"Di quella pira" ("Of that

pyre A pyre ( grc, πυρά; ''pyrá'', from , ''pyr'', "fire"), also known as a funeral pyre, is a structure, usually made of wood, for burning a body as part of a funeral rite or execution. As a form of cremation, a body is placed upon or under the ...

") is a short

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

aria In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...

(or more specifically, a

cabaletta Cabaletta is a two-part musical form particularly favored for arias in 19th century Italian opera in the belcanto era until about the 1860s during which it was one of the era's most important elements. More properly, a cabaletta is a more animated ...

) sung by Manrico in act 3, scene 2, of

Giuseppe Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

's opera ''

Il trovatore ''Il trovatore'' ('The Troubadour') is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto largely written by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play ''El trovador'' (1836) by Antonio García Gutiérrez. It was García Gutiérrez's mos ...

''. It is the last number of the act.

Setting

In a chamber adjoining the chapel at Castellor, Leonora and Manrico vow their love for each other. After Manrico's aria "" ("Ah, yes, my love, in being yours"), they are about to take their marriage vows. However, Ruiz, Manrico's comrade, suddenly returns to report that Manrico's mother Azucena is to be burned at the stake. Manrico calls together his soldiers and sings of how they will save Azucena from death: "" ("The horrible blaze of that pyre burned, enflamed all of my being!...")

Music

The

vocal range Vocal range is the range of pitches that a human voice can phonate. A common application is within the context of singing, where it is used as a defining characteristic for classifying singing voices into voice types. It is also a topic of stud ...

is from E₃ to A₄ with a

tessitura In music, tessitura (, pl. ''tessiture'', "texture"; ) is the most acceptable and comfortable vocal range for a given singer or less frequently, musical instrument, the range in which a given type of voice presents its best-sounding (or character ...

from G₃ to G₄, with three optional high C₅'s. The

key signature In Western musical notation, a key signature is a set of sharp (), flat (), or rarely, natural () symbols placed on the staff at the beginning of a section of music. The initial key signature in a piece is placed immediately after the clef at ...

C major C major (or the key of C) is a major scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. C major is one of the most common keys used in music. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative minor is A minor and ...

and the

time signature The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...

is a

triple metre Triple metre (or Am. triple meter, also known as triple time) is a musical metre characterized by a ''primary'' division of 3 beats to the bar, usually indicated by 3 (simple) or 9 (compound) in the upper figure of the time signature, with , , ...

; it is 39 bars long.

Libretto

Manrico Di quella pira l'orrendo foco Tutte le fibre m'arse, avvampò!... Empi, spegnetela, o ch'io fra poco Col sangue vostro la spegnerò... Era già figlio prima d'amarti, Non può frenarmi il tuo martir. Madre infelice, corro a salvarti, O teco almeno corro a morir! Leonora Non reggo a colpi tanto funesti... Oh quanto meglio sarìa morir! Ruiz, Chorus of soldiers All'armi, all'armi! eccone presti A pugnar teco, teco a morir. Of that pyre, the horrendous fire Has burned all my fibres! Imps, extinguish it, or else I will shortly Extinguish it with your blood! He was already a son before he loved you, Your pain cannot restrain me. Unhappy mother, I run to save you, Or at least I run to die with you! I can't stand such fatal blows ... Oh how much better it will be to die! To arms, to arms! Here we are To fight with you, with you to die. Of that dark scaffold, those flames ascending, Thrill thro' each fibre with madd'ning glow! Quench them, ye monsters vile or, still offending, To stay their fury, your blood shall flow! I was her offspring, ere love I gave thee, In vain, to hold me, thy griefs would try. Mother unhappy! I fly to save thee, Or, all else failing, with thee to die! Such heavy sorrows my heart o'erpow'ring. Oh! better far would it be to die! Arouse ye to arms now! The foe we will defy!, English words by Theodore T. Barker

References

Libretto: ''Il tovatore'', Parte Terza
on the Giuseppe Verdi official web site (giuseppeverdi.it). Accessed 6 March 2008

External links

""
sung by

Enrico Caruso Enrico Caruso (, , ; 25 February 1873 – 2 August 1921) was an Italian operatic first lyrical tenor then dramatic tenor. He sang to great acclaim at the major opera houses of Europe and the Americas, appearing in a wide variety of roles (74) ...

–

MP3 MP3 (formally MPEG-1 Audio Layer III or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III) is a coding format for digital audio developed largely by the Fraunhofer Society in Germany, with support from other digital scientists in the United States and elsewhere. Origin ...

file on

The Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

Jonas Kaufmann Jonas Kaufmann (born 10 July 1969) is a German operatic tenor. He is best known for the versatility of his repertoire, performing a variety of opera roles in multiple languages in recitalTommasini, Anthony (21 February 2014)"A Tenor Finds Energy ...

, live from the

Bavarian State Opera The Bayerische Staatsoper is a German opera company based in Munich. Its main venue is the Nationaltheater München, and its orchestra the Bayerische Staatsorchester. History The parent ensemble of the company was founded in 1653, under Ele ...

, 5 July 2013 {{Authority control Opera excerpts Arias by Giuseppe Verdi