Per pietà, ben mio, Fiordiligi's aria from Così fan tutte Ei parte...senti... He is leaving...Listen! ah no...partir si lasci, Ah, no...let him leave, si tolga ai sguardi miei l'infausto oggetto let the accursed object of my weakness be della mia debolezza. removed from my sight. A qual cimento il barbaro mi pose... In what a trial the cruel man has placed me... un premio è questo ben dovuto a mie colpe... This is a reward well deserved by my faults. in tale istante dovea di nuovo amante In such moments should I have listened i sospiri ascoltar, to the sighs of a new lover, l'altrui querele dovea volger in gioco? should I have made sport of another's laments? Ah questo core a ragione condanni, Rightly you condemn this heart to punishment, o giusto amore! just love! Io ardo, e l'ardor mio non è più effetto I burn, and my passion is no longer the result di un amor virtuoso: of a virtuous love; è smania, affano, rimorso, pentimento, it is agitation, torment, remorse, repentance, leggerezza, perfidia, e tradimento! fickleness, perfidy, and betrayal! Per pietà, ben mio, perdona In the name of pity, my beloved, pardon All'error d'un alma amante; the error of a loving soul; Fra quest'ombre, e queste piante among these shadows and these groves, Sempre ascoso, oh Dio, sarà! oh God, it will always be hidden! Svenerà quest'empia voglia my courage and my constancy L'ardir mio, la mia costanza, will destroy this wicked desire, Perderà la rimembranza and will erase the memory Che vergogna e orror mi fà. that makes me feel shame and horror. A chi mai mancò di fede To whom did this vain, ungrateful heart Questo vano, ingrato cor? fail in loyalty? Si dovea miglior mercede, You were owed a better recompense, Caro bene, al tuo candor. my dearest, for your purity. Translation by Rebecca Burstein (rburstei@brynmawr.edu) (note : In order to have this translation make sense, the Italian words do not always line up with the English words. For instance, the phrase Svenerà quest'empia voglia L'ardir mio, la mia costanza, actually translates as Will destroy this wicked desire my courage and my constancy. However, this is incomprehensible in English so the translator has flipped the English lines around so that it does make sense. Another instance where lines are flipped is "A chi mai mancò di fede questo vano, ingrato cor?".)