Monteverdi: L'incoronazione di Poppea - Nerone and Lucano

Nerone celebrates Seneca's death with Lucano singing about Poppea's sexual prowess, literally over Seneca's dead body. In the end Nerone faints in sexual ecstasy! Then Amore leads him away "playing the tune". In this scene from Ponnelle's film of Monteverdi's opera Eric Tappy sings Nerone and Philippe Huttenlocher sings Lucano.

NERONE
Or che Seneca è morto,
Cantiam, cantiam Lucano,
Amorose canzoni
In lode di quel viso,
Che di sua mano Amor nel cor, m'ha inciso.

LUCANO
Cantiam, Signore, cantiamo,

NERONE e LUCANO
Di quel viso ridente,
Che spira glorie, ed influisce amori; cantiam
Di quel viso beato,

LUCANO
In cui l'idea d'Amor se stessa pose,

NERONE e LUCANO
E seppe su le nevi
Con nova meraviglia,
Animar, incantar la granatiglia.
Cantiam, di quella bocca
A cui l'India e l'Arabia
Le perle consacrò, donò gli odori.

LUCANO
Bocca, che se ragiona o ride,
Con invisibil arme punge, e all'alma
Donna felicità mentre l'uccide.
Bocca, che se mi porge
Lasciveggiando il tenero rubino
M'inebria il cor di nettare divino.

NERONE
Bocca, ahi, destino !

LUCANO
Tu vai, signor, tu vai
Nell'estasi d'amor deliciando,
E ti piovon dagl'occhi
Stille di tenerezza,
Lacrime di dolcezza.

NERONE
Idolo mio, Poppea!
Celebrarti io vorrei,
Ma son minute fiaccole, e cadenti,
Dirimpetto al tuo sole i detti miei.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Monteverdi
• L'incoronazione
• di
• Poppea
• Jean-Pierre
• Ponnelle
• Tappy
• Huttenlocher

[Mallvelous]

@Monadshavenowindows [part 5/5]

NERONE

My idol, Poppea!

I wish to celebrate you,

But in front of your Beauty, which is like a sun,

I can not find suitable words

[literally: my words are like little and weak torches, in front of your Sun]

[Mallvelous]

@Monadshavenowindows [part 4] “Woman happiness while it kills it” [this sentence it is not clear at all in Italian, I’ m sorry]. Mouth which, if it lustfully gives me the soft Rubin, It inebriates my heart with divine nectar. NERONE Mouth, ahi, Fate! LUCANO My Lord, you go with joy, in an enraptured state of mind, and your eyes cry tears of tenderness.

[Mallvelous]

@Monadshavenowindows [part 3]

-> fascinating as a musical instrument. Moreover, the italian lyrics say “incantar la granatiglia”, which means “to fascinate the granatiglia”; i heard “incaRnar la granatiglia”, which means “to embody/incarnate the granatiglia”], standing on the snow with new wonder.

Let us sing about that mouth which India and Arabia dedicated pearls to, and gave perfumes.

LUCANO Mouth which, when it reasons or laughs, it stings

with invisible weapons, and to the soul

[Mallvelous]

@Monadshavenowindows [ part 2 ]

NERONE e LUCANO

about that laughing face

which radiates glory, and inspires loves; let us sing

about that blissful face,

LUCANO

which the idea of Love put herself in

NERONE e LUCANO

[that face] knew how to brighten up and be as a granatiglia [I do not know what is a “granatiglia”. The dictionary says that “granatiglio” is a type of wood which is used to make musical instruments. Therefore, I think it is a metaphor to say that Poppea is as ->

[Mallvelous]

@Monadshavenowindows I'm very sorry if the translation is not perfect, but I hope it could give you an idea about what they are saying:

[ part 1 ]

NERONE

Now that Seneca is dead,

let us sing, Lucano, let us sing

lovely songs

which shall praise that face [Poppea’s face, I think],

[that face] that Love himself impressed in my heart

LUCANO

Let us sing, my Lord, let us sing,

[Monadshavenowindows]

English subtitles please?

[Thunnder111]

I love the weirdness of this.

[vstasov]

Great archiving. Thanks very much.

[sacer111]

eccezzionale!!!!!!wonderful!!!­! sono estasiato dalla bellezza di queste note, dalla bravura di questi cantanti che sono anche eccellenti attori. Nerone bravo!!!!

[lmspr]

This production is a wonderful combination of really good singing and lots of weirdness. Ponnelle was a wonderful director and Eric Tappy sings and acts Nerone so well. Monteverdi really comes alive here.