Or voi composto m'avereste nella bara

Introduction

Parisina is a difficult work to tackle. The following excerpt, Or voi composto m'avereste nella bara, is a good introduction in some respects. In particular, it illustrates perfectly the way the verses of D'Annunzio are declaimed in Parisina, the music closely following the rhythm of the words. It is also a remarkable part for tenor, of which Alessandro Dolci makes a superb rendition.

Mascagni alludes to this part of the libretto in the article he wrote in late 1913 about the composition of the opera, Come è nata Parisina ("How Parisina was Born"). In Rome, Mascagni read these verses to a friend, on whom they made a great impression. They had also made an impression on Mascagni, who knew them by heart. Mascagni explains how he composed the fragment:

" We came back home, I sat at the piano : and this phrase is today written the way it came to me at the time. "

Synopsis

The scene takes place in Act II, just after Ugo defeats the corsairs that attacked the sanctuary of Loreto, where Parisina came to offer her devotion. He is taken care of by Parisina and her servant, La Verde. They find with great emotion that Ugo is bleeding. Ugo doesn't feel any pain, but the strike could have been deadly. Parisina wonders what would have happened to her if Ugo had not been lucky ("Or che saria di Parisina?").

This is where the excerpt sung by Ugo starts. Ugo replies that had he died, Parisina would have put him in the bier, then on the horse and taken him back home, in the sweetness of spring. And from the inside of the coffin, Ugo would have never seen Parisina again with his earthly eyes.

The thought of not being able to see Parisina again was the only one that Ugo had in mind while fighting, and that thought allowed him to avoid the mortal blows of the enemies. The troups shouted "Diamond, Diamond" (the moto of the d'Este), and Ugo's life, like a diamond (adamantine), was all in that one thought of desiring to see Parisina again.

Recording

The first half starts very slowly ("Doloroso", = 38), which is appropriate since it describes Ugo's body being hypothetically put in a coffin. Notice the long A flat on the last syllable of of "accompagnato" (the score features a rall., a sostenuto, and a tenuto): Dolci cannot help making some noise when catching his breath after that word. The second half is faster ("Agitato", = 50, then "Marziale", = 46), as Ugo immerses himself again in the thought of the battle (this announces the subsequent narration of the battle by Ugo). The excerpt closes on a high G.

In this recording, the reduced orchestra and the poor sound quality do not do justice to the subtelty and the power of the orchestration. Still, it is worth trying to pay attention to the instrumental lines underlying the vocal line, particularly in the first part: they support and respond to the vocal line in a way that is very typical of Parisina's orchestration.

Libretto and Translation

Both the Italian text and David Stivender's literal translation are included below. To fully appreciate the excerpt, it is good to get familiar with the Italian text, checking against the English translation (for non-native Italian speakers), and then to follow the music with the Italian text. Finally, singing along allows to get a feel for the style and the difficulty of this thrilling piece!