Madamina, il catalogo e' questoMy lady, this is the list
Delle belle che amo' il padron mio;of the beauties that my master has loved;
un catalogo egli e' che ho fatt'io;a list that I made myself;
Osservate, leggete con me.Look here (and) read with me.
In Italia seicento e quaranta;In Italy sixhundred and forty;
In Almagna duecento e trentuna;In Germany twohundred and thirtyone;
Cento in Francia, in Turchia novantuna;Onehundred in France, in Turkey ninetyone;
Ma in Ispagna son gia' mille e tre.But in Spain there are already a thousand and one.
V'han fra queste contadine,There are among these peasant girls,
Cameriere, cittadine,Servants, townspeople,
V'han contesse, baronesse,There are countesses, baronesses,
Marchesine, principesse.Marquesses, princesses.
E v'han donne d'ogni grado,And there are women of every class,
D'ogni forma, d'ogni eta'.Of every shape, of every age.
Nella bionda egli ha l'usanzaWith the blondes he usually
Di lodar la gentilezza,Praises their manners,
Nella bruna la costanza,With the brunettes their faithfulness,
Nella bianca la dolcezza.With the gray-haired ones their sweetness.
Vuol d'inverno la grassotta,In the winter he wants the heavy ones,
Vuol d'estate la magrotta;In the summer he wants the slim ones;
E' la grande maestosa,The big ones are majestic,
La piccina e ognor vezzosa,the little ones are charming,
Delle vecchie fa conquistaHe goes after the old ones
Pel piacer di porle in lista;for the pleasure of putting them on the list;
Sua passion predominanteHis overiding passion
E' la giovin principiante.are the young beginners (adolescents).
Non si picca- se sia riccaHe doesn't care if a woman is rich
Se sia brutta, se sia bella;if she's ugly, if she's pretty;
Purche' porti la gonella,as long as she has a skirt on,
Voi sapete quel che fa.you know what he does.
the greatest basso I ever saw. Siepi was the king!
operabeauty 2 years ago 7
A historic curiosity...but Siepi is splendid...as always !
sprichbeeke 2 years ago 3