"I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls", or "The Gipsy Girl's Dream", is a popular

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 ...

from ''

The Bohemian Girl ''The Bohemian Girl'' is an Irish Romantic opera composed by Michael William Balfe with a libretto by Alfred Bunn. The plot is loosely based on a Miguel de Cervantes' tale, ''La Gitanilla''. The best-known aria from the piece is "I Dreamt I Dwel ...

'', an 1843

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

by Michael William Balfe, with lyrics by

Alfred Bunn Alfred Bunn (April 8, 1796 in LondonDecember 20, 1860 in Boulogne-sur-Mer) was an English theatrical manager. He was married to Margaret Agnes (née Somerville) Bunn, a minor actress, in 1819. Biography Bunn was appointed stage manager of Drur ...

. It is sung in the opera by the character Arline, who is in love with Thaddeus, a Polish nobleman and political exile.

In popular culture

In addition to its regular performance in the opera, and in cast recordings of the opera, the aria, which was very popular in the 19th and 20th centuries, has been recorded many times by a variety of musicians as a stand-alone song. It has also been parodied. *

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequel ...

's parody of the lyrics was published in ''Lays of Mystery, Imagination and Humour'' in 1855: * The song was recorded several times during the mid-twentieth century by

Dame Joan Sutherland Dame Joan Alston Sutherland, (7 November 1926 – 10 October 2010) was an Australian dramatic coloratura soprano known for her contribution to the renaissance of the bel canto repertoire from the late 1950s through to the 1980s. She possess ...

. * The opera is mentioned, and the aria referred to several times, in the 1944 novel '' Dragonwyck'', by Anya Seton, which is set in 1844. The song makes a brief appearance in the 1946 film adaptation of the book. * The opera is featured in two short stories published in

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...

’s 1914 work '' Dubliners'': "

Clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

" and " Eveline". *An ambient, ethereal version was recorded by The Irish singer

Enya Enya Patricia Brennan (; ga, Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin; born 17 May 1961), known professionally by the mononym Enya, is an Irish singer, songwriter, and musician known for modern Celtic music. She is the best-selling Irish solo arti ...

for her Grammy-winning 1991 album, '' Shepherd Moons'': this version was featured on the soundtrack of the 1993

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominatio ...

film '' The Age of Innocence''. *

Sinéad O'Connor Shuhada Sadaqat (born Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor on 8 December 1966; ) is an Irish singer-songwriter. Her debut album, ''The Lion and the Cobra'', was released in 1987 and charted internationally. Her second album, ''I Do Not Want What ...

recorded a version of the song for the soundtrack of the 1997 Irish film '' The Butcher Boy''.''The Butcher Boy'' (1997) – Soundtracks
/ref> * The song is also sung by the character Arline (played by the actress Julie Bishop) in the 1936 movie The Bohemian Girl, starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. * The aria is played and sung by the character Clementina Cavendish (

Florence Hoath Florence Angela L. Hoath (born 12 July 1984) is a retired British actress. The daughter of British actress Tina Martin, Hoath was born in London and made her film debut in the 1993 screen adaptation of ''Secret Rapture'' at the age of eight. S ...

) in the 1998 film ''

The Governess ''The Governess'' is a 1998 British period drama film written and directed by Sandra Goldbacher. The screenplay focuses on a young Jewish woman of Sephardic background, who reinvents herself as a gentile governess when she is forced to find w ...

''. * Cellist

Julian Lloyd Webber Julian Lloyd Webber (born 14 April 1951) is a British solo cellist, conductor and broadcaster, a former principal of Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and the founder of the In Harmony music education programme. Early years and education Julian ...

has recorded the song on two occasions: with singer Aled Jones on Jones' 2003 album ''Higher''; and with harpist Catrin Finch on Lloyd Webber's 2006 album ''

Unexpected Songs ''Unexpected Songs'' is a 2006 album by Julian Lloyd Webber. Track listing # "Star of the County Down"/"Lady D'Arbanville" by Cat Stevens/Trad. arr. Chowhan # "Oblivion" by Ástor Piazzolla arr. Lenehan # "Marble Halls" by Michael Balfe # "Prelud ...

''. * Norwegian soprano Sissel Kyrkjebø featured a version on her 2006 album '' Into Paradise''. * Australian harpist

Siobhan Owen Siobhán Owen (born 4 October 1993) is a soprano and harpist from Adelaide, South Australia. Owen regularly performs at festivals, concerts and events around Australia and further abroad. She favours classical and Celtic/folk songs, but also ...

recorded the song in her album ''Lilium''. * The protagonist in

Sarah Perry Sarah Grace Perry (born 28 November 1979) is an English author. She has had three novels published, all by Serpent's Tail: ''After Me Comes the Flood'' (2014), ''The Essex Serpent'' (2016) and ''Melmoth'' (2018). Her work has been translated ...

's novel ''Melmoth'' (2018) sings the song to a burn victim in a hospital in Manila and is later haunted by someone (unknown and unseen) singing it in Prague.

References

External links

1909 recording by Elizabeth Wheeler
{{authority control Compositions by Michael William Balfe Opera excerpts English songs 1843 songs Soprano arias