Alma del Core (Soul of my heart) is from Act 1, scene 20, of Caldara’s opera

entitled La constanza in amor vince l’inganno (1710). It was originally

written for voice (soprano) and continuo. First sung by the soprano, the aria
is repeated by Tirsi (male) in a different key.

Antonio Caldara was born in Venice. He was a chorister at St. Mark’s in

Venice. Throughout his career he worked in many places including Mantua
(Italy), Barcelona (Spain), Rome, and Vienna. 
I noticed that there are two stanzas, one under the heading Clizia and the second
under Tirsi. Pardon this question, but are those two words names of characters? I've been
trying to ascertain whether "Alma del core" is excerpted from one of Caldara's operas or if it
is a song independent of a larger work, yet no resource I've used thus far has yielded the
answer. I also noticed that the lyrics under Tirsi weren't included in the sheet music I have
for "Alma" and weren't included in a recording of Pavarotti made in Los Angeles about thirty
years ago that my teacher played for me.

Earlier today, my voice teacher and I were discussing the subtext of the song. He said he's
having me sing it primarily to build "core," strengthen my appoggio, and grow more intrepid
of vibrato (I've sung in church choirs since I was 5 and was more inclined to straight,
vibrato-less singing or lower, beltier musical theatre rep, but not screaming Annie or
anything vocally detrimental) and he described how the song is about full-blown, blissful
love, so it should be sung mezzoforte-forte, with gusto. While I can understand that "Alma
del core" involves love, the lyrics "Sarò contento/Nel mio tormento/Se quel bel labbro baciar
potrò" lead me to believe that this deals with unrequited love. Am I totally in left field in
thinking this?

Alma del core (Soul of my heart)

Spirto dell'alma (Spirit of my soul)
Sempre costante t'adorerò! (Always contantly will I adore you!)
Sarò contento (I will be contented)
Nel mio tormento (In my torment)
Se quel bel labbro baciar potrò (If only I could kiss that beautiful lip.)