Possente Spirto

English Libretto or Translation:

ORPHEUS
Mighty spirit and fearsome deity,
without whom no soul separated from its body
can presume to gain passage to the other shore,

I am not living: no, for since my dear wife
is deprived of life, my heart no longer remains with me,
and without a heart, how can it be that I am alive?

To her I have made my way through the turbid air,
yet not to Hades, for wherever
such beauty is found has paradise in it.

I am Orpheus, who follow Eurydice's steps
through these murky deserts
where no mortal man has ever trod.

O serene light of my eyes,
if one glance from you can restore me to life,
ah, who would deny me solace in my anguish?

You alone, noble god, can give me aid,
nor need fear, since I arm my fingers only
with sweet strings on a golden lyre,
against which the most obdurate spirit steels itself in vain.