Prologue - Adagio
Inspired by beloved operatic arias, ballets and beautiful classical music...
“The only reason for time is so that everything doesn’t happen at once” - Albert Einstein
But what happens when love calls you back to a time that the heart has forgotten?
Armand watched the young mezzo soprano being put through her paces upon the stage as she tackled Handel’s Serse, singing ‘Ombra Mai Fu’, a beautiful, solemn aria, in preparation for her recital.
Normally , such a piece would have been sung by a countertenor, but she wanted to display her versatility as an artist in the operatic world, and much to her surprise, Armand allowed it.
The young soprano was beautiful, her skin gleaming like porcelain as her nightingale’s voice soared through the rafters, reverberating deep within the recesses of his mind, but the maestro’s reveries were disturbed by the discordant notes coming from the young songstress, who seemed to struggle with the method of conveying the words correctly:
(Ombra Mai Fu – Serse by George Frederic Handel)
Frondi tenere e belle
Del mio Platano amato
Per voi risplenda il Fato
Tuoni, Lampi, e Procelle
Non vi oltraggino mai la cara pace,
Ne giunga a profanarvi Austro rapace
Ombra Mai fu
Di vegetabile
Cara ed amabile
Soave piu.
Ombra Mai fu
Di vegetabile
Cara ed amabile
Soave piu.
Soave piu...
[Translation]
Tender and beautiful fronds
Of my beloved plane tree
Let fate smile upon you
May thunder, lightning, and storms
Never bother your dear peace
Nor may you by blowing winds be profaned
Never was there a shadow
Of Branches
Sweeter, more refreshing
Or more gentle
Never was there a shadow
Of Branches
Sweeter, more refreshing
Or more gentle
“No, No, NO!!! Repeat it again...slowly...gently...feel the words carefully…They are speaking to you, child…” He murmured, beating the tip of his cane, rhythmically upon the solid wooden floor of the opera stage. The girl had not been able to convey the purity of the emotions of that piece, and was getting flustered with each passing moment.
She nodded, determined to please her teacher, who had worked so hard to get her to this level of accomplishment, upon the stage of the Gran Teatro de Fenice, an historical landmark upon which many a famous opera or classical artist has performed.
The old man closed his eyes, letting the music carry him to another place and time, a time when he was a young gondolieri in Venice, Italy...
And lo and behold, it was as if he had never aged...
