CONCERTS

77TH SEASON OF

national gallery of art | february 24, 2019
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PROGRAM

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Curtis Opera Theatre Vocal Quartet

Sage DeAgro-Ruopp, soprano

Anastasiia Sidorova, mezzo-soprano

Dominic Armstrong, tenor

Patrick Wilhelm, baritone

Miloš Repický, piano

Mikael Eliasen, piano

February 24, 2019 | 3:30

West Building, West Garden Court

Program subject to change

Sigmund Romberg (1887 – 1951)

“Serenade,” from The Student Prince

Sage DeAgro-Ruopp, soprano

Anastasiia Sidorova, mezzo-soprano

Dominic Armstrong, tenor

Patrick Wilhelm, baritone

Leonard Bernstein (1918 – 1990)

“Glitter and Be Gay,” from Candide

Sage DeAgro-Ruopp, soprano

Georges Bizet (1838 – 1875)

“Près des remparts de Séville (Seguidilla),” duet from Carmen

Anastasiia Sidorova, mezzo-soprano

Dominic Armstrong, tenor

Kurt Weill (1900 – 1950)

“It Never Was You,” from Knickerbocker Holiday

Patrick Wilhelm, baritone

Photo by Karli Cadel
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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 – 1791)

“Là ci darem la mano,” from Don Giovanni

Anastasiia Sidorova, mezzo-soprano

Patrick Wilhelm, baritone

Franz Lehár (1870 – 1948)

“Dein ist mein ganzes Herz,” from Das Land des Lächelns

Dominic Armstrong, tenor

“Lippen schweigen,” from Die lustige Witwe

Sage DeAgro-Ruopp, soprano

Patrick Wilhelm, baritone

Leonard Bernstein 

“Tonight,” from West Side Story 

Sage DeAgro-Ruopp, soprano

Dominic Armstrong, tenor

Giuseppe Verdi (1813 – 1901)

“Un dì, se ben rammentomi . . . Bella figlia dell’amore,” from Rigoletto

Sage DeAgro-Ruopp, soprano

Anastasiia Sidorova, mezzo-soprano

Dominic Armstrong, tenor

Patrick Wilhelm, baritone

Intermission

Leonard Bernstein 

Overture to Candide

Miloš Repický, piano

Mikael Eliasen, piano

Johannes Brahms (1833 – 1897)

Liebeslieder Walzer, op. 52

1. Rede, Mädchen, allzu liebes 

2. Am Gesteine rauscht die Flut

3. O die Frauen!

4. Wie des Abends schöne Röte

5. Die grüne Hopfenranke

6. Ein kleiner, hübscher Vogel

7. Wohl schön bewandt war es

8. Wenn so lind dein Auge mir

9. Am Donaustrande

10. O wie sanft die Quelle sich

11. Nein, es ist nicht auszukommen

12. Schlosser auf, und mache Schlösser 

13. Vögelein durchrauscht die Luft

14. Sieh, wie ist die Welle klar

15. Nachtigall, sie singt so schön

16. Ein dunkeler Schacht ist Liebe

17. Nicht wandle, mein Licht

18. Es bebet das Gesträuche

Sage DeAgro-Ruopp, soprano

Anastasiia Sidorova, mezzo-soprano

Dominic Armstrong, tenor

Patrick Wilhelm, baritone 

Miloš Repický, piano 

Mikael Eliasen, piano
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Dominic Armstrong has quickly established himself as an artist of superb musicality 

and characterization. This season, Armstrong joins the Syracuse Opera singing Macduff 

in Verdi’s Macbeth, directed by R. B. Schather. He also joins the Florida Orchestra for 

Michael Tippett’s The Child of Our Time, the Kaohsiung Symphony Orchestra for an 

opera gala concert, and the Portland Symphony to sing in Rachmaninoff’s The Bells. 

He is participating in a tour of the United States with Curtis on Tour and travels to 

France to perform Cavaradossi in Puccini’s Tosca with conductor Emmanuel Plasson. 

Last season, Armstrong joined the Milwaukee Symphony for Bach’s Magnificat, 

Curtis on Tour for their annual touring initiative, and Hudson Hall as Jo the Loiterer 

in Virgil Thomson’s, The Mother of Us All, and appeared with both Los Angeles Opera 

and the Center for Contemporary Opera in a double bill of two Gordon Getty one-act 

operas, Usher House and The Canterville Ghost, as Edgar Allen Poe and Duke Cecil of 

Yorkshire. Along with his wife, Ashley Emerson, Armstrong also participated in a tour 

of Russia for the occasion of Leonard Bernstein’s centenary celebration under the 

baton of Maestro Mark Mandarano.

In recent seasons, Armstrong returned to Dayton Opera as Don José in Bizet’s 

Carmen and to the Lansing Symphony for Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. In January, he 

joined Beth Morrison Projects for the New York City performances of Missy Mazzoli’s 

Breaking the Waves. Previously, Armstrong traveled to Russia to perform Britten’s War 

Requiem with the Russian National Orchestra and subsequently performed in a series 

of concerts, collaborating with Craig Rutenberg. He also made his company debut 

with Opera Colorado as Arthur Dimmesdale in the anticipated world premiere of Lori 

Laitman’s The Scarlet Letter, sang the Second Jew in Strauss’s Salome with the Detroit 

Symphony Orchestra, and performed in recital with the Brooklyn Art Song Society. 

Sage DeAgro-Ruopp, from Traverse City, Michigan, entered the Curtis Institute of 

Music in 2017 and studies in the voice program with Marlena Kleinman Malas. She is 

the Gianna Rolandi Annual Fellow. A soprano, DeAgro-Ruopp has sung the roles of 

Bessie (Mahagonny: Ein Songspiel), Monica (The Medium), and Mélisande (Impressions 

of Pelléas) for the Curtis Opera Theatre; and the Fairy (Cendrillon), Corilla (Viva la 

Mamma), and Morgana (Alcina) for the Oberlin Opera Theater. Also at Oberlin, she 

premiered Matthew Schreibeis’s The Sandburg Songs with the school’s contemporary 

music ensemble. She has performed as a soloist with the Interlochen Arts Academy 

Orchestra as the winner of their 2014 Concerto Competition, and she has appeared as 

a guest on A Prairie Home Companion.

THE MUSICIANS DeAgro-Ruopp attended the Chautauqua Institution and Oberlin in Italy and was 

named a YoungArts winner in 2014. She holds a performance diploma from the Oberlin 

Conservatory. Her teachers have included Duane Mahy, Scott Skiba, and Marilyn Tilley.

Mikael Eliasen is artistic director of the Curtis Opera Theatre and the Hirsig Family 

Dean of Vocal Studies at the Curtis Institute of Music. Born in Denmark, he received 

his early training in Copenhagen, Montreal, and Vienna. He has collaborated with 

numerous singers in recital worldwide, including Robert Merrill, Tom Krause, John 

Shirley-Quirk, Elly Ameling, Edith Mathis, Florence Quivar, Mira Zakai, Sarah Walker, 

Joan Patenaude-Yarnell, and Curtis alumni Theodor Uppman, Michael Schade, and 

Rinat Shaham.

Eliasen has given master classes at Aix-en-Provence, the Shanghai Conservatory, 

the Tchaikovsky Conservatory, the Jerusalem Music Center, and the National Opera 

of Prague. He has a long association with the young artist programs at the Royal 

Danish Opera and the Opera Studio of Amsterdam. In the United States, he works 

regularly at the Lyric Opera of Chicago and the principal operas of Los Angeles, 

Houston, Pittsburgh, Santa Fe, and New York. He has recorded for Albany Records, 

CBC, Hilversum Radio, Polish State Radio, Kol Israel, Irish Radio and Television, London 

Records, MHS, and Supraphon.

Eliasen was music director of the San Francisco Opera Center from 1994 to 1996 

and artistic director of the European Center for Opera and Vocal Art in Belgium from 

1984 to 1994. For twenty years, he has taught at Chautauqua’s Voice Program during 

the summers. In 2013, he was appointed artistic adviser to Opera Philadelphia. He led 

the Young Artist Voice Program as part of Curtis Summerfest 2016. Eliasen joined the 

faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music in 1986 and became the head of the department 

in 1988. 

Miloš Repicky, pianist and conductor, is on the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music. 

As assistant conductor with the Metropolitan Opera, he has served twelve seasons, 

with recent productions including Rusalka, Jenůfa, Anna Bolena, Otello, The Death 

of Klinghoffer, and Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk. He enjoys regular collaborations with 

the Cleveland Orchestra, including this season’s Cunning Little Vixen at Severance 

Hall, Vienna’s Musikverein, and in Luxembourg. Previously he performed Pelléas et 

Mélisande and Daphne at the Lincoln Center Festival, as well as Bluebeard’s Castle /

Miraculous Mandarin with the Joffrey Ballet. He has worked with the Houston Grand 

Opera, the Canadian Opera Company, the Spoleto Festival, the San Francisco Opera, 

the Kennedy Center, Oman’s Royal Opera House Muscat, and Spain’s Orquestra 

Nacional de Galicia. His collaborations as guest music director with Against the Grain 

Theatre in Toronto include #UncleJohn and the development of a new, immersive 

work, No One’s Safe, at the Banff Centre. At the Kennedy Center’s World Stages 
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Festival, he conducted Tobin Stokes and Heather Raffo’s new opera, Fallujah. As a 

pianist, he has performed for the Ottawa International Chamber Festival, Carnegie Hall, 

Medici TV, TED, Alice Tully Hall, Jeunesses-Musicales du Canada, and the Banff Centre. 

He is a featured pianist on the Sundialtech Pictures multimedia DVD of Pierrot Lunaire 

and recently conducted a soundtrack for the feature film The Bohemians, an adaptation of Puccini’s La bohème. He has been on the guest faculty at the Juilliard School, 

the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Yale University, the Chautauqua Institution, and the Castleton Festival. With his wife, Lilah Gosman, he is co-artistic director 

of Music for Montauk, on Long Island.

Repický studied at the Manhattan School of Music with Warren Jones, and at the 

California’s Music Academy of the West, the Merola Program at San Francisco Opera, 

and the Banff Centre. He joined the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music in 2016.

Anastasiia Sidorova, from St. Petersburg, Russia, entered the Curtis Institute of 

Music in 2014 and studies voice with Patricia McCaffrey. She is the Casiana Hilton 

Annual Fellow.

A mezzo-soprano, Sidorova won first prize in the 2015 Classical Singer Vocal 

Competition. She received the Encouragement Award at the Gerda Lissner Foundation 

Lieder/Song Competition in 2015, and was the 2012 Third Laureate and 2011 Second 

Laureate in the Vivat-Talent International Contest and Festival in St. Petersburg. She 

joined Opera Philadelphia’s Emerging Artists Program in 2016, singing the role of 

Roggiero in Tancredi and covering the role of Dodo in Breaking the Waves. In the 

2017–2018 season, she continued as an Emerging Artist in the roles of Third Lady in 

Die Zauberflöte and Mércèdes in Carmen.

For the Curtis Opera Theatre, Sidorova’s notable roles include Dinah (Trouble 

in Tahiti), Dido (Dido and Aeneas), Olga and Filippyevna (Eugene Onegin), Bianca 

(The Rape of Lucretia), Martha (Iolanta), Lucilla (La scala di seta), Dryad (Ariadne 

auf Naxos), Mother Goose (The Rake’s Progress), Rosette (Manon), and Cherubino 

(Le nozze di Figaro). She participated in the Wolf Trap Studio Artist Program in 2018 

and has also attended California’s Music Academy of the West and the Verbier Music 

Festival in Switzerland.

Patrick Wilhelm, from Maplewood, New Jersey, and Lausanne, Switzerland, entered 

the Curtis Institute of Music in 2015 and studies voice with Julia Faulkner. He is the 

Lelia A. Wike Fellow.

Wilhelm, a baritone, has appeared as Sam (Trouble in Tahiti), Aeneas (Dido and 

Aeneas), Mr. Gobineau (The Medium), Bill (A Quiet Place), Zaretsky (Eugene Onegin), 

Pelléas (Impressions of Pelléas), Junius (The Rape of Lucretia), and the Black Cat 

(L’enfant et les sortilèges) with the Curtis Opera Theatre. An avid recitalist, he frequently performs on the Student Recital Series at Curtis. In the summers of 2015 and

2016, Wilhelm attended the Académie internationale d’été de Nice, singing in classes 

with Dalton Baldwin and Lorraine Nubar. He attended the Salzburg Mozarteum in 2017, 

and has also participated in Boston University’s Tanglewood Institute.

The Curtis Institute of Music educates and trains exceptionally gifted young musicians to engage a local and global community through the highest level of artistry. 

One of the most selective schools in the United States, Curtis accepts 4 percent of 

applicants each year on average, and a tuition-free policy ensures that talent and 

artistic promise are the only considerations for admission.

With a small student body of about 175, Curtis ensures that each young musician 

receives an education of unparalleled quality, distinguished by a “learn by doing” 

philosophy and personalized attention from a faculty that includes a high proportion 

of actively performing musicians.

Curtis students hone their craft through more than two hundred orchestra, opera, 

and solo and chamber music offerings each year and programs that bring arts access 

and education to the community. This real-world training allows these extraordinary 

young musicians to join the front rank of performers, composers, conductors, and 

musical leaders, making a profound impact on music onstage and in their communities. 

Curtis on Tour is the Nina von Maltzahn global touring initiative of the Curtis Institute 

of Music. An embodiment of the school’s “learn by doing” philosophy, it offers students 

real-world, professional touring experience alongside celebrated alumni and faculty. In 

addition to performances, musicians offer master classes, interactive programs, and 

community engagement activities while on tour. Curtis on Tour also facilitates solo 

performances of Curtis students and alumni with professional orchestras and recital 

series. Since the program was established in 2008, students, faculty, and alumni have 

performed more than two hundred concerts in Europe, Asia, and the Americas.
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TRANSLATIONS

Bizet: “Près des remparts de Séville,” 

duet from Carmen

Text: Henri Meilhac; Translation: Paul Horsley 

CARMEN:

Près des remparts de Séville

Chez mon ami, Lillas Pastia

J’irai danser la Séguedille

Et boire du Manzanilla.

J’irai chez mon ami Lillas Pastia.

Oui, mais toute seule on s’ennuie,

Et les vrais plaisirs sont à deux.

Donc, pour me tenir compagnie,

J’emmènerai mon amoureux.

Mon amoureux, il est au diable,

Je l’ai mis à la porte hier. 

Mon pauvre coeur très consolable,

Mon coeur est libre comme l’air.

J’ai les galants à la douzaine,

Mais ils ne sont pas à mon gré.

Voici la fin de la semaine,

Qui veut m’aimer? Je l’aimerai!

Qui veut mon âme? Elle est a prendre.

Vous arrivez au bon moment;

Je n’ai guère le temps d’attendre,

Car avec mon nouvel amant,

Près des remparts de Séville

Chez mon ami, Lillas Pastia,

J’irai danser la Séguedille

Et boire du Manzanilla.

Oui, j’irai chez mon ami Lillas Pastia!

JOSÉ:

Tais-toi, je me dit de ne pas me parler!

CARMEN:

Je ne te parle pas, 

Je chante pour moi-même;

je chante pour moi-même!

Et je pense, 

Il n’est pas défendu de penser!

Je pense à certain officier,

Bizet: “Near the walls of Seville,” 

duet from Carmen

CARMEN:

Near the walls of Seville

at my friend Lillas Pastia’s place

I’ll dance the Seguidilla

and drink Manzanilla.

I’ll go to my friend Lilla Pastia’s place! 

Yes, though one does get bored all alone,

and real pleasures are for two.

So to keep me company,

I’ll take my lover with me.

My lover, he’s the devil knows where,

yesterday I showed him to the door.

My poor heart is quite consolable,

my heart is as free as air!

Oh, I have suitors by the dozen,

but none of them is to my liking.

Here it is, the weekend;

whoever wants to love me, I’ll love him back!

Whoever wants my heart? It’s for the taking.

You’ve come at just the right time;

I hardly have time to wait,

because with my new lover,

near the walls of Seville

at my friend Lillas Pastia’s place,

I’ll dance the Seguidilla

and drink Manzanilla.

I’ll be at my friend Lillas Pastia’s place!

JOSÉ:

Quiet! I told you not to talk to me!

CARMEN: 

I’m not talking to you,

I’m singing to myself;

I’m singing to myself! 

and I think,

that thinking is not forbidden! 

I’m thinking about a certain officer,

je pense à certain officier,

Qui m’aime,

Et qu’a mon tour, oui, qu’a mon tour,

je pourrais bien aimer.

JOSÉ:

Carmen!

CARMEN:

Mon officier n’est pas un capitaine,

Pas même un lieutenant, 

il n’est que brigadier;

mais c’est assez pour une Bohémienne,

et je daigne m’en contenter!

JOSÉ:

Carmen, je suis comme un homme ivre,

Si je cède, si je me livre,

Ta promesse, tu la tiendras,

Ah! si je t’aime, Carmen, Carmen, 

Tu m’aimeras?

CARMEN:

Oui.

Nous danserons la Séguedille

En buvant du Manzanilla.

JOSÉ:

Chez Lillas Pastia,

Tu le promets!

Carmen, 

Tu le promets!

CARMEN:

Ah! 

Près des remparts de Séville,

Chez mon ami Lillas Pastia,

Nous danserons la Séguedille

Et boirons du Manzanilla:

tra la la la la la la la la la la

tra la la la la la la la la la la la.

I’m thinking about a certain officer,

who loves me,

and whom I might, I just might, 

be able to love in return. 

JOSÉ:

Carmen!

CARMEN:

My officer is not a captain,

he’s not even a lieutenant, 

he’s no more than a brigadier;

but that’s enough for a Gypsy,

and I’m willing to be content with it!

JOSÉ:

Carmen, I am like a drunk man,

If I agree, if I give myself to you,

Your promise, will you keep it?

Oh! If I love you, Carmen, Carmen, 

Will you love me?

CARMEN:

Yes. 

We will dance the Seguidilla

and drink Manzanilla.

JOSÉ:

At Lillas Pastia’s,

you promise!

Carmen,

you promise!

CARMEN:

Ah!

Near the walls of Seville,

at my friend Lillas Pastia’s place,

we will dance the Seguidilla

and we’ll drink Manzanilla: 

tra la la la la la la la la la la

tra la la la la la la la la la la la.
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Mozart: “Là ci darem la mano,” 

from Don Giovanni

Text: Lorenzo Da Ponte; Translation: Paul Horsley 

DON GIOVANNI:

Là ci darem la mano,

Là mi dirai di sì.

Vedi, non è lontano;

Partiam, ben mio, da qui.

ZERLINA: (tra sé)

Vorrei, e non vorrei,

Mi trema un poco il cor.

Felice, è ver sarei:

Ma può burlarmi ancor.

DON GIOVANNI:

Vieni, mio bel diletto!

ZERLINA: (tra sé)

Mi fa pietà Masetto!

DON GIOVANNI:

Lo cangierò tua sorte.

ZERLINA:

Presto, non son più forte.

DON GIOVANNI, ZERLINA:

Andiam, andiam, mio bene,

A ristorar le pene

D’un innocente amor!

Mozart: “There we’ll take hands,” 

from Don Giovanni

DON GIOVANNI:

There we’ll take hands,

and you will say to me, “yes.”

See, it’s not far;

my dear, let’s leave this place.

ZERLINA: (aside)

I would like to, and yet I would not,

my heart is trembling a little.

It’s true, I would be happy:

But he may still be tricking me.

DON GIOVANNI:

Come, my pretty delight!

ZERLINA: (aside)

I pity poor Masetto!

DON GIOVANNI:

I will change your fate.

ZERLINA:

Quickly then, I’m not strong to resist.

DON GIOVANNI, ZERLINA:

Oh come, oh come, my dearest,

and soothe the ache

of an innocent love! 

Lehár: “Dein ist mein ganzes Herz!” 

from Das Land des Lächelns

Text: Victor Léon and Leo Stein

Translation: Paul Horsley 

PRINCE SOU-CHONG:

Dein ist mein ganzes Herz!

Wo du nicht bist, kann ich nicht sein.

So, wie die Blume welkt,

Wenn sie nicht küsst der Sonnenschein!

Dein ist mein schönstes Lied,

Weil es allein aus der Liebe erblüht.

Sag mir noch einmal, mein einzig Lieb,

Oh sag noch einmal mir:

Ich hab dich lieb!

Wohin ich immer gehe,

Ich fühle deine Nähe.

Ich möchte deinen Atem trinken

Und betend dir zu Füssen sinken,

Dir, dir allein! Wie wunderbar

Ist dein leuchtendes Haar!

Traumschön und sehnsuchtsbang

Ist dein strahlender Blick.

Hör ich der Stimme Klang,

Ist es so wie Musik.

Dein ist mein ganzes Herz!

Wo du nicht bist, kann ich nicht sein.

So, wie die Blume welkt,

Wenn sie nicht küsst der Sonnenschein!

Dein ist mein schönstes Lied,

Weil es allein aus der Liebe erblüht.

Sag mir noch einmal, mein einzig Lieb,

Oh sag noch einmal mir:

Ich hab dich lieb!

Lehár: “Lippen schweigen,” 

from Die lustige Witwe 

Text: Victor Léon and Leo Stein

Translation: Paul Horsley 

DANILO:

Lippen schweigen, 

’s flüstern Geigen:

Hab’ mich lieb!

All’ die Schritte sagen: bitte,

Hab’ mich lieb!

Lehár: “My heart is completely yours!” 

from The Land of Smiles

PRINCE SOU-CHONG:

My heart is completely yours!

Where you are absent, I cannot be.

Just as a flower wilts

when it is not kissed by sunlight! 

Yours is my most beautiful song,

because it alone blooms from our love. 

Tell me once more, my only love, 

please tell me once more: 

I love you!

Wherever I go, 

I feel your closeness. 

I wish to drink your breath

and sink to my feet, praying to you, 

to you and you alone! How wonderful

is your shimmering hair!

Dreamily beautiful and yearningly luring

is your radiant glance. 

When I hear the sound of your voice, 

it is like music. 

My heart is completely yours!

Where you are absent, I cannot be. 

Just as a flower wilts

when it is not kissed by sunlight!

Yours is my most beautiful song,

because it alone blooms from our love. 

Tell me once more, my only love,

please tell me once more:

I love you!

Lehár: “Though lips are silent,” 

from The Merry Widow

DANILO:

Though lips are silent,

violins whisper: 

Love me!

Every step says: Please

love me!
14 15

Jeder Druck der Hände 

Deutlich mir’s beschrieb,

Er sagt klar: ’s ist wahr, ’s ist wahr,

Du hast mich lieb!

HANNA:

Bei jedem Walzerschritt

Tanzt auch die Seele mit,

Da hüpft das Herzchen klein,

Es klopft und pocht:

Sei mein! Sei mein!

Und der Mund er spricht kein Wort,

Doch tönt es fort und immerfort:

Ich hab’ dich ja so lieb,

Ich hab’ dich lieb!

HANNA UND DANILO:

Jeder Druck der Hände 

Deutlich mir’s beschrieb,

Er sagt klar: ’s ist wahr, ’s ist wahr,

Du hast mich lieb!

Verdi: “Un dì, se ben rammentomi . . . 

Bella figlia dell’amore,” from Rigoletto

Text: Francesco Maria Piave

Translation: Paul Horsley 

DUCA:

Un dì, se ben rammentomi,

O bella, t’incontrai, 

Mi piacque di te chiedere

E intesi che qui stai.

Or sappi che d’allora

Sol te quest’alma adora.

GILDA:

(Iniquo!)

MADDALENA: 

Ah! Ah! e vent’altre appresso

Le scorda forse adesso?

Ha un’aria il signorino

Da vero libertino.

Every press of your hand

makes it crystal-clear to me, 

and says: It’s true, it’s true, 

you love me!

HANNA:

With every waltz step

my soul joins the dance,

my little heart, it leaps 

and knocks and pounds:

Be mine! Be mine!

And though my lips speak not a word, 

it echoes to and fro:

I love you so much,

I love you!

HANNA AND DANILO:

Every press of your hand

makes it crystal-clear to me,

and says: It’s true, it’s true,

you love me!

Verdi: “One day, if I remember correctly . . . 

fairest daughter of love,” from Rigoletto

DUCA:

One day, if I remember correctly,

I met you, my pretty one.

I asked someone about you,

and was told that you lived here.

Let me say that from that point on,

My heart has been only yours. 

GILDA:

(Deceiver!)

MADDALENA:

Hah! Hah! And what of the twenty others

that you’ve forgotten about?

The young gentleman has the air

of true libertine.

DUCA:

Yes, I am a monster.

(goes to embrace her)

GILDA:

Ah, father!

MADDALENA:

Leave me alone,

you mess of a man.

DUCA:

Ugh, what a fuss!

MADDALENA:

Behave yourself!

DUCA:

Be nice, don’t make such a commotion. 

Good manners do not exclude

either joy or love.

Pale, pretty hand!

MADDALENA:

You are joking, sir.

DUCA:

No, no.

MADDALENA:

I am ugly.

DUCA:

Embrace me.

GILDA:

(Deceiver!)

MADDALENA:

Drunkard!

DUCA:

With ardent love,

DUCA:

Sì, un mostro son. 

(per abbracciarla)

GILDA:

Ah, padre mio!

MADDALENA:

Lasciatemi,

Stordito.

DUCA:

Ih, che fracasso!

MADDALENA:

Stia saggio!

DUCA:

E tu si docile, Non farmi tanto chiasso.

Ogni saggezza chiudesi

Nel gaudio e nell’amore.

La bella mano candida!

MADDALENA:

Scherzate voi, signore.

DUCA:

No, no.

MADDALENA:

Son brutta.

DUCA:

Abbracciami.

GILDA:

(Iniquo!)

MADDALENA:

Ebbro!

DUCA:

D’amore ardente,
16 17

MADDALENA:

Sir, if you’re trifling with me,

sing that song elsewhere.

DUCA:

No, no, I want to marry you,

MADDALENA:

I want your word on that, 

DUCA:

(cynically)

Sweet little child!

RIGOLETTO:

(to Gilda, who has been 

observing intensely) 

Haven’t you seen enough?

GILDA:

Deceiving traitor! 

DUCA:

Fairest daughter of love,

I am a slave to your charms;

with a single word

you could relieve all my pain.

Come and feel my heartbeat,

how it’s racing!

MADDALENA:

Hah! Hah! Your heart, that makes me laugh;

talk like that is cheap.

I know how little your game

is worth, believe me.

I am well accustomed to,

to such foolish jokes.

GILDA:

Ah, these are the words of love

that he once spoke to me!

Hapless heart, do not betray me,

do not break from sheer agony.

MADDALENA:

Signor, l’indifferente

vi piace canzonar?

DUCA:

No, no, ti vo’ sposar,

MADDALENA:

Ne voglio la parola,

DUCA:

(Ironico)

Amabile figliuola!

RIGOLETTO:

(A Gilda che avrà 

tutto osservato ed inteso)

E non ti basta ancor?

GILDA:

Iniquo traditor!

DUCA:

Bella figlia dell’amore,

Schiavo son dei vezzi tuoi;

Con un detto sol tu puoi

Le mie pene consolar.

Vieni e senti del mio core

Il frequente palpitar.

MADDALENA:

Ah! ah! rido ben di core,

Che tai baie costan poco, 

Quanto valga il vostro gioco,

Mel credete, so apprezzar.

Son avvezza, bel signore,

Ad un simile scherzar.

GILDA:

Ah, così parlar d’amore

A me pur intame ho udito!

Infelice cor tradito,

Per angoscia non scoppiar.

RIGOLETTO: (to Gilda)

Be still, crying is of no use,

is it now clear to you that he was lying.

Be still, and leave it up to me

to hasten our vengeance.

Yes, it will be quick and it will be deadly,

I know how to bring this to a close.

RIGOLETTO:

Listen to me! Go back home.

Take some money, take a horse,

put on the men’s clothing that I gave you,

and leave for Verona.

I’ll see you there tomorrow.

GILDA:

Come, now. 

RIGOLETTO:

It’s impossible.

GILDA:

I’m afraid.

RIGOLETTO:

Go!

Brahms: Liebeslieder-Walzer, op. 52

1. Tell me, dearest maiden

Tell me, dearest maiden, 

who with your glance hurled 

into my once-aloof heart 

such wild, over-brimming feelings! 

Do you not wish to soften your heart? 

Will you remain so chaste, 

living without tender bliss;

or do you want me to come to you? 

To live without tender bliss?

I am loath to pay such bitter penance. 

So come, dark-eyed beauty. 

Come when the stars greet you. 

RIGOLETTO: (a Gilda)

Taci, il piangere non vale, 

Ch’ei mentiva sei sicura.

Taci, e mia sarà la cura

La vendetta d’affrettar.

Sì, pronta fia, sarà fatale,

Io saprollo fulminar.

RIGOLETTO: 

M’odi! ritorna a casa.

Oro prendi, un destriero

Una veste viril che t’apprestai,

E per Verona parti.

Sarovvi io pur doman.

GILDA:

Or venite.

RIGOLETTO:

Impossibil.

GILDA:

Tremo.

RIGOLETTO: 

Va’.

Brahms: Liebeslieder-Walzer, op. 52 

Text: Georg Friedrich Daumer 

Translation: Paul Horsley 

1. Rede, Mädchen, allzu liebes 

Rede, Mädchen, allzu liebes,

Das mir in die Brust, die kühle,

Hat geschleudert mit dem Blicke

Diese wilden Glutgefühle!

Willst du nicht dein Herz erweichen,

Willst du, eine Überfromme,

Rasten ohne traute Wonne,

Oder willst du, daß ich komme?

Rasten ohne traute Wonne,

Nicht so bitter will ich büßen.

Komme nur, du schwarzes Auge.

Komme, wenn die Sterne grüßen.
18 19

2. Against the stones the stream rushes

The torrent rushes, powerfully driven 

to dash upon the stones; 

he who has not learned to sigh there,

will learn when he falls in love. 

3. O women!

O women, o women!

How they thaw the heart with bliss!

I would have become a monk long ago,

had it not been for women! 

4. Like the lovely reddening evening

Like the lovely reddening evening, 

I, a poor maiden, would like to glow, 

to please one man, just one: 

radiating bliss ’til the end of time.

5. Green shoots of the hops vine

Green shoots of the hops vine,

meander along the ground. 

Meanwhile the pretty young maiden,

is in such a gloomy mood! 

Listen up, green vine! 

Why are you not rising toward heaven? 

Listen, too, pretty maiden!

Why is your heart so heavy? 

How could the vine rise up,

when nothing sturdy supports it? 

How could the maiden be cheerful,

when her beloved is far away? 

6. A pretty little bird

A pretty little bird

took flight

into a garden

with an abundance of fruit. 

If I were a pretty

little bird,

I’d not hesitate:

I’d do just the same. 

2. Am Gesteine rauscht die Flut

Am Gesteine rauscht die Flut,

Heftig angetrieben;

Wer da nicht zu seufzen weiß,

Lernt es unterm Lieben.

3. O die Frauen!

O die Frauen, o die Frauen,

Wie sie Wonne tauen!

Wäre lang ein Mönch geworden,

Wären nicht die Frauen!

4. Wie des Abends schöne Röte

Wie des Abends schöne Röte

Möcht ich arme Dirne glühn,

Einem, Einem zu gefallen,

Sonder Ende Wonne sprühn.

5. Die grüne Hopfenranke

Die grüne Hopfenranke,

Sie schlängelt auf der Erde hin.

Die junge, schöne Dirne,

So traurig ist ihr Sinn!

Du höre, grüne Ranke!

Was hebst du dich nicht himmelwärts?

Du höre, schöne Dirne!

Was ist so schwer dein Herz?

Wie höbe sich die Ranke,

Der keine Stütze Kraft verleiht?

Wie wäre die Dirne fröhlich,

Wenn ihr das Liebste weit?

6. Ein kleiner, hübscher Vogel

Ein kleiner, hübscher Vogel

Nahm den Flug

Zum Garten hin,

Da gab es Obst genug.

Wenn ich ein hübscher,

Kleiner Vogel wär,

Ich säumte nicht,

Ich täte so wie der.

Treacherous lime-twigs

lurked there, though;

the poor bird

could not escape. 

If I were a pretty

little bird, 

I would have indeed hesitated:

I would not have done what he did. 

Then the bird landed

upon a pretty hand,

which did no harm

to the lucky fellow. 

If I were a pretty

little bird,

I’d not hesitate:

I’d do just the same. 

7. I was quite content

I was quite content

(prematurely, perhaps)

with my life, 

with my love;

through any wall, 

indeed through ten walls,

my friend’s gaze

could find me.

But now, to my dismay, 

when I am with this cold boy,

no matter how near

I stand to him, 

neither his eyes 

nor his heart notices me.

8. When your eyes gaze at me

When your eyes gaze at me

so tenderly and lovingly, 

all trace of grey gloom 

flees from me. 

Let us not permit the lovely radiance

of this love to be stamped out! 

Never will another love you 

as faithfully as I do. 

Leimruten-Arglist

Lauert an dem Ort;

Der arme Vogel

Konnte nicht mehr fort.

Wenn ich ein hübscher,

Kleiner Vogel wär,

Ich säumte doch,

Ich täte nicht wie der. 

Der Vogel kam

In eine schöne Hand,

Da tat es ihm,

Dem Glücklichen, nicht and.

Wenn ich ein hübscher,

Kleiner Vogel wär,

Ich säumte nicht,

Ich täte doch wie der.

7. Wohl schön bewandt war es

Wohl schön bewandt

War es vorehe

Mit meinem Leben,

Mit meiner Liebe;

Durch eine Wand,

Ja durch zehn Wände,

Erkannte mich

Des Freundes Sehe;

Doch jetzo, wehe,

Wenn ich dem Kalten

Auch noch so dicht

Vor‘m Auge stehe,

Es merkt‘s sein Auge,

Sein Herze nicht.

8. Wenn so lind dein Auge mir

Wenn so lind dein Auge mir

Und so lieblich schauet,

Jede letze Trübe flieht

Welche mich umgrauet.

Dieser Liebe schöne Glut,

Laß sie nicht verstieben!

Nimmer wird, wie ich, so treu

Dich ein andrer lieben.
20 21

9. On the banks of the Danube

On the banks of the Danube

stands a house;

a rose-cheek maiden

peers out from it. 

The maiden 

is well-guarded:

ten iron bars

have been placed on the door. 

Ten iron bars: 

What a joke! 

I’ll blow them up 

as if they were made of glass. 

10. O how gently the spring

O how gently the spring

winds through the meadow!

O how beautiful it is 

when love is requited by love!

11. No, it is not possible to get along

No, it is not possible to get along 

with these people; 

They interpret everything such poisonous ways. 

If I am cheerful, they say I harbor loose desires; 

if I am quiet, they think I’m madly in love. 

12. Locksmith, come and make me locks

Locksmith, come and make me locks, 

a great many locks, 

so that I can lock up their evil mouths

once and for all. 

13. A little bird rushes through the sky

A little bird rushes through the sky,

searching for a branch; 

similarly, a heart desires a heart

in which it can find blessed rest.

9. Am Donaustrande

Am Donaustrande,

Da steht ein Haus,

Da schaut ein rosiges

Mädchen aus.

Das Mädchen,

Es ist wohl gut gehegt,

Zehn eiserne Riegel

Sind vor die Türe gelegt.

Zehn eiserne Riegel

Das ist ein Spaß;

Die spreng ich

Als wären sie nur von Glas.

10. O wie sanft die Quelle sich

O wie sanft die Quelle sich

Durch die Wiese windet!

O wie schön, wenn Liebe sich

Zu der Liebe findet!

11. Nein, es ist nicht auszukommen

Nein, es ist nicht auszukommen 

mit den Leuten; 

Alles wissen sie so giftig auszudeuten.

Bin ich heiter, hegen soll ich lose Triebe;

Bin ich still, so heißts, ich wäre irr aus Liebe.

12. Schlosser auf, und mache Schlösser

Schlosser auf, und mache Schlösser,

Schlösser ohne Zahl;

Denn die bösen Mäuler will ich

Schließen allzumal.

13. Vögelein durchrauscht die Luft

Vögelein durchrauscht die Luft,

Sucht nach einem Aste;

Und das Herz, ein Herz begehrt‘s,

Wo es selig raste.

14. Look how clear the waves are

Look how clear the waves are, 

when the moon shines down upon them!

Since you are my love, 

love me once again! 

15. The nightingale sings so beautifully

The nightingale sings so beautifully,

when the stars are sparkling. 

Love me, my dearest heart, 

and kiss me in the dark!

16. Love is a dark mineshaft

Love is a dark mineshaft, 

an all-too-dangerous well;

and I, poor soul, fell in,

and can neither hear nor see;

I think only of my bliss, 

and moan over my grief.

17. Do not wander out, my love

Do not wander out, my love,

into the fields!

The ground would be too wet, too soft,

for your tender feet. 

The paths and the bridges there 

are all completely flooded; 

so abundantly 

have I filled them with tears.

18. The bushes are trembling

The bushes are trembling,

a little bird in flight

has brushed up against them. 

My soul trembles,

in like manner, shuddering 

with love, desire, and sorrow,

when it thinks of you. 

14. Sieh, wie ist die Welle klar

Sieh, wie ist die Welle klar,

Blickt der Mond hernieder!

Die du meine Liebe bist,

Liebe du mich wieder!

15. Nachtigall, sie singt so schön

Nachtigall, sie singt so schön,

Wenn die Sterne funkeln.

Liebe mich, geliebtes Herz,

Küsse mich im Dunkeln!

16. Ein dunkeler Schacht ist Liebe

Ein dunkeler Schacht ist Liebe,

Ein gar zu gefährlicher Bronnen;

Da fiel ich hinein, ich Armer,

Kann weder hören noch sehn,

Nur denken an meine Wonnen,

Nur stöhnen in meinen Wehn.

17. Nicht wandle, mein Licht

Nicht wandle, mein Licht, dort außen

Im Flurbereich!

Die Füße würden dir, die zarten,

Zu naß, zu weich.

All überströmt sind dort die Wege,

Die Stege dir;

So überreichlich tränte dorten

Das Auge mir.

18. Es bebet das Gesträuche

Es bebet das Gesträuche,

Gestreift hat es im Fluge

Ein Vögelein. 

In gleicher Art erbebet

Die Seele mir, erschüttert

Von Liebe, Lust, und Leide,

Gedenkt sie dein.
22

General Information

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and all of its programs is free of charge, 

except as noted.

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equipment during the performance 

is not allowed.

Please be sure that all portable electronic 

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Concerts are made possible in part 

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The department of music produced 

these program notes. Copyright © 2019 

Board of Trustees, National Gallery of Art, 

Washington

Cover Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Les 

grands concerts de l’opera (detail), 1895, 

National Gallery of Art, Washington, 

Rosenwald Collection

Upcoming Events of the SeventySeventh Season of The William Nelson 

Cromwell and F. Lammot Belin Concerts

Unless otherwise noted, concerts 

are held in the West Building, West 

Garden Court.

Noah Getz and Friends

Absolute Art and Jazz between the Wars

Featuring works by Webern, Bartók, 

and Schulhoff

March 3, 3:30

Peter Vinograde, piano

J. S. Bach’s Seven Keyboard Toccatas

March 10, 3:30

Parthenia

With Ryland Angel, countertenor

Celebrating Drawing in Tintoretto’s 

Venice and Venetian Prints in the 

Time of Tintoretto

Tomb Sonnets

Featuring works by Martin Kennedy, 

Luca Marenzio, Philippe Verdelot, 

Jacques Arcadelt, Cipriano de Rore, 

Girolamo Frescobaldi, and Andrea and 

Giovanni Gabrieli

March 17, 3:30
NGA.GOV/MUSIC