"Sull'aria...che soave zeffiretto" (On the breeze...What a gentle little Zephyr) is a duettino, or a short duet, from act 3, scene X, of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's 1786 operaThe Marriage of Figaro, K. 492, to a libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. In the duettino, Countess Almaviva (a soprano) dictates to Susanna (also a soprano) the invitation to a tryst addressed to the countess' husband in a plot to expose his infidelity.
The duet is scored for oboe, bassoon, and strings.[1] Its time signature is 6/8, its key is B-flat major, and it is 62 bars long; the tempo indication is allegretto. During the first part of the duet (bars 1–37), the Contessa dictates the title and the three lines of the letter and, after a pause, Susanna repeats the lines as she writes them. In the second part, the Contessa and Susanna read alternate lines with a slight overlap (bars 38–45) until they finish in a true duet with their conclusion. The duet has a vocal range from F4 to B♭5 for Susanna and from D4 to G5 for the Contessa.
"Canzonetta sull'aria" Che soave zeffiretto Questa sera spirerà Sotto i pini del boschetto.
"A little song on the breeze" (the title) What a gentle little Zephyr This evening will sigh Under the pines in the little grove.
and both conclude:
Ei già il resto capirà.
And the rest he'll understand.
The dialogue, without the re-reading of the letter:
Contessa:
Canzonetta sull'aria...
A little song on the breeze...
Susanna:–
–Sull'aria...
–On the breeze...
Contessa:
Che soave zeffiretto...
What a gentle little Zephyr...
Susanna:
–Zeffiretto...
–A little Zephyr...
Contessa:
Questa sera spirerà...
This evening will sigh...
Susanna:
–Questa sera spirerà...
–This evening will sigh...
Contessa:
Sotto i pini del boschetto.
Under the pines in the little grove.
Susanna:
–Sotto i pini...
–Under the pines...
Contessa:
Sotto i pini del boschetto.
Under the pines in the little grove.
Susanna:
–Sotto i pini...del boschetto...—
–Under the pines...in the little grove....
Contessa:
Ei già il resto capirà.
And the rest he'll understand.
Susanna/ Contessa:
Certo, certo il capirà.
Certainly, certainly he'll understand.
Both then re-read the letter.
In popular cultureedit
In The Shawshank Redemption (1994), prisoner Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) defies Warden Sam Norton (Bob Gunton) by playing an excerpt of this song over the prison's public address system. Norton sentences Dufresne to solitary confinement as a result. Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding (Morgan Freeman) remarks in his voice-over narration: "I have no idea to this day what those two Italian ladies were singing about. ... I'd like to think they were singing about something so beautiful it can't be expressed in words, and it makes your heart ache because of it."[2] This is ironic as the opera characters are singing about a duplicitous love letter to expose infidelity, and Dufresne's wife's affair is the event which indirectly leads to his imprisonment. The duettino, sung by the sopranos Edith Mathis and Gundula Janowitz, appeared in the film's soundtrack.[3] It was nominated as one of 400 songs in consideration for the American Film Institute's list of 100 top movie songs, although it did not win a place on the list.[4]
The video game Lego City Undercover also features the aria in the third chapter of the game's story, when protagonist Chase McCain plays it over the prison's intercom, in a direct parody of the film.[5]
Referencesedit
^Le nozze di Figaro, act 3, scene X, Canzonetta sull'aria "Che soave zeffiretto", Neue Mozart-Ausgabe
sull, aria, soave, zeffiretto, sull, aria, soave, zeffiretto, breeze, what, gentle, little, zephyr, duettino, short, duet, from, scene, wolfgang, amadeus, mozart, 1786, opera, marriage, figaro, libretto, lorenzo, ponte, duettino, countess, almaviva, soprano, d. Sull aria che soave zeffiretto On the breeze What a gentle little Zephyr is a duettino or a short duet from act 3 scene X of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart s 1786 opera The Marriage of Figaro K 492 to a libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte In the duettino Countess Almaviva a soprano dictates to Susanna also a soprano the invitation to a tryst addressed to the countess husband in a plot to expose his infidelity Contents 1 Music 2 Libretto 3 In popular culture 4 References 5 External linksMusic editRange nbsp nbsp Susanna Contessa nbsp Sull aria che soave zeffiretto source source Maria Stader Countess Irmgard Seefried Susanna Deutsches Symphonie Orchester Berlin Ferenc Fricsay 1960 Problems playing this file See media help The duet is scored for oboe bassoon and strings 1 Its time signature is 6 8 its key is B flat major and it is 62 bars long the tempo indication is allegretto During the first part of the duet bars 1 37 the Contessa dictates the title and the three lines of the letter and after a pause Susanna repeats the lines as she writes them In the second part the Contessa and Susanna read alternate lines with a slight overlap bars 38 45 until they finish in a true duet with their conclusion The duet has a vocal range from F4 to B 5 for Susanna and from D4 to G5 for the Contessa Libretto editWithout repetitions the text is Canzonetta sull aria Che soave zeffiretto Questa sera spirera Sotto i pini del boschetto A little song on the breeze the title What a gentle little Zephyr This evening will sigh Under the pines in the little grove and both conclude Ei gia il resto capira And the rest he ll understand The dialogue without the re reading of the letter Contessa Canzonetta sull aria A little song on the breeze Susanna Sull aria On the breeze Contessa Che soave zeffiretto What a gentle little Zephyr Susanna Zeffiretto A little Zephyr Contessa Questa sera spirera This evening will sigh Susanna Questa sera spirera This evening will sigh Contessa Sotto i pini del boschetto Under the pines in the little grove Susanna Sotto i pini Under the pines Contessa Sotto i pini del boschetto Under the pines in the little grove Susanna Sotto i pini del boschetto Under the pines in the little grove Contessa Ei gia il resto capira And the rest he ll understand Susanna Contessa Certo certo il capira Certainly certainly he ll understand Both then re read the letter In popular culture editIn The Shawshank Redemption 1994 prisoner Andy Dufresne Tim Robbins defies Warden Sam Norton Bob Gunton by playing an excerpt of this song over the prison s public address system Norton sentences Dufresne to solitary confinement as a result Ellis Boyd Red Redding Morgan Freeman remarks in his voice over narration I have no idea to this day what those two Italian ladies were singing about I d like to think they were singing about something so beautiful it can t be expressed in words and it makes your heart ache because of it 2 This is ironic as the opera characters are singing about a duplicitous love letter to expose infidelity and Dufresne s wife s affair is the event which indirectly leads to his imprisonment The duettino sung by the sopranos Edith Mathis and Gundula Janowitz appeared in the film s soundtrack 3 It was nominated as one of 400 songs in consideration for the American Film Institute s list of 100 top movie songs although it did not win a place on the list 4 The video game Lego City Undercover also features the aria in the third chapter of the game s story when protagonist Chase McCain plays it over the prison s intercom in a direct parody of the film 5 References edit Le nozze di Figaro act 3 scene X Canzonetta sull aria Che soave zeffiretto Neue Mozart Ausgabe The Shawshank Redemption at Wikiquote Tommasini Anthony Woolfe Zachary Allen David December 25 2014 Onward Elektra Ariadne and Octavian The New York Times Retrieved November 16 2018 100 Greatest Songs in American Movies The 400 Nominees Diver Mike May 10 2017 The License Free Lego City Undercover Is Full of Great Movie Moments vice com Retrieved March 16 2021 External links edit nbsp Italian Wikisource has original text related to this article Sull aria che soave zeffiretto Sull aria che soave zeffiretto orchestral score with Italian and German text larger version Libretto in Italian English side by side Portal nbsp Opera Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Sull 27aria che soave zeffiretto amp oldid 1187053633, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
