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Romeo et Juliette Libretto
English Translation

1. INTRODUCTION

Fights - Tumult - Intervention of the Prince

(Orchestra alone)
Prologue

CONTRALTO SOLO, TENOR SOLO AND LITTLE CHOIR

Old hate asleep
Arose like hell;
Capulets, Montagus, two enemy houses,
In Verona have crossed the iron.
Yet these bloody disorders
The Prince repressed the course,
By threatening to death those who despite his orders
To the justices of the sword would still resort.
In these moments of calm a party is given
By the old capulets chief.

CONTRALTO SOLO

The young Romeo, complaining his destiny,
Sadly wanders around the palace;
Because he loves to love Juliet, the girl
Enemies of his family!

CONTRALTO SOLO, TENOR SOLO AND LITTLE CHOIR

The sound of the instruments, the melodious songs
From the salons where gold shines,
Exciting and dancing and happy splinters.

The party is over and when all the noise expires,
Under the arches one hears
The tired dancers move away singing.
Alas! and Romeo sighs,
Because he had to leave Juliet!
Suddenly, to breathe again this air she breathes,
He crosses the walls of the garden.
Already on her balcony the white Juliette
Appears and, believing herself alone until the day
Entrust to the night his love.
Romeo, throbbing with a worried joy,
Discover to Juliet
And from his heart the fires break out in their turn.
stanzas

CONTRALTO SOLO AND LITTLE CHOIR

First transports that no one forgets!
First confessions, first oaths
Of two lovers
Under the stars of Italy;
In this hot air and without zephyrs
Let the orange tree in the distance perfume
Where is burning
The nightingale in long sighs!
What art in his chosen language,
Would you make heavenly things?
First love, are not you
Higher than any poetry?
Or would you not, in our mortal exile,
This poetry itself,
Whose Shakespeare alone had the supreme secret
And he won in the sky!

Happy children with hearts of flame,
Linked by love by chance
In one look,
Living both of one soul,
Hide the good under the blooming shade,
This divine fire that sets you on fire,
So pure ecstasy
May his words be weeping!
What a king of your chaste delusions
Would it believe to equal transport?
Happy children! and what treasures
Would you pay only one of your smiles?
Ah! enjoy this cup of honey for a long time,
Softer than the chalices
Where the angels of God, jealous of your delights,
Blow happiness in the sky!

TENOR SOLO AND LITTLE CHOIR

Soon from Romeo the pale daydream
Makes all his friends happy.
"My dear," said the elegant Mercutio, "I bet
May Queen Mab have visited you! "
Scherzetto

TENOR SOLO AND CHORUS

Mab! the messenger
Flute and light,
She has for char a shell of nuts
That the squirrel has shaped;
The spider's fingers
Spun his harnesses.
During the nights, the fairy,
In this thin crew,
Crazy galope in the brain of a page
Who dreams playful trick
Or soft serenade
In the moonlight under the tower.
By continuing his walk
The little queen falls
On the tanned collar of a soldier.
He dreams cannonades
And sharp thrusts,
The drum, the trumpet;
He wakes up and first
Swear and pray by swearing always,
Then goes back to sleep
And snores with his comrades.
It was Mab who did all this bacchanal.
It is she who in a dream dresses
The girl
And bring her back to the ball.
But the rooster sings, the day shines,
Mab is leaking like a lightning bolt
In the air.

LITTLE CHOIR

Soon death is sovereign.
Capulets, Montagus, tamed by pains,
Finally move closer to abjure hatred
That caused so much blood and weeping.

(The chorus is coming out)

2. ROMEO ALONE - TRISTESS - CONCERT AND BAL - GREAT PARTY AT CAPULET

(Orchestra alone)

3. LOVE SCENE

Serene night - The Garden of Capulet, silent and deserted.

The young Capulets, coming out of the party, pass and sing reminiscences of the music of the ball

TWO CHOIRS

Oh, Capulets! good evening!
Oh, good evening, riders, goodbye!
Ah, what a night! What a treat!
Divine ball! What a treat!
What crazy words!
Beautiful Veronese,
Under the big larches
Go dream of ball and love,
Come on, dream of love
Until the day.

Tra la la la la

Love scene

(Orchestra alone)

4. QUEEN MAB, OR THE FOUNTAIN OF SONGES
Scherzo

(Orchestra alone)

5. FUNERAL CONVOY OF JULIET

CHORUS OF CAPULTS

Throw flowers for the expired virgin!
Until the tomb, throw flowers, etc.
And follow to the tomb our beloved sister!

6. ROMEO AT THE TOMB OF CAPULTS
Summoning - Juliet's Wake

Delusional joy, despair, last anguish and death of the two lovers

(Orchestra alone)

7. FINAL

The crowd comes to the cemetery - Rixe des Capulets and Montagus - Recitative and Air of Father Laurence - Oath of reconciliation

MONTAGUS AND CAPULETS (together)

CHORUS OF MONTAGUS

What! Romeo back! Romeo!
For Juliet he locks himself in the tomb
Capulets that his family abhors.
Ah! curse on them! Romeo!

CHORUS OF CAPULTS

What! Romeo back! Romeo!
The Montagus broke the tomb
Juliette expired at dawn.
Ah! curse on them! Juliette!

MONTAGUS AND CAPULTS

Sky! both dead
And their blood still smokes!
What a mystery! Ah, what a frightful mystery!

FATHER LAURENCE

I will unveil the mystery!
This corpse was the husband
From Juliette. You see
This body lying on the ground?
It was the woman, alas, of Romeo.
I married them.

MONTAGUS AND CAPULTS

Married!

FATHER LAURENCE

Yes, I must admit.

I saw there the salutary pledge
From a future friendship between your two houses.

MONTAGUS AND CAPULETS (together)

Montagus

Friends of Capulets, us!
We curse them!

Capulets

Montagus friends, us!
We curse them!

FATHER LAURENCE

But you have resumed the family war!
To flee another hymen, the unfortunate girl
In despair came to find me.
"Only you," she cried, "could have saved me!
I only have to die! "
In this extreme danger
I had him taken to ward off the spell,
A drink which, the same evening,
He lent him the pallor and the cold of death.

MONTAGUS AND CAPULTS

A drink!

FATHER LAURENCE

And I came without fear
Here rescue her.
But Romeo, deceived in the funeral enclosure,
Had preceded me to die
On the body of his beloved.
And almost waking up
Juliette, informed
From that death he carries in his devastated breast,
Romeo's iron was against her army
And passed in eternity
When I appeared! That's the whole truth.

MONTAGUS AND CAPULTS

Married!
Air

FATHER LAURENCE

Poor children I'm crying,
Fell together before the hour,
On your dark home
Will come to cry the future,
Great by you in history,
Verona one day, without believing it,
Will have his sorrow and his glory
In your only memory.

Where are they now, these fierce enemies?
Capulets! Montagues! Come, see, touch,
Hatred in your hearts, the insult in your mouths!
Of these pale lovers, barbarians, approach!
God punishes you in your tenderness!
His punishments, his vengeful thunders
Have the secret of our terrors!
Do you hear his voice toning:
"For up there my forgiveness forgive,
Forget your own fury! "

MONTAGUS AND CAPULTS

But our blood blushes their sword.

Montagus

Our also against them rises.

Capulets

They killed Tybald!

Montagus

Who killed Mercutio?

Capulets

And so Paris?

Montagus

And Benvolio?

Capulets

And Tybald?

MONTAGUS AND CAPULTS

Perfidious, no peace! No!

No, cowards! No truce! No!

FATHER LAURENCE

Silence, unhappy! Can you, without remorse,
Before such love spread so much hatred?
Must your rage in these places be unleashed?
Flamed with the torches of the dead?
Great God who sees in the depths of the soul,
You know if my wishes were pure!
Great God, from a ray of your flame
Touch those dark and hard hearts!
And let your tutelary breath,
At my voice on them rising,
Hunt and dispel their anger
Like straw with the wind!

Montagus

O Juliette! Sweet flower!

Capulets

O Romeo! Young star off!

MONTAGUS AND CAPULTS

In these supreme moments,
The Capulets (Montagus) are ready themselves
To soften your destiny.
God! what a strange prodigy:
More horror, more gall,
But tears from Heaven
All our soul changes.
Oath

FATHER LAURENCE

Swear by the august symbol
On the body of the girl and on the body of the son,
By the painful wood that consoles,
Swear all, swear by the holy crucifix,
To seal between you an eternal chain
To tender charity, fraternal friendship!
And God, who holds in hand the future judgment,
The book of forgiveness will inscribe this oath.

CHOIR

Swear all (We swear) by the august symbol
On the body of the girl and on the body of the son,
By the painful wood that consoles,
Swear all (We all swear) by the holy crucifix,
To seal between you (us) an eternal chain
To tender charity, fraternal friendship!
And God, who holds in hand the future judgment,
The book of forgiveness will inscribe this oath.

Yes, swear (we swear) by the august symbol
On the body of the girl and on the body of the son,
By the painful wood that consoles,
You swear (We swear) to finally extinguish
All your (our) resentments, friends, forever!