Che farò senza Euridice!

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com


I

Che farò senza Euridice? J'ai perdu mon Eurydice.
Dove andrò senza il mio ben? Rien n'égale mon malheur.
Che farò? Dove andrò? Sort cruel! Quelle rigueur!
Che farò senza il mio ben? Rien n'égale mon malheur.
Dove andrò senza il mio ben? Je succombe à ma douleur.

II

(a)
Euridice! Euridice! Eurydice! Eurydice!
Oh Dio, rispondi! Réponds! Quel supplice!
Rispondi! Réponds-moi!

(b)

Io son pure il tuo fedel. C'est ton époux, ton époux fidèle.
Io son pure il tuo fedel. Entends ma voix qui t'appelle,
il tuo fedel. ma voix qui t'appelle.

III


Che farò senza Euridice? J'ai perdu mon Eurydice.
Dove andrò senza il mio ben? Rien m'égale mon malheur.
Che farò? Dove andrò? Sort cruel! Quelle rigueur!
Che farò senza il mio ben? Rien m'égale mon malheur.
Dove andrò senza il mio ben? Je succombe à ma doleur.

IV

(a)
Euridice! Euridice! Euydice! Eurydice!

(b)

Ah, non m'avanza Mortel silence!
Più soccorso, più speranza Vaine esperance! Quelle souffrance!
Né dal mondo né dal ciel. Quel tourment déchire mon cœur.

V

Che farò senza Euridice? J'ai perdu mon Eurydice.
Dove andrò senza il mio ben? Rien m'egale mon malheur.
Che fafò? Dove andrò? Sort cruel! Quelle rigueur!
che faro senza il mio ben Rien m'égale mon malheur.
Che farò? Dove andrò? Sort cruel! Quelle rigueur!
Che farò senza il mio ben? J'ai succombe à ma doleur,
Senza il mio ben? à ma doleur,
Senza il mio ben? à ma doleur.


NOTES.

For what is worth (a lot, :) -- since you won't find this online, this far!) the strict comparison, line-by-line of Ranieri de' Calzabigi and Moline's translation, which Ricordi ignored when he omitted it in the 1889 edition. One may do with a strict analysis of 'performative' acts. The Italian version is all about 'rhetorical' questions, almost -- although not quite. Some say that Orfeo is a controversial figure. So, when he says, "What shall I do WITHOUT Eurydice?" he may MEAN it. As it happens, he became so disilussioned with women after this disgrace that it provoked the reaction by the Furies who dismember him. I understand this was the original Monteverdi ending which he was forced to adapt for the wedding of de Medici, or something.

lines 1-2.

So, to the 'question', "Che faro, dove andro?", the French offers a statement: "J'ai perdu mon Eurydice". (In fact, this has been parodied, elsewhere, as "J'ai TROUVE mon Eurydice"). Again, the second 'rhetoric' question ("Where will I go without my good?") becomes another statement, however spiritual, "Rien n'egale mon malheur".

lines 3-4.

The loveliness of the interrupted questions in the Italian, "What shall I do, where shall I go" (che faro, dove andro) are turned into 'exclamatives' in French. In fact, I find one exclamative too many in the French. So the first here are "Sort cruel!" corresponding to the abbreviated question, "Che faro", and the proper exclamative, "Quelle rigueur" for the "dove andro".

line 5.

The next divergence is the introduction of a NEW proposition in the first 'stanza', 'Je succombe a ma doleur' in the French. The Italian just does with a repetition of previous, er, questions, notably the second: "Dove andro senza il mio ben?".

line 5.

Now, we can examine the rhyme in the first stanza. The French manages with a perfect consonant rhyme in a trio: malheur--rigueur--douleur. Which is unavailable in Italian, which merely has, but I love it, still, 'mio ben', rhyiming with 'mio ben', rhyming with 'mio ben'!

line 6-7.

In the second 'stanza', Moline manages to introduce 'suplice' to rhyme with "Eurydice" of the 'vocative' (one vocative too many, for my taste, in this arietta). Instead, the Italian, rather clumsily, introduces a different emphatic, "Oh Dio", which sort of puts me off slightly. I do tend to use this exclamative often, but without MEANING it. How many of us, do say, "Oh my God" withOUT meaning it. I think this is the case with Orfeo. In any case, in those days, they believed in like 15 gods, so we are not sure who he is thinking. So this must be Cazalbigi.

Line 8

Another feature of interest is the 'moi' in the 'responds-moi'. The Italian does with a rather more effective repetition of the 'rispondi'. The second one is exactly a gem in the octave range it covers. Instead the French does not really repeat the cri-de-coeur. It has 'responds' on one line and 'responds-MOI' in the second. As if Eurydice could respond to someone OTHER than the inquirer.

line 9-10.

The (b) section of this second stanza offers a new introduction of a new proposition in the French text that is not covered in the original Italian. It's the line, "entends ma voix qui t'appelle". The Italian does with the 'husband' motif. After all, the play -- and especially the Monteverdi -- opens, effectively, with the WEDDING. This is some sort of 'honeymoon' in hell they are suffering. She possibly died a virgin. So, it is 'meant' that Orfeo sees himself as 'il tuo fedel'. The French introduces, hyperbolically, 'epoux' (spouse) and instead of sticking to the repetition of the 'ALWAYS' (pure) your faithful one (il tuo fedel) adds this point about 'hear my voice that calls for you'.

line 12.

While the rhyme in the next section in Italian is magisterial (speranza, avanza -- or 'avanza', 'speranza', rather) the French manages even perhaps better with the addition of a THIRD -ance ending word. So we have 'silence' (to match 'avanza') and 'esperance' which matches 'speranza' -- but it adds "quel souffrance'. Yet another 'exclamative'. When I write 'proper' exclamative I mean the use of the wh- pronoun followed by the noun. Quelle souffrance. When we say, "What beauty!", what do we mean? I contend that we mean something like "This is SOME beauty". I.e. the use of the interrogative pronoun in the exclamative use is quite a bother, pragmatic. It has the form of a question, but it's an exclamation, and what is 'exclaimed' is just IMPLICATED. What suffering! Meaning -- what?

line 13.

While we cannot say that the Italian text is structured in terms of LONG phrases, one of the longest, grammatical, is that 'avanza--speranza' one which ends with 'ne dal ciel'. I.e. the whole section is just ONE proposition. "I have no hope on earth or heaven", he is saying. Instead the French version prefers to cut the proposition short -- instead of the locative, 'in earth as in heaven' we find a new proposition, with, yes, another exclamative, 'quel tournment dechire mon coeur'.
---- Next: to locate in the classical literature -- of the Greeks preferably -- anything similar coming from the VOICE of "Orfeo".

Or something --.