Sarah Brightman -- La Wally
Ebbene? ... N'andro lontana, come va l'eco della pia campana, la, fra la neve bianca; la, fra le nubi d'or; la, dov'e la speranza, la speranza il rimpianto, il rimpianto, e il dolor!
O della madre mia casa gioconda, la Wally n'andra da te, da te lontana assai, e forse a te, e forse a te, non fara mai piu ritorno, ne piu la rive drai! mai piu, mai piu!
N'andro sola e lontana, come l'eco [e] della pia campana, la, fra la neve bianca; n'andro, n'andro sola e lontana! e fra le nubi d'or!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Music: Alfredo Catalani Libretto: Luigi Illica
From: Timeless (1997).
Source of the lyrics: thanks to Tsukasa Ikeguchi (tsukasa@machida.xaxon-net.or.jp), with corrections by Alessandra Cavalletti. The sheet music of the aria, Carlos Pineda wrote, contains at the very end two lines, not sung by Sarah: Ma fermo e il pie! n'andiam, che lunga e la via n'andiam ... ! Tsukasa added that this is one of the most popular versions of the song, and it seems there are several versions around.
The [e] in the last stanza seems to be a gliding sound or has been pronounced simply by mistake, writes Tsukasa Ikeguchi; I nevertheless give it here. Thanks also Carlos Edmar de Almeida Souza (cedmar@bndes.gov.br) for some corrections and to Benjamin Chee (BenjaminChee@t-i-p.com) and Richard Radishman (b5209019@ms.cc.ntu.edu.tw) for their contributions and earlier versions for the lyrics.
Notes:
"La Wally" is actually the title of an opera, and this song is an aria from that opera. The aria is called "Ebben? ... Ne andro lontana" (Sarah pronounces "ne andro" as "n'andro") -- thanks to Carlos this info.
The soprano B.J. Ward sings this aria on her CD Queen of the Night and the CD booklet says about "La Wally": An opera not often performed, as it involves snow stroms, glaciers, avalanches, and a soprano rappelling down a rope. All you need to know about this piece is that a woman named Wally is singing about her childhood home in the mountains. After this aria, she's crushed beneath a sliding glacier, proving once again the old adage: If you can't go to the mountain, the mountain will come to you. -- thanks to Mike King (mking@remcen.ehhs.cmich.edu) for this info. Sarah also sings some of the lines of this aria in the song A question of honour on her CD "Fly". without any credits on the CD or in the CD-booklet. The following translation is from Benjamin, with corrections by Alessandra Cavalletti, meant to have an idea what the song is about:
Wally Well then? I will go far away, As far as the echo from the church bell. There, amid the white snow, There, amid the golden clouds, There where hope is, and sorrow and regret!
O, Wally is going far away Far from her mother's joyous home. Maybe she'll never return to you, You'll never see her again!
I will go alone and far away, As far as the echo from the church bell. There, amid the white snow, I will go, I will go alone and far away, And amid the golden clouds.
Hayley (ilonadoll@softhome.net) sent me a beautiful poetic translation of "Ebben? Ne andro lontana" from La Wally, taken from The Modern Soprano Operatic Album (Ricordi). It is more like a real English version than a translation, I think, but certainly worth giving here: 'Tis well! my way lies yonder! I hear afar the snowy mountains calling; Forth to their heights I wander, Forth to the sunset glow; 'Tis they shall calm the sorrow, calm the sorrow, This heart alone, this heart alone may know.
Oh! peaceful cottage, Dear home of my childhood, The mountains are calling me! Alas! I now must leave thee! And nevermore, And nevermore shall mine eyes fondly behold thee! Home that I love so dearly. Farewell! farewell!
'Tis well! my way lies yonder; I can hear the snowy mountains calling; Forth to their heights I wander; Farewell! farewell! home of my childhood! Farewell for evermore!
|