# Best line in opera - what is yours?



## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

I think this one is hard to beat. It's from Rimsky-Korsakov's The Golden Cockerel, second act, by Shemakan addressing (or rather, seducing) Dodon:

"I'm sorry that you've only seen me when I'm wearing my clothes. I look pretty good naked. I got lovely breasts. They are firm and perky and they shine like the Southern rose, and are just as pale."

(Or something to this effect, I don't have the libretto in front of me right now).

How can one not love an opera with a line like this? Shemakan does provide a close second a little later:

Shemakan: "Let's dance and forget about our dignity."
Dodon: "But I haven't danced since I was a child."
Shemakan: "Well, you'll just have to be a child again."

So, what do you all pick as your most outstanding opera lines (in recitativo, or in the lyrics of an aria, etc)? Either for poetic value, or comic value, or just charming like the ones above, or any other reason you may have for remembering them?


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## Gualtier Malde (Nov 14, 2010)

I haven't done enough soul-searching to be sure about "best", but here are two humorous Hofmannsthal lines I definitely like within their context (they will not sound so extraordinarily funny now, I'm afraid):

1. Wir sind eine lustige Gesellschaft, die sich zufaellig auf einer Wuesteninsel befindet (we are a merry crowd which is, by chance, on a desert island), Zerbinetta explaining the situation to her partners in Ariadne auf Naxos

2. Sie hat doch einen Kavalier vor sich und keinen Seifensieder (it is a cavalier standing before her and not a soapboiler), Ochs in reply to "Mariandl's" question if his getting married tomorrow might not be a bit of an impediment to amorous adventures.


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## Rasa (Apr 23, 2009)

Strauss, elektra

"Elektra"

The chord. The moment. The drama. One of the better moment I had in opera.


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## Herkku (Apr 18, 2010)

Two lines immediately come to mind:

Santuzza's "A te la mala Pasqua!" and Maria Stuarda's "Vil bastarda, dal tuo piè!".

Just for the emotional context.


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## Falstaft (Mar 27, 2010)

"Das ist kein Mann!"


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

"Oooooooo!"


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## Chi_townPhilly (Apr 21, 2007)

Among close friends, I've made the point that, in Wagner- even though the women
frequently win the arguments, it's often the men who are permitted the best 'sound-bites.'

There's this one, from *Wotan* to Fricka in Act II of *Die Walküre*:

_Unheilig acht' ich den Eid, 
der Undliebende eint_

Unholy I consider the vow
That binds without Love

A good one- but I think it's bested by *Tristan*, to Isolde in Act I of *Tristan und Isolde*:

_fass' ich, was sie verschwieg,
verschwieg ich, was sie nicht faßt_

If I grasp what you conceal, 
I will conceal what you do not grasp


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Chi_townPhilly said:


> Among close friends, I've made the point that, in Wagner- even though the women
> frequently win the arguments, it's often the men who are permitted the best 'sound-bites.'
> 
> There's this one, from *Wotan* to Fricka in Act II of *Die Walküre*:
> ...


This Tristan line is indeed pretty outstanding!:tiphat:


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## Herkku (Apr 18, 2010)

From Der Rosenkavalier:

Heut oder morgen oder den übernächsten Tag.
Hab ich mirs denn nicht vorgesagt?
Das alles kommt halt über jede Frau.
Hab ichs denn nicht gewußt?
Hab ich nicht ein Gelübde tan,
daß ichs mit einem ganz gefaßten Herzen
ertragen werd ...
Heut oder morgen oder den übernächsten Tag.
So hat halt Gott die Welt geschaffen
und anders hat ers halt nicht können machen!


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Herkku said:


> From Der Rosenkavalier:
> 
> Heut oder morgen oder den übernächsten Tag.
> Hab ich mirs denn nicht vorgesagt?
> ...


Erm... translation please, for the poor souls among us who don't speak German?


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

Szymanowski's Roger has rather weak libretto but at the very end of the opera there are lines I like a lot, I don't bother wondering what author had on mind when he wrote these words (considering quality of his writing I prefer not to know) but it sounds pretty kewl to me:

_Z otchłani mocy mej
Przejrzyste wyrwę serce,
W ofierze słońcu dam!_

And now, translation... uhm... uhm... how about I put it into google translate! Let's see...

_From the depths of my power
Clear tear the heart,
In the sacrifice of the sun ladies!_

E... what? Okay, I think I have no choice but translate it myself. Hir iu gou!

_From the abyss of my power
I shall tear out my limpid heart,
Sacrifice it to the sun! _

Kewl, huhuhu UMCA UMCA, YES, but I'm not sure if I would like it so much if it would be just for words without stunning musical culmination of the opera that comes together with them.


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## Gualtier Malde (Nov 14, 2010)

Herkku said:


> From Der Rosenkavalier:
> 
> Heut oder morgen oder den übernächsten Tag.
> Hab ich mirs denn nicht vorgesagt?
> ...





Almaviva said:


> Erm... translation please, for the poor souls among us who don't speak German?


OK, I'll try:

Today or tomorrow or the next day
Haven't I said it to myself?
This just happens to every woman.
Didn't I know it?
Haven't I made a vow
That I will bear it with a firm heart...
Today or tomorrow or the next day
God has made the world this way
and just wasn't able to do it differently.

Not perfect, I'm afraid, especially the last line.

Must be what the Marschallin sings in the final trio.


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## Herkku (Apr 18, 2010)

Thank you, Gualtier Malde! I think your translation is good enough. Die Marschallin actually sings it alone, before the famous trio, understanding that she has to give up Octavian to someone younger.


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## Gualtier Malde (Nov 14, 2010)

Herkku said:


> Die Marschallin actually sings it alone, before the famous trio, understanding that she has to give up Octavian to someone younger.


Oh, in fact, I was already wondering a little (but not enough to make me really suspicious) how she gets all this in because the trio isn't that long and I did remember that she starts quite differently with "Hab mir's gelobt ihn lieb zu haben" etc.


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## Herkku (Apr 18, 2010)

Yeah, and the trio actually begins with Octavian's "Marie Theres'!"


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## Contessa (Oct 31, 2010)

Contessa perdono, perdono perdono


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## Gualtier Malde (Nov 14, 2010)

Herkku said:


> Yeah, and the trio actually begins with Octavian's "Marie Theres'!"


You do know your Rosenkavalier! And it's *my* favorite opera...


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## Herkku (Apr 18, 2010)

Two more:

Elektra's exclamation *"Triff noch einmal!" *("Strike again!") after Klytämnestra's first screams heard from inside.

Falstaff's *"Tutto nel mondo è burla. L'uom è nato burlone..." *("All the world's a prank, and man is born a clown...").


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## rsmithor (Jun 30, 2011)

ENO's production/Chandos "Opera in English" recording of Berg's Lulu... Richard Stokes cheeky English translation turns every line on a dime and into a real page turner... (by the end of act 2... Lulu's 3 husbands are dead... 1st, heart attack; 2nd, he cut his own throat; 3rd, shot by Lulu, and now she's escaped prison, and on the run with her 3rd husband's son, Alwa...

Act 2 scene 2

Lulu
Come! (She draws him to her side on the ottoman.)
Alwa (He kisses her with great intensity, and then
gently releases her.)
Your lips have lost almost all of their fleshy flavour.
Lulu
Do I frighten you? (She draws near to him
passionately and kisses him fervently.)
Alwa
Oh… Oh… I'll have to write an epic poem
about you, praising all your beauty.
Lulu (as if nothing had happened )
I simply can't abide wearing these terrible slippers.
Alwa (with a look at her shoes)
They don't damage your loveliness at all. Come,
sweetest love!… Come!
Lulu
Careful: you know that I murdered your father.
Alwa
That's not a reason why I should love you less.
Come! One more kiss! One more kiss! One more
kiss!!
Lulu (He does so. She kisses him with deliberation.)
Throw your head right back.
Alwa
If it were not for those two child-like, limpid
eyes of yours, I should regard you as one of the
cleverest prostitutes who ever enticed a young
man to his doom.
Lulu (merrily)
How I wish I were!
(She buries her hands in his hair.)
Come with me, sweetest, over the border!
(caressingly)
Then we can see each other when we want to.
Alwa
…each other when we want to! (with a glance at
her portrait)
Lulu ( follows his look)
…whenever we want to…
Alwa
…whenever we want to?
Lulu
…whenever we…
Hymn
Alwa
Beneath this dress I feel your form in harmony
like a hymn. These two ankles: a grazioso; and
these charming thighs are like a cantabile; these
two cheeks: a misterioso; and then the powerful
andante of rapture. How calm they seem, these
slim and gossamer rivals; I feel their nestling,
confidently knowing that neither can vie with
the other's beauty, till the moody capricious
mistress awakes and the two competing suitors
spring apart like two opposing magnets. I'll
worship your great beauty, until you groan with
delight…
Lulu
You'll come, come to fetch me when it's dark?!
Will you come?!
Alwa
You temptress, you have ensnared my heart.
(He buries his head in her lap.)
Lulu
Isn't this the sofa on which your father bled to
death?…
Alwa
Stop! Stop!
(Curtain.)

Alban Berg (1885-1935)
Lulu
Opera in three acts
Libretto by Alban Berg, after Erdgeist and Büchse der Pandora by Frank Wedekind,
*English version by Richard Stokes*
Act III realised by Friedrich Cerha


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

For me, of course, there's Leonore's "Töt' erst sein Weib!" (First kill his wife!) from _Fidelio_. And at the opposite end of the emotional spectrum, Butterfly's "Ah! ė sua moglie!" (Ah! She's his wife!") when she grasps why this strange woman (Kate Pinkerton) has come to her house, and at the same time grasps what her own position is now.


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## Aksel (Dec 3, 2010)

I have a thing for when Alice says _E' un monte di lardo_ about the fat knight in Verdi's Falstaff. Such a good insult.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Aksel said:


> I have a thing for when Alice says _E' un monte di lardo_ about the fat knight in Verdi's Falstaff. Such a good insult.


He he my niece's rather dull, passive and squishy ex- was nicknamed "Tub'o'lard" in my family (mean, I know). Sounds better in Italian.


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## superhorn (Mar 23, 2010)

I love this truly weird one from Prokofiev's bone-chilling occult masterpiece "The Fiery Angel", which deals with sorcery,black magic, demonology and demonic possession in 16th century Germany .
The wandering knight Ruprecht, who is desperately in love with the main character,
the insane religious mystic Renata, who is searching for her "Angel of Fire" (which is really a demon !), visits the sorcerer Agrippa von Nettesheim in an attempt to get information from him about demonology . He comes to his laboratory ,which is full of all kinds of occult paraphernalia.,including two skeletons on the wall.
Agrippa tells him that he is not really a sorcerer , only a physician and scientist.
But the skeletons rattle their bones and say "You're lying !" Agrippa was a historical figure, and one of the so-called alchemists of the middle ages and renaissance.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

superhorn said:


> I love this truly weird one from Prokofiev's bone-chilling occult masterpiece "The Fiery Angel", which deals with sorcery,black magic, demonology and demonic possession in 16th century Germany .
> The wandering knight Ruprecht, who is desperately in love with the main character,
> the insane religious mystic Renata, who is searching for her "Angel of Fire" (which is really a demon !), visits the sorcerer Agrippa von Nettesheim in an attempt to get information from him about demonology . He comes to his laboratory ,which is full of all kinds of occult paraphernalia.,including two skeletons on the wall.
> Agrippa tells him that he is not really a sorcerer , only a physician and scientist.
> But the skeletons rattle their bones and say "You're lying !" Agrippa was a historical figure, and one of the so-called alchemists of the middle ages and renaissance.


This is a great one. I shall get this opera, which is one that I've never heard/seen.


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## Xaltotun (Sep 3, 2010)

This one grabs my soul by the throat and squeezes with deadly force:

Was Rechtes je ich riet,
andern dünkte es arg,
was schlimm immer mir schien,
andre gaben ihm Gunst.

(Whatever I thought right
seemed bad to others;
whatever seemed wrong to me,
others approved of.)

Siegmund in Die Walküre, of course!


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

The 'firing-pin' (or is it priming pin?) double entendre in Carmen - something very 'parisienne' about it even though the opera's obviously not set there.


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## PostMinimalist (May 14, 2008)

Herkku said:


> Two lines immediately come to mind:
> 
> Santuzza's "A te la mala Pasqua!" and Maria Stuarda's "Vil bastarda, dal tuo piè!".
> 
> Just for the emotional context.


And from the other one of the pair.

La Comedia e finito!


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## PostMinimalist (May 14, 2008)

Mario, su Presto Mario, presto su, Mario, MARIO MARIOOOO AAAHHHHHHHHHH!


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

So many great ones. At the moment, let's go with the last scene of Gotterdammerung and Brunnhilde's "Ruhe, ruhe, du Gott!"--the vocal line seemingly stretching into infinity as the orchestra quietly pronounces Wotan's eulogy.


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## BalloinMaschera (Apr 4, 2011)

I'm not necessarily sure that this is my favorite - but it's one I like from Act II Nozze di Figaro...

The Countess comments:

Come lo sono
i moderni mariti: per sistema
infedeli, per genio capricciosi,
e per orgoglio poi tutti gelosi.

While I'm not sure if credit should go to Beaumarchais or da Ponte- in any case it's so true.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Herkku said:


> ....Maria Stuarda's "Vil bastarda, dal tuo piè!"..


I look forward to this one when I'm watching the opera. I also like "Cortigiani, vil razza dannata..." and "Questo è il bacio di Tosca!", the latter preferably snarled in a low husky voice

I think I have a thing about well-turned insults.


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## AmericanGesamtkunstwerk (May 9, 2011)

the translation of walkure that was shown in the recent MET broadcast.

hunding - "Holy is my hearth, and holy it shall be to you"

Wotan (act ii vorspiel) - "leave his body where it lies, Valhalla has no use for him"


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

AmericanGesamtkunstwerk said:


> the translation of walkure that was shown in the recent MET broadcast.
> 
> hunding - "Holy is my hearth, and holy it shall be to you"


Sounds downright hospitable when you put it that way. I guess Hunding is a nicer guy than I thought!


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## macgeek2005 (Apr 1, 2006)

"Wer bist du, kühner Knabe,
der das Herz mir traf?
Wer reizte des Kindes Mut
zu der mordlichen Tat?
Dein Hirn brütete nicht,
was du vollbracht."

Absolutely the most chilling and haunting moment of the entire Ring cycle.


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## macgeek2005 (Apr 1, 2006)

amfortas said:


> Sounds downright hospitable when you put it that way. I guess Hunding is a nicer guy than I thought!


The German is:

Heilig ist mein Herd: -
heilig sei dir mein Haus!

I don't know German well enough. Does this mean (the second line) "Holy it shall be to you?" or "You must treat it as holy?"

A german libretti website says "Treat my house as holy also."

I don't think he's inviting him kindly.. saying that his hearth is holy to the guest as well. He's asking him to treat it with respect, to treat it as holy, right?


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## macgeek2005 (Apr 1, 2006)

AmericanGesamtkunstwerk said:


> the translation of walkure that was shown in the recent MET broadcast.
> 
> hunding - "Holy is my hearth, and holy it shall be to you"
> 
> Wotan (act ii vorspiel) - "leave his body where it lies, Valhalla has no use for him"


The Met broadcast subtitles are only approximations of what the people say. In the best case, they leave the meaning intact but mess up the words a lot, and in the worst cases, they distort the meaning greatly.


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## Couchie (Dec 9, 2010)

macgeek2005 said:


> I don't think he's inviting him kindly.. saying that his hearth is holy to the guest as well. He's asking him to treat it with respect, to treat it as holy, right?


He's more or less warning Siegmund that hanky-panky with Sieglinde will not be tolerated. :devil:


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

macgeek2005 said:


> I don't think he's inviting him kindly.. saying that his hearth is holy to the guest as well. He's asking him to treat it with respect, to treat it as holy, right?





Couchie said:


> He's more or less warning Siegmund that hanky-panky with Sieglinde will not be tolerated. :devil:


Right on both counts. My tongue-in-cheek point above was that the Met translation misses the whole thrust of the line.


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

Kurwenal: So, Tristan... what you got?
Tristan: <slowly finishing his meal> I got laid


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

Aramis said:


> Kurwenal: So, Tristan... what you got?
> Tristan: <slowly finishing his meal> I got laid


Finally, an accurate English translation!

And it's so singable!


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## ooopera (Jul 27, 2011)

*Siegmund *
Hehr bist du,
und heilig gewahr' ich das Wotanskind:
doch eines sag' mir, du Ew'ge!
Begleitet den Bruder die bräutliche Schwester?
Umfängt Siegmund Sieglinde dort?

*Brünnhilde *
Erdenluft muß sie noch atmen:
Sieglinde sieht Siegmund dort nicht!

*Siegmund* 
(neigt sich sanft über Sieglinde, küßt sie leise auf die Stirn und wendet sich ruhig wieder zu Brünnhilde) 
So grüße mir Walhall, grüße mir Wotan,
grüße mir Wälse und alle Helden,
grüß' auch die holden Wunschesmädchen: -

zu ihnen folg' ich dir nicht.

And:

Mia! Mia!

I know what you're gonna to say about Hampson as Scarpia. But I really liked his acting and specially how he said Mia! (you can see it on video at 5:03). Attention at his face.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

ooopera said:


> Mia! Mia!
> 
> I know what you're gonna to say about Hampson as Scarpia. But I really liked his acting and specially how he said Mia! (you can see it on video at 5:03). Attention at his face.


I thought Hampson was a brilliant Scarpia in this DVD - he really pays attention to the words, so his Scarpia is quite nuanced rather than generically villainous. It was a pleasant unexpected surprise because I really bought the DVD for JK.


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

ooopera said:


> I know what you're gonna to say about Hampson as Scarpia. But I really liked his acting and specially how he said Mia! (you can see it on video at 5:03). Attention at his face.


I know where Alma's attention will be . . . and it won't be on Hampson's face. :devil:


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## FragendeFrau (May 30, 2011)

MAuer said:


> I know where Alma's attention will be . . . and it won't be on Hampson's face. :devil:


I was thinking the EXACT same thing when I saw that image! Will add that I also enjoyed Hampson's performance bearing in mind I bought the DVD for the same reason mamaS did.

... and to keep on topic let me just agree that my favorite line is also:

*Siegmund*
Hehr bist du,
und heilig gewahr' ich das Wotanskind:
doch eines sag' mir, du Ew'ge!
Begleitet den Bruder die bräutliche Schwester?
Umfängt Siegmund Sieglinde dort?

*Brünnhilde*
Erdenluft muß sie noch atmen:
Sieglinde sieht Siegmund dort nicht!

*Siegmund*
(neigt sich sanft über Sieglinde, küßt sie leise auf die Stirn und wendet sich ruhig wieder zu Brünnhilde)
So grüße mir Walhall, grüße mir Wotan,
grüße mir Wälse und alle Helden,
grüß' auch die holden Wunschesmädchen: -

zu ihnen folg' ich dir nicht.

Thanks for this, o3pera!!

Followed closely by, of course: "Nun weisst du, fragende Frau, warum ich Friedmund nicht heiße"


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

FragendeFrau said:


> ... and to keep on topic let me just agree that my favorite line is also:
> 
> *Siegmund*
> Hehr bist du,
> ...


What the heck, I was gonna' go ahead and post the entire libretto of _Die Walküre_ as my favorite line. But maybe that would be just a *little* bit excessive . . .


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## ooopera (Jul 27, 2011)

MAuer said:


> I know where Alma's attention will be . . . and it won't be on Hampson's face. :devil:


Yes! I wanted to add the same ... haha


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

MAuer said:


> I know where Alma's attention will be . . . and it won't be on Hampson's face. :devil:


I think I might have delicately referred to what we are all thinking about in my review of this DVD:

Nat's review of Tosca


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

mamascarlatti said:


> I think I might have delicately referred to what we are all thinking about in my review of this DVD:


I touched on the topic with similar delicacy in my review, "Emily Magee's Tosca: Man, Those Are Some Really Big Boobs!" (deleted for some inexplicable reason).


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

amfortas said:


> What the heck, I was gonna' go ahead and post the entire libretto of _Die Walküre_ as my favorite line. But maybe that would be just a *little* bit excessive . . .


 You'll bump into the 30,000 characters limit.:lol:


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## ooopera (Jul 27, 2011)

Another one.

It's from Elektra:
Ich habe keine guten Nächte!


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

amfortas said:


> I touched on the topic with similar delicacy in my review, "Emily Magee's Tosca: Man, Those Are Some Really Big Boobs!" (deleted for some inexplicable reason).


 I wouldn't have deleted such a delightful review!


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## AnaMendoza (Jul 29, 2011)

I'd never dare actually nominate a 'best line in opera', but over in another thread, I mentioned _Pelleas and Melisande's _"It's the little one's turn now", as being a heartbreaking ending line, and Almaviva mentioned _Boris Godonov's _"Weep, poor starving Russian people", as another chilling ending line.

And, on a merrier note--I've been studying for the next round of voting for the Recommended List, and I really enjoyed hearing: "Without a clock!"


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## macgeek2005 (Apr 1, 2006)

Some more of my absolute favorites from The Ring... the ones that give me goosebumps every time:

"Der den Trotz lehrte,
straft den Trotz?
Der die Tat entzündet,
zürnt um die Tat?
Der die Rechte wahrt,
der die Eide hütet, -
wehret dem Recht,
herrscht durch Meineid?"

‎"Auf! Getrun'!
Begrüße Siegfried!
Der starke Held,
er kehret heim."


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## BalloinMaschera (Apr 4, 2011)

In listening to and writing Traviata reviews, Violetta's response to Germont's appearance always strikes me as wonderfully bold and wise, while also representative of a woman's delicate position. It really shows how aware Violetta is of her predicament, and how alert/crafty she is with her choice of words (here indignant, yet poised after Germont questions the validity of his son's feelings for her):

_Donna son io, signore, ed in mia casa;
Ch'io vi lasci assentite,
Piu' per voi che per me._

_I am a woman and in my own house;
Permit me to leave you,
More for your sake than for my own._

The social irony, of course, is that Germont and Violetta meet due to the (apparently) threatened position of another woman, Alfredo's sister, which makes her sacrific all the more magnaminous. Between she and Germont, Violetta is clearly the bigger person.

I'm not sure if credit should go to Francesco Maria Piave or Alexandre Dumas fils- probably both...


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## Yashin (Jul 22, 2011)

oh can i have this. It comes from Korngolds "Die Tote Stadt" and is part of the final piece 'O Freund' and it is when Paul sings " Ein Traum hat mir den Traum Zerstört" which i think translates to ' a nightmare has come and shattered all my dreams'. It never fails to get me straight in the heart.

Also in the same opera the duet " Unsere Liebe war, ist, und wird sein " - our love, was, is and will always be.

Schmaltz it may be but it is so touching and brings me to tears every time and is probably why it is my favourite opera


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## Kopachris (May 31, 2010)

_ Cara bel, cara mia bella! 
Mia bambina, oh ciel! 
Ché la stima!
Ché la stima! 
O cara mia, addio!

La mia bambina cara... 
perché non passi lontana? 
Sì, lontana da Scienza! 
Cara, cara mia bambina... 
Ah, mia bella! 
Ah, mia cara! 
Ah, mia cara! 
Ah, mia bambina! 
Oh cara, cara mia... _


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## rsmithor (Jun 30, 2011)

Xaltotun said:


> This one grabs my soul by the throat and squeezes with deadly force:
> 
> Was Rechtes je ich riet,
> andern dünkte es arg,
> ...


(it always brings a tear or two when a true Wagnierian Heldentenor wails)

Wälse! Wälse!

Wo ist dein Schwert?
Das starke Schwert,
das im Sturm ich schwänge,
bricht mir hervor aus der Brust,
was wütend das Herz noch hegt?


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## Couchie (Dec 9, 2010)

TRISTAN
_You Tristan,
I Isolde,
no more Tristan!_

ISOLDE
_You Isolde,
I Tristan,
no more Isolde!_


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Couchie said:


> TRISTAN
> _You Tristan,
> I Isolde,
> no more Tristan!_
> ...


I know neither a note nor a word from this opera but I still find this funny.

FAO you Tristanians & Isoldians - is it funny?


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

sospiro said:


> I know neither a note nor a word from this opera but I still find this funny.
> 
> FAO you Tristanians & Isoldians - is it funny?


It's glorious (with the music).


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

amfortas said:


> It's glorious (with the music).


You mean the cheese is glorious? Or is the cheese only glorious "with the music"? i.e. do you have to eat the cheese whilst listening to the music?


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

sospiro said:


> I know neither a note nor a word from this opera but I still find this funny.
> 
> FAO you Tristanians & Isoldians - is it funny?


It does have an unfortunate resemblance to the old "Me Tarzan, You Jane" line from some of the 1930s Hollywood movies with Johnny Weismuller and Maureen O'Sullivan.


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

sospiro said:


> You mean the cheese is glorious? Or is the cheese only glorious "with the music"? i.e. do you have to eat the cheese whilst listening to the music?


You're killing me, Annie. You're killing me.


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

amfortas said:


> You're killing me, Annie. You're killing me.


I know it was you, Annie. You broke my heart. You broke my heart.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Aramis said:


> I know it was you, Annie. You broke my heart. You broke my heart.


Oh noooo, dearest Aramis - I am so sorry. I don't ever want to upset you, you are too important to my plans.

I haven't seen *him* yet so haven't given *him* the _you-know-what_


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## tannhaeuser (Nov 7, 2011)

"Mein vater Parzifal trägt seine Krone! Sein ritter - Ich bin Lohengrin gennant!"
"My father Parsifal was encrowned, I am Lohengrin, a knight" (Hope my German is sufficient)

"Ah, la maledizione!"
"Ah, the curse!"

"Credo in un deo crudel"
"I believe in a cruel God"

Extra credit to those that can identify the opera. Also, did anyone realize the overwhelming majority are German?


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

tannhaeuser said:


> "Credo in un deo crudel"
> "I believe in a cruel God"


That first line from Iago always chills my blood.


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## CountessAdele (Aug 25, 2011)

GILDA 
I deceived you … I was guilty … 
I loved him too much … now I die for him! 

RIGOLETTO 
(Great God in heaven! She was struck by the 
bolt that I, in righteous vengeance, loosed!) 
Beloved angel! Look at me, listen to me! 
Speak, speak to me, dearest child. 

GILDA 
Let me be silent! Forgive me, and him. 
Bless your daughter, O my father – 
in heaven above, near my mother, 
I shall pray for you evermore. 
No more... Farewell! 

RIGOLETTO 
Do not die, my treasure, have pity! 
Oh, my dove, you must not leave me! 
If you go away, I shall be alone! 
Do not die, or I shall die beside you! 
Oh my daughter, my Gilda! 

Gilda dies. 

Gilda! My Gilda! She is dead! 
Ah, the curse! 

I'm usually weeping by this point, and I love it!


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

Tristan und Isolde is a very long poem...all poetry.

Martin, daydreaming


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

macgeek2005 said:


> Some more of my absolute favorites from The Ring... the ones that give me goosebumps every time:
> 
> "Der den Trotz lehrte,
> straft den Trotz?
> ...


Could you be so kind to translate? Thank you

Martin


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## AmericanGesamtkunstwerk (May 9, 2011)

Rhine - nur werder minne macht versagt. I don't know the translation really but one of the Rhinemaidens says it with that brilliant renunciation of love motive. It means a lot to me musically (the first film I scored quotes it at places) and in real life (there was some girl trouble at the time, i appreciated the sentiment)


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

myaskovsky2002 said:


> Could you be so kind to translate? Thank you
> 
> Martin


Martin, this is just my own translation, but I hope it will at least give you some idea --

Who taught (others) defiance (now) punishes defiance?
Who instigated the deed (now) is angered by the deed?
Who preserves the laws, who keeps (i.e., shelters) oaths,
(Now) defends the law (and) rules through perjury?

Up, Gutrune (Gudrun)!
Greet Siegfried!
The strong hero returns home.


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

MAuer said:


> Martin, this is just my own translation, but I hope it will at least give you some idea --
> 
> Who taught (others) defiance (now) punishes defiance?
> Who instigated the deed (now) is angered by the deed?
> ...


Wow! It seems to be vary hard...like Corneille (Le Cid)...Duty before everything, even love (am I wrong?) that I read in French.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Cid


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

myaskovsky2002 said:


> Wow! It seems to be vary hard...like Corneille (Le Cid)...Duty before everything, even love (am I wrong?) that I read in French.
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Cid


I think that first quote might be basically summarized as "Do as I say, not as I do."


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

MAuer said:


> I think that first quote might be basically summarized as "Do as I say, not as I do."


I would probably translate it something more along the lines of, "Wotan, you hypocrite!"


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