Di due figli vivea padre beato, Ferrando's aria from Il Trovatore

Di due figli vivea padre beato		(The good Count of Luna
il buon Conte di Luna:			was the blissful father of two sons:)
fida nutrice del secondo nato		the faithful wetnurse of the second born
dormia presso la cuna.			slept by the cradle.
Sul romper dell' aurora un bel mattino	At the dawn of a lovely day
ella dischiudea i rai;			she opened her eyes
e chi ti trova d' accanto quel bambino?	and who did she see standing by the child?
Abbietta zingara, fosca vegliarda!	An horrid gypsy, a dark, wrinkled woman!
Cingeva i simboli di una maliarda!	She carried the tools of a witch!
E sul fanciullo, con viso arcigno,	She was staring at the child with 
						a grim countenance,
l' occhio affiggea torvo,sanguigno!...	with bloody glance!
D' orror compresa è la nutrice...	The nurse is stuck with horror...
acuto un grido all' aura scioglie;	she shrieks,
ed ecco, in men che il labbro dice,	and in a moment,
i servi accorrono in quelle soglie;	the servants come rushing in;
e fra minacce, urli e percosse		and with menaces, shouts and blows
la rea discacciano ch' entrarvi osò.	they throw out she who dared to trespass.
Asserì che tirar del fanciullino	She said she wanted to make
l'oroscopo volea...			the child's horoscope...
Bugiarda! Lenta febbre del meschino	Liar! Slowly a fever
la salute struggea!			ate at the poor child!
Coverto di pallor, languido, affranto	Pale, languishing, worn out,
ei tremava la sera.			he trembled at night.
Il dì traeva in lamentevol pianto...	He spent the day crying miserably...
Ammaliato egli era!			He was bewitched!

La fattucchiera perseguitata		The witch was hounded down,
fu presa, e al rogo fu condannata;	she was caught and was conemned to 
						die at the stake;
ma rimaneva la maledetta 		but the daughter, damned offspring,
figlia, ministra di ría vendetta!...	was still alive to carry out her revenge!
Compì quest'empia nefando eccesso!...	She committed extreme cruelty!...
Sparve il fanciullo e si rinvenne	The child disappeared and dying embers
mal spenta brace nel sito istesso	were found in the very place
ov'arsa un giorno la strega venne!...	where the witch was once burnt!
E d' un bambino...ahimè!...l' ossame	Alas!...the half-burnt bones of a child
bruciato a mezzo, fumante ancor!	were found still smoking!
Brevi e tristi giorni visse:		Shortly and sadly he lived:
pure ignoto del cor presentimento	an unknown omen told him
	gli dicea 
che spento non era il figlio; 		that his son was not dead; 
ed, a morir vicino,			and, when about to die,
bramò che il signor nostro 		he asked our master to swear
	a lui giurasse
di non cessar le indagini...		that he would continue to look for him...
ah! fûr vane!...			ah!  in vain!...
Nulla contezza...			Nothing happened...
Oh, dato mi fosse			Oh, if I could
rintracciarla un dì!...			find her some day!
Calcolando gli anni trascorsi...	Counting the years that have passed since then...
lo potrei.				I could do it.
All' inferno? È credenza che dimoro	In Hell? It a belief
ancor nel mondo l' anima perduta	(that the lost soul of the wicked witch
dell' empia strega, 			is still haunting the earth.)
e quando il cielo è nero		When the night is dark
in varie forme altrui si mostri.	she shows herself under different shapes.
Morì di paura un servo del conte,	One of the count's servants died of fear,
che avea della zingara percossa 	who had hit the gypsy on the forehead!
	la fronte!

Apparve a costui d' un gufo 		She appeared to this man under the shape 	
	in sembianza				of an owl
nell' alta quiete di tacita stanza!...	in the stillness of a quiet room!...
Con l'occhio lucente 			She stared with shihing eyes...she stared,
	guardava...guardava,
il cielo attristando d' un urlo feral!	tearing the sky with a terrible cry!
Allor mezzanotte appunto suonava...	Midnight was striking just then...

Guia K. Monti  guiam@tinn.net