Giuseppe Verdi

Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (October 10, 1813 – January 27, 1901) is to date the most influential composer of the Italian School of Opera. His greatest works (i.e. Rigoletto, La Traviata, Aida), known for their abundance of expressive melody, are frequently performed in opera houses throughout the world and, transcending the boundaries of the genre, some of his themes have long since taken root in popular culture (La donna è mobile, from Rigoletto). Oftentimes scoffed at by the critics, in his lifetime and today, as catering to the tastes of the common folk, overly simple in chromatic texture and shamelessly melodramatic, Verdi?s masterpieces dominate the standard repertoire a century and a half after their composition.

Questa o quella

The Duke of Mantua's aria from Act One of Rigoletto

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• lyrics by Francesco Maria Piave
• translated by Ricardo the

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Questa o quella per me pari sono

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A quant?altre d?intorno ... d?intorno mi vedo,

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Del mio core l?impero non cedo

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Meglio ad una che ad altra belta.

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La costoro avvenenza e qual dono

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Di che il fato ne infiora la vita;

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S?oggi questa mi torna gradita,

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Forse un?altra ... forse un?altra doman lo sara.

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Forse un?altra doman lo sara.

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La costanza, tiranna del core,

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Detestiamo qual morbo ... qual morbo crudele,

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Sol chi vuole si serbi fedele;

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Non v?ha amor ... v?ha mor, se non v?e liberta.

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De? mariti il geloso furore,

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Degli amanti le smanie derido,

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Anco d?Argo i cent?occhi disfido

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Se mi punge ... se mi punge una qualche belta.

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Se mi punge una qualche belta.

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This or that one, women are all equal in my eyes

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When around ... around me I look.

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Should one of them win my heart right now, it will not be

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Because I favor her over any other pretty woman.

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Their charm is to them a gift

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From Destiny, and its purpose is to brighten up their lives.

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Should this one reciprocate today,

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Maybe I'll choose another one ... maybe I'll chose another one tomorrow.

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Maybe I'll choose another one tomorrow.

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Being faithful - oh, heart's tyrant,

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I resent it as if it were an affliction ... as if it were an affliction most cruel.

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Whoever wants to be faithful, let him.

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But there is no love ... there is no love without freedom.

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The jealous husband?s fury,

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The hapless lover?s woes I mock disdainfully.

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I can defy Argus? hundred eyes

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When I fancy ... when I fancy a pretty woman,

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When I fancy a pretty woman.

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