Tu che le vanita

Aprile Millo (born April 14, 1958) is an American operatic soprano of Italian and Irish ancestry who is particularly admired for her interpretations of the works of Giuseppe Verdi. Possessing a spinto voice of power, warmth and temperament, Millo became one of the most celebrated opera singers of the late twentieth century. Although she has performed at many of the world's leading opera houses and with many orchestras and ensembles internationally, Millo has spent much of her career appearing in productions at the Metropolitan Opera. Aprile Millo was born in New York City, the daughter of two opera singers, tenor Giovanni Millo (John Hamill) and soprano Margherita Girosi. Millo became interested in music at an early age and received her musical education primarily from her parents. Millo is noted for the beauty of her voice and her nuanced interpretation. On April 4, 1986, Donal Henahan wrote in the New York times of Millo's performance in Don Carlo: "Miss Millo sounds more and more like the Verdi soprano we've been waiting for." Later in 1986 (June 18), reviewing a Metropolitan Opera production of Aida in Central Park, Mr. Rockwell wrote, "Miss Millo has a real Verdi sound...her darkly yet delicately colored lower voice, full of urgency in the phrasing, and her overall mastery of this role from a technical and interpretive standpoint, are already very moving. Her performance reached its high point just where it must, in the third act, when Aida grows from a supplicating ingenue into a woman torn by her conflicts. With singing like this, nothing could dull the intensity of Verdi's drama. The concert formality, the populist setting, the amplification, all fell away in the face of real operatic drama embodied in song. If Mr. Domingo and Mr. Pavarotti can match that in the next two parks openers, the Met and its fans will be fortunate indeed."...

Lyrics & English Translation

You have known the vanities of this world,
and now enjoy the grave's last rest,
if there is still pity in heaven
mourn over my sorrow
and carry my tears
at the Lord's presence.
Carlos will come!
he must leave and forget...
I've sworn to Posa
to watch over him.
He must fulfil his destiny,
glory will show him the way.
As for me, my day
has already come to an end!
France, noble land,
so loved in my younger days!
Fontainebleau! All my thoughts
go to you!
There I swore eternal love
To God who heard me
and eternity
lasted only one day.
O merry gardens
of this Iberian land,
if Carlos should yet
stop here at the end of the day,
let the tufts, the brooks,
the fountains, the woods and flowers
with their melodies
sing of our love.
Farewell, farewell golden dreams,
lost hopes!
The knot was cut,
light has lost its splendour!
Farewell, farewell, my younger years!
Giving in under the cruel suffering
my heart has only one desire:
the peace of the grave!
You have known the vanities
of this world, etc.
If there is still pity in heaven, ah,
carry my sorrow at the feet of the Lord!


A link to this wonderful artist's personal website:

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I send my kind and warm regards,