Tu che di gel sei cinta

Background#

Princess Turandot is taken aback by Liù’s strong resolve by not revealing the name of the Prince, and asked her: Turandot: Chi pose tanta forza nel tuo cuore? Liù: Principessa, l’amore! Turandot: L’amore? Who put so much strength into your heart? Princess, Love! Love? Turandot was furious with the answer, and ordered Ping to continue torturing Liù. Liù counters Turandot with this aria, and later seized a dagger from a soldier’s belt and stabs herself. In the following moments, the blind Timur tries to wake Liù, saying it is dawn (“Liù, Liù, sorgi, sorgi”). When told she is dead, he cries out in anguish that her offended spirit will take revenge, and Liù’s cortège moves off, with Timur vowing to accompany her into “the night which knows no dawn”.

Libretto#

Tu che di gel sei cinta da tanta fiamma vinta L’amerai anche tu! Prima di quest’aurora io chiudo stanca gli occhi perché egli vinca ancora… egli vinca ancora… per non, per non vederlo più! Prima di quest’aurora, di quest’aurora io chiudo stanca gli occhi per non vederlo più! You who are girdled with ice Once conquered by so much flame You will love him too! Before this dawn I will close my weary eyes So that he may still win He may still win… To not, to not see him any more! Before this dawn, this dawn I will close my weary eyes To not see him any more!

References#

• William Ashbrook and Harold Powers (1991) Puccini’s Turandot. The End of the Great Tradition. Princeton University Press

External links#

• “Tu che di gel sei cinta”. Aria database site. Retrieved 25 July 2018
• , by Renata Tebaldi in a studio recording with Mario del Monaco and Alberto Erede conducting, 1955
• , Leona Mitchell, live performance at The met in 1988.
• , Maria Callas