Recondita armonia
Encyclopedia
Recondita Armonia is the first romanza
Romance (music)
The term romance has a centuries-long history. Applied to narrative ballads in Spain, it came to be used by the 18th century for simple lyrical pieces not only for voice, but also for instruments alone. During the 18th and 19th centuries Russian composers developed the French variety of the...
in the opera Tosca, by Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was an Italian composer whose operas, including La bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot, are among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire...
. It is sung by the painter, Mario Cavaradossi, when comparing his love, Tosca, to a lady he was painting.
Libretto
Dammi i colori... Recondita armonia di bellezze diverse! È bruna Floria, l'ardente amante mia. E te, beltade ignota, cinta di chiome bionde, Tu azzurro hai l'occhio, Tosca ha l'occhio nero! L'arte nel suo mistero, le diverse bellezze insiem confonde... Ma nel ritrar costei, Il mio solo pensiero, Il mio sol pensier sei tu, Tosca, sei tu! |
Pass me the colors... Concealed harmony of contrasting beauties! Floria, my ardent lover, is dark haired. And you, unknown beauty, crowned with blond hair, You have blue eyes, Tosca has black eyes! Art, in its mysterious way, blends the contrasting beauties together... But while I'm painting her, My only thought, My only thought is of you, Tosca, it is of you! |