Journal after5's Journal: Czech Mate, or, La Donna è mobile 1
Twenty three dollars, or 700 krazies, same amount. (Crowns really, but so far our group has been nicknaming local currencies, Forints (Hungary) = Funnies, Koronas (Cz) = Krazies. Euros have yet to be named, probably because they don't involve weird conversions. Anyway, the reason for this money talk is that last night I spent twenty-three dollars on something completely frivolous...I went to the opera.
But not just any opera, I saw Rigoletto! The National Opera in Prague is celebrating their 10th anniversary of reopening or something like that. So they're having a month of Verdi operas. A different opera each night, lucky for me Rigoletto was playing, I had to go.
Rigoletto has a special place in my heart, it was the first opera I saw, what, two years ago? Has it been that long? Anyway, it tells the tale of a hunchbacked court jester who dislikes his womanising duke, who has eyes on the daughter of the jester. The daughter is kidnapped and seduced by the duke, Rigoletto wants to expose him (and dispose of him) so he takes his daughter to witness the duke in the arms of a prostitute. The catch, the hired assassin is the prostitutes brother. She doesn't want her duke to die, so she convinces Sparafucile (the assassin) to kill the next person who walks through the door instead of the duke, the next person happens to be the daughter of the jester, who also wanted to save the life of the duke.
The life of the jester is ruined, the womanising duke lives on, and the assassin still got his money. To most people this would be the worst ending imaginable, but I love it. I have a soft spot for stories that end on a down note or with the bad guy winning. (See William Shakespeare's 'Othello', or the completely great opera version 'Otello' by Verdi).
Anyway, so despite the subtitles for last night's show being in Czech, I loved it.
Oh, the duke's theme is "La Donna è Mobile", you'd know it if you heard it, it's quite famous. Ask Heidi to sing it for you, she knows all the Italian words
Update: I'm going to give the translation, since it's somewhat amusing, not that i actually believe all the words are true.
Woman is fickle
like a feather in the wind,
she changes her words
and her thoughts.
Always lovable,
and a lovely face,
weeping or laughing,
is lying.
Woman is fickle, etc.
The man's always wretched
who believes in her,
who recklessly entrusts
his heart to her!
and yet one who never
drinks love on that breast
never feels
entirely happy!
Woman is fickle, etc.
fickle, eh? (Score:1)
La donna è mobile
Qual piuma al vento,
Muta d'accento
E di pensiero.
Sempre un'amabile
Leggiadro viso,
In pianto e riso
è menzognera.
La donna è mobile
Qual piuma al vento,
Muta d'accento
E di pensier,
E di pensier,
E di pensier.
È sempre misero
Chi al lei s'affida,
Chi le confida,
Ma cauto il core!
Ormai non sentesi
Felice appieno
Chi su quel seno
Non liba amore.
La donna è mobile
Qual piuma al vento,
Muta d'accento
E di pensier,
E di pensier,
E di pensier.
or something like that