Mio diletto, mio sospiro

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Elena or Il rapimento d'Helena[1]
Dramma per musica by Francesco Cavalli
Cover page with illustration from the libretto published in 1659, Library of Congress
Cover page with illustration from the libretto published in 1659, Library of Congress
EnglishPompeius Magnus
LibrettoGiovanni Faustini and Nicolò Minato
LanguageItalian
DedicationAll'illustrissimo et eccellentissimo signor Angelo Morosini, Procuratore di S. Marco[2]
Premiere
Date26 December 1659 (1659-12-26)[3]
LocationTeatro San Cassiano, Venezia

"Mio diletto, mio sospiro"[4] (also "Mio diletto, mio respiro"[5]) is an aria from Francesco Cavalli's opera Elena. The libretti was created by Giovanni Faustini and Nicolò Minato who finished it after Faustini's death[6]. The opera premiered at the Teatro San Cassiano in Venice on 26 December 1659.[3]

The duet "Mio diletto, mio sospiro" appears at in Act III Scene I when Helen and Menelaos reconcile. Menelaos has much to account for: Charmed by Helen's beauty, he had taken on the guise of a battle-hardened Amazon to get close to her, offering her close combat training, a move which led to his own abduction by an enarmored Teseo.

"Mio diletto, mio sospiro" appears on the following album:

Year Album Ensemble
2017 (recorded) Ombra mai fu (Album) Ensemble Artaserse

Libretto

Mio diletto, mio sospiro
(My delight, my yearning)

from  Elena
Francesco Cavalli (music),  Giovanni Faustini, Nicolò Minato (words)

(Menelao)


Italy
Modernized Italian

Menelao
Ecco l'Idolo mio: come tornate
Amica ò pur rubella?
Che risolveste, ò bella?
Elena
A la vostra modestia, a vostro amore
Cede vinto il mio core.
Menelao
Gradite i miei affetti?
Elena
Il centro sete voi de' miei diletti
Menelao
Deh baciar mi lasciate
Queste nevi animate
Questi candidi avori
In testimon’ de' miei felici amori.
Elena
Da chi ci ha rapito
Fuggir ci conviene;
Menelao
Sì, fuggirem’, mio bene.

A2
Mio diletto, mio sospiro
In te vivo, in te respiro,
La mia gioia tu sarai
Nel mio seno tu vivrai,
Io tuo ben, tua vita io sono,
L'anima ti consacro, il cor ti dono.

Italy
Ancient Italian

Menelao
Ecco l'Idolo mio: come tornate
Amica ò pur rubella?
Che risolueste, ò bella?
Elena
A la vostra modestia, a vostro amore
Cede vinto il mio core.
Menelao
Gradite i miei affetti?
Elena
Il centro sete voi de' miei diletti
Menelao
Deh bacciar mi lasciate
Queste neui animae*
Questi candidi avori
In testimon de' miei felici amori.
Elena
Da chi ci hà rapito
Fuggir ci conuiene ;
Menelao
Sì, fuggirem, mio bene.

A2
Mio diletto, mio sospiro
In te viuo, in te respiro,
La mia gioia tu sarai
Nel mio seno tu viurai,
Io tuo ben, tua vita io sono,
L'anima ti consacro, il cor ti dono.

*) "neui" = "nevi"; "v" and "u" are often used interchangeably.

United Kingdom

Menelaus
Here is my Idol: how do you return
A friend or a foe?
How did you decide, oh beautiful one?
Helen
By your modesty, by your love
My heart is vanquished.
Menelaus
Do you approve of my feelings?
Helen
You are the very core of my love.
Menelaus
Let me kiss
The animated snow
The pristine ivory
In testimony of my blissful love.
Helen
From those who have abducted us
We must flee;
Menelaus
Yes, we will escape, my love.

A2
My delight, my yearning
In you I live, in you I respire,
My joy you will be
In my bosom, you will live,
I am your treasure I am your life,
I consecrate my soul to you, I give you my heart.[7]

Manuscripts and sheet music

Beginning of Mio diletto mio respiro
Beginning of "Mio diletto mio respiro"[5]

Free Libretto:

  • Libretto at the Library of Congress
Cavalli, Pier Francesco. Elena : drama per mvsica nel Teatro à S. Cassano, per l'anno 1659. Bayerische Staatsbibliothek: Si vende da Giacomo Batti in frez., In Venetia, 1659, monographic. Archived from the original on 8 November 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
All'Illustriss. & Eccellentiss. Sig. Angelo Morosini procurator di S. Marco.[4]
Call Number/Physical Location: ML48 [S1746], Microfilm Music 1854, reel 37. Microfilm. Washington, D.C. : Library of Congress, [197-]. 1 microfilm reel ; 35 mm.

Sheet music:

  • Modern Transcript
Kane, Kirsten (2006). "Francesco Cavalli's Elena (1659): A Study And Edition Volume 1". Cornell University. Archived from the original on 9 November 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2021.[5]
  • Manuscript
Originaler Titel: [reverse page:] Il rapimento d'Helena
Material: score: 174f.
Manuscript copy: 1640-1660 (17.me)
4 parts - vl 1, 2, vla, bc
Manuscript copy: 1640-1660; 1640-1660
other parts missing
Venezia, Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana (I-Vnm) It.IV,369[1]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "Elena". RISM OPAC. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  2. Salvioli, Giovanni. I teatri musicali di Venezia nel Secolo 17. 1637-1700 raccolte ed ordinate da Livio Niso Galvani. Nationale Zentralbibliothek Florenz: Regio Stabilimento Ricordi. p. 193. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  3. 3.0 3.1 "Elena". Wikipedia. Archived from the original on 8 November 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Cavalli, Pier Francesco. Elena : drama per mvsica nel Teatro à S. Cassano, per l'anno 1659. Library of Congress: Si vende da Giacomo Batti in frez., In Venetia, 1659, monographic. Archived from the original on 8 November 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 Kane, Kirsten (2006). "Francesco Cavalli's Elena (1659): A Study And Edition Volume 1". Cornell University. Archived from the original on 9 November 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  6. Rosand, Ellen (1991). Opera in Seventeenth-Century Venice: The Creation of aGenre. Berkeley: University of California Press. Archived from the original on 1 November 2021. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  7. English Translation: 2021 by FR