To ben ne fui Presago, Here’s the bridegroom! 1 indeed of ithada premonition... "kwanto matrride il fato quanto m'arride il fato, how smiles on me fate, (how fate smiles on me.) ARSAMENE (to Romilda) Alma fier ROMILDA Core ingrato! ROMILDA, ARSAMENE ‘Troppo oltraggi la mia fede!134 Serse, Act Ill ARIODATE (to Arsamene) a kolmarmi. = dotnore sipnor so ke A colmarmi —_donore, Signor, so che To overwhelm me with honor, my lord, know that (trying to leave) ROMILDA ail, dgenitore Ant Il genitore! Ah! My father! ARIODATE, rommilda nom partite Romilda, non partite! Romilda, do not leave! ARSAMENE arjodate ke ‘dite Arlodate, che _—_ dite? Ariodate, what _are you saying? ARIODATE, ke a) voi dota mia ikke Che a voi. do — la mia figlia That to you Igive my daughter, per ‘serva wmile e — ‘spoza per serva_umile e —sposa, asa servant humble and bride, ‘kome ‘mmim'poze il sore come m'impose i Re just as Iwas ordered by the king. ARSAMENE ‘serse limpoze Serse impose? Serse ordered you? ARIODATE, a me ‘stesso, Ame stesso. Me myself. ROMILDA (aside) ke —_askolto (Che ascolto?) (What am I hearing?) veniste veniste. you've come.Serse, Act I 135, ARIODATE (to Arsamene) © voi veniste per prenderla. = i,_——ikon'sorte E voi veniste per prenderla in’ —_consorte? And you came to take her as your wife? ARSAMENE ‘altro nom ‘bramo Altro non bramo. Anything else I do not wish. (I wish nothing better!) ROMILDA > me beata 2 ‘sorte (On, me — beata! Oh sorte!) (Oh me blissful! Oh fortune!) ARIODATE, romilda akkonsentite Romilda, _acconsentite? Romilda, do you consent? ROMILDA si mio. padre e = sinore Si, mio padre e Signore! ‘Yes, my father and lord! ARIODATE sirindsete omai_ le destre Stringete omai_ le —_destre. Clasp now your _ right hands. (Let your right hands now be joined.) ARSAMENE, ROMILDA (taking each other's hands) ein ‘uno “kore Ein uno core! And as one heart! ARIODATE, ‘ora kormjams = aes Ora corriamo = a_—Serse Now letusrin to Serse per ‘render ‘grattsje dun si_—_grandonore per render grazie d'un si —_grand’onore. to give thanks for sucha great honor! (All three exit) ‘CHORUS ki si trove Chi sitrova, Whoever unhappy was before,136 Serse, Act Il pien di “dgoja. or = eto va pien di gioia_ or to full of joy now —_happy_ leaves. (Serse enters, followed shortly after by Ariodate.) SERSE se ne vjene —arjodate Sene viene Ariodate. Is arriving here Ariodate © ‘tempo omai di skoprir tempo omai di scoprir Itis time now to reveal tohim ke io ke romilda de: che jo che Romilda_—desio. that I who Romilda desires. (that I want Romilda myself.) ‘ekkomi arjodate Eccomi, Ariodate! Herelam, Ariodate! ARIODATE invitto ‘sire vitykino Invitto™ Sire, v'inchino Unvanquished Sire, I bow before you. SERSE or ke_—vi'sembra Or che —_visembra? Now what do you think? Ib ‘spozo e’gwal Lo sposo egual A husband equal Ttold you. (told you {that Romilda should choose] a husband equal to me, with the same blood as mine...) ARIODATE, © un ‘alto nore z un alto onore! Itis a great honor! There ate many misspellings in the Mackerras score and in libreti which accompany CD recordings, such as invito rather than invitto. [have tried to be alert and correct them all, even though at times one finds archaic Baroque spellings like commando (a command) or femina (a female) spelled, the one with a double mm and the latter with just one m. In the latter case I have NOT corrected them.Serse, Act IT SERSE rommilda ‘vaga ne sara ‘paga Romilda ——vaga_ne sara paga? Romilda fair will she with it be satisfied? (Will fair Romilda be satisfied with it?) ARIODATE, nom ‘brama piu Non brama pid. She doesn't wish for more. SERSE ma perke mmai nom vjene dove Ma perchémai non viene? Dove? But why doesn't she come? ARIODATE, “Koll ‘spozo Cotto sposo, With her bridegroom. SERSE ‘kome Come? What! ARIODATE, Collo sposo, Signor. SERSE ke 'spozo aime Che — sposo? Ahimét What bridegroom? Oh woe! ARIODATE, ‘kome imponeste Come imponeste. As you commanded. SERSE ke impozi Che — imposi? What did I command? ARIODATE, egwale a voi Eguale a voi, Equal to you, e —venne ‘nelle © venne nelle and he came 0 ke Che? What? del ‘vostro. ‘sangwe del vostro sangue, of your blood, mie mie my rooms... (and [Arsamene, your blood brother] came to my room...) Where is she?138 Serse, Act IIT SERSE e ‘sono ‘spozi E sono sposi? ‘And are they married? ARIODATE ‘sono Sono. They are. SERSE “empjo ‘perfido indenno Empio! Perfido! __Indegno! You wicked, perfidious, unworthy man! ARIODATE mio te Mio Re. My — King... SERSE tu maitradito —e ppur tuo re tentikjamarmi——ardito Tu m’haitradito! E pur "tuo Re" enti chiamarmi, —_ardito! You betrayed me! And yet"your King" youtry tocallme, (what) boldness! (A page brings in a letter for Serse; he reads it ina low voice.) romilda a me limjvia Romil ame Tinvia? Romilda to me _is sending it? 'perfida ‘donna ‘krede ko igkjostri ei Perfida donna! Crede co' —inchiostri rei Perfidious woman! Does she think with ink deceiving, inkantar follemente i dep miei incantar _follemente i sdegni miei? tobewitch _ inthis silly way the anger mine? (Does she believe she can appease my anger with the charms of her deceiving ink?) ARIODATE, perke nom mors 9 tfel SERSE (Perché non moro, 0 Ciel!) ‘leddsi (why don't die, oh heaven!) Leggi. Read it! (He hands the letter to Ariodate,) SERSE ke ffai Che fai? Well?Serse, Act Ill 139 ARIODATE (reading) ingratissimo amante "Ingratissimo amante!” "Most ungrateful lover!" SERSE "ome iggrato mi‘kjama =e tanto ‘ella ‘ova Come! Ingrato michiama? E tanto ella 0sa? What! Ungrateful she calls me? And so much she dares? (How dare she?) ARIODATE (continuing to read) ‘venni per ‘esser ‘vostra "Veni per esser vost "Icame (here) to become yours.” SERSE e atti si'spoza E altrui si sposa? ‘And another man she marries? ARIODATE, trovai ke mi sprettsate "Trovai che mi sprezzate." "found that you have scorned me." SERSE 2 ‘note ffelle’rate Oh, note _scellerate! Oh, letter venomous! ARIODATE ‘parts ma illtfel_punira ‘wostre ‘kolpe “Parto, ma ilelel_punird vostre colpe.” "Lam leaving, but heaven shall punish your transgressions." SERSE “kolpe davverti amato Colpe daverti amato? A transgression for having loved you? ARIODATE, io pjandsero.-—ssinaillultimo ——fjat “Io piangerd sin all'ultimo lato. "1 shall weep till ~—smy very last breath. SERSE ke Che? What?140 Serse, Act IIT ARIODATE, non di romilda © il fokfo Non di Romilda = &~—il’_—_—sfoglio. Not from Romilda is this letter. SERSE (in a fury, taking the letter and looking at the signature) amastre ‘Vanne © tiallontana — indenno Amastre! Vane, € tiallontana, indegno! Amastre! Get out and — stayaway, you worthless being! nom marykava ‘altro ‘tedjo in tanto Non maneava altro tedio in tanto This is all Ineed, another annoyance insomuch (This is hardly the annoyance a man needs in the midst of such disdain!) (Ariodate withdraws to one side.) ARIA SERSE ‘krude ‘furje deXforridi —abissi Crude furie degl'orridi —_abissi, Cruel furies of the horrid —_abysses, asperdgetemi ‘datro velleno aspergetemi d'atro veleno! pour ontome your black poison! ‘krolli ‘mondo el ‘sole sekklissi Cro! il — mondo e'l_— sole _s'ecliss Letit cave in the world andthe sun be eclipsed a kwestira «ke spira il mio ‘seno a quest'ira, = che spira il mio seno! at thisanger that breathes forth (from) my breast! (Let the anger spewing from my breast cause the world to cave in and the sun to be eclipsed!) (As he leaves in a fury, he is confronted by Arsamene, Ariodate, Romilda, Amastre, Atalanta and Elviro,) SERSE e — agjkor ovate vernirmi innantsi E ——ancor_osate venirmi innanzi? Wicked ones! And still you dare to come before me? ARIODATE ke furor Che furor! What furor! ARSAMENE tfe'ssate ‘umili al ‘vostro pje Cessate! Umili al vostro pid... Stop! Humble, at -your feet.Serse, Act I SERSE sol per skernirmi Sol per schernirmit Only to mock me! ARSAMENE ‘kome ssipnor Come, How so, SERSE (to Arsamene) uo mai romilda ‘tolta Tu — m‘hai Romilda _—toltat You have fromme Romilda taken away! (You have taken my Romilda away!) ARSAMENE fu per ‘vostro. kommando Fu per vostro. commando. Itwas by your command. ARIODATE, © wer z ver. Itis true. ROMILDA konjfermo Confermo. confirm it. SERSE evkwando —temerari_——_pretesti Equando? Temerari__pretestit ‘And when? What bold _pretexts! (He draws his sword and says to Arsamene:) ‘kwesto ferro a kwe'llempja in ‘sen Questo ferro a quell'empia in seno This sword in that wicked woman inher _ breast (Plunge this sword into that wicked woman's bosom!) ARSAMENE kio ‘zveni la mia ‘spoza Ch'io sveni la mia sposa? Tshould Kill my wife? zvene'ro priailtus ‘kore Svenerd pria iltuo core! Iwill cut open first your heart! ‘mmerdsi immergit immerge! 141142 Serse, Act I AMASTRE (to Serse) ‘datelo a mme _sipnore Datelo ame, Signore! Hand it to me, my lord! SERSE © Kis sei, tu —_koppor ‘sempre ‘mi ‘sturbi E chi sei tu, ch'ognor sempre mi sturbi? ‘And who are you, —_whoatall hours. always (comes)to disturb me? AMASTRE, ‘uno ke © tferka far ‘dsusta venidetta Uno che —cerea far glusta_vendett One who seeks to inflict ajust vengeance. volete ke si‘zveni vunalma ke tral Volete che sisveni un'alma che tradi, Doyouwish that be killed soul who betrayed, Ki pur ladora chi pur T'adora? (by) one who still adores (the loved one)? (Do you wish to see a treacherous heart pierced by one who still adores it?) SERSE si Si. Yes. AMASTRE, e si'skwartfi kwel ‘kore E _ sisquarei quel core? And should it be tom out, that heart? SERSE, si. AMASTRE (snatching his sword and pressing it to his own breast) ‘mori ‘dunkwe ingrato e — traditore Mori dunque, grato © traditore! Die then, (you) — ingrate and betrayer! ‘ek amastre tradita © oppor feidele Ecco Amastre, _tradita, © ogn’or fedele, Here stands Amastre, betrayed, ©—_and yet forever faithful, © tu spjetato e rio ladisprettsi_kozi e tu, spietato e rio Indisprezzi_ cos? and cruel, scom her like this?Serse, Act I SERSE uttfidetemi si Uceidetemi, si! Kill me, yes! AMASTRE (turning the sword onto herself) morir detddsio Morir degg'io. Todie I wish. SERSE fermate ‘ora -mi'pents Fermate! Ora mipento. Stop! Now Trepent. AMASTRE, e tom a amarmi E torni a amarmi? ‘And youcome back to _love me? (And you will love me once again?) SERSE si ma di_—stua_pjetate intdeppo Si, ma di_ tua _pietate indegno Yes, but of your mercy unworthy AMASTRE, ‘amami pur 9 ‘kkaro io tiperdono Amami pur, 0 caro, jo tiperdono. Then loveme, oh my dearest; 1 forgive you. (They embrace.) ELVIRO ‘sono ‘tutta tre'mante Sono tutto tremante! Tam all a-trembting! ARIODATE, or ‘sparve il “dwols Or sparve i —duolo. ‘Now _ has disappeared the grief. (Now all grief has vanished.) ARSAMENE io respiro © stuipisko To respiro © stupisco. 1 canbreathe and am amazed, ROMILDA io mi kon’solo To miconsolo. 1 am consoled, sono. 143144 Serse, Act III ATALANTA ed io tferke'ro altrove wnaltro aimante Ed fo —cercher).—_altrove un'altro amante. And I shall look elsewhere (for) another lover. SERSE aimitfi kompatite i mei furori Amici, compatite imiei_furori My friends, forgive my ill humor(s) € —— goldete felitfi i ostri aim € —— godete felici ivostri amorit and — enjoy happily your — love(s)! ARIA ROMILDA ‘karo voi ‘sjeteallalma Caro voi siete Ima Dear you are tomy soul, ‘doltfe voi sjete al kor dole voi siete cor, sweet you ate tomy heart, son ‘dalla ‘vostra ‘palma son dalla _vostra_palma Thave by your palm’ ‘fatta trofes damor fatta trofeo d'amor. been made atrophy of love. (Lam a trophy of love thanks to your triumphant palm.) TUTTI ritoma a noi la ‘kama Ritorna a mois cama, Returns to us the calm, ‘riede Ia ‘dsoja al kor per riportar la ‘palma riede la gioia al cor, per _—_riportar la palma returns joy tothe heart, to ringback the palm sunira amore © oor stunira amore e —onor. shall become one love and ~—_—honor. (Love and honor shall be united to return the palm [of peace].) END OF THE OPERA >The "palm" of victory, with which in antiquity the Greeks and Romans crowned exalted personages.