This is another singer whom I had never heard of, but whose voice was important in her native Italy. Mauti-Nunziata was a lirico-spinto soprano, with a large, expressive voice. We just do not have singers like this today. The duet with Alfredo Kraus (who himself was a wonderful artist) is simply beautiful. She studied with the famous singer Gina Cigna and had an extensive career in Italy as well as a number of international performances. You can hear how free her voice was (this means that she was not squeezing her throat and swallowing her tongue to produce sounds). Please enjoy this posting.
Verdi, La traviata, “Parigi, o cara”
ALFREDO
Parigi, o cara, noi lasceremo,
la vita uniti trascorreremo;
de’ corsi affanni compenso avrai,
la tua salute rifiorirà.
Sospiro e luce tu mi sarai,
tutto il futuro ne arriderà.
VIOLETTA
[facendogli eco come in un sogno)
Parigi, o caro, noi lasceremo,
la vita uniti trascorreremo:
De’ corsi affanni compenso avrai.
La mia salute rifiorirà.
Sospiro e luce tu mi sarai, ecc.
Verdi, The fallen woman, “Paris, o dear”
ALFREDO
From Paris dear, we shall go away,
to live our lives together.
We shall make up for all our heartache,
your health will come back again.
You will be the light of my life,
the future will smile upon us.
VIOLETTA
(echoing him as in a dream)
From Paris dear, we shall go away,
to live our loves together…
We shall make up for all our heartache.
My health will come back again.
You will be the light of my life, etc.
Mozart, Don Giovanni, “Or sai chi l’onore”, Donna Anna’s Aria from Don Giovanni
DONNA ANNA
Don Ottavio, son morta!
DON OTTAVIO
Cosa è stato?
DONNA ANNA
Per pietà, soccorretemi!
DON OTTAVIO
Mio bene, fate coraggio!
DONNA ANNA
Oh Dei! Oh Dei! Quegli è il carnefice del padre mio!
DON OTTAVIO
Che dite!
DONNA ANNA
Non dubitate più: gli ultimi accenti che l’empio
proferì, tutta, la voce richiamar nel cor mio di
quell’indegno che nel mio appartamento…
DON OTTAVIO
Oh ciel! possibile che sotto il sacro manto
d’amicizia… Ma come fu? narratemi lo strano
avvenimento.
DONNA ANNA
Era già alquanto avanzata la notte, quando nelle
mie stanze, ove soletta mi trovai per sventura,
entrar io vidi, in un mantello avvolto, un uom che
al primo istante avea preso per voi. Ma riconobbi
poi che un inganno era il mio.
DON OTTAVIO
Stelle! Seguite!
DONNA ANNA
Tacito a me s’appressa e mi vuol abbracciar;
sciogliermi cerco, ei più mi stringe; grido; non
viene alcun! Con una mano cerca d’impedire la
voce, e coll’altra m’afferra stretta così, che già mi
credo vinta.
DON OTTAVIO
Perfido! E alfin?
DONNA ANNA
Alfine il duol, l’orrore dell’infame attentato
accrebbe sì la lena mia, che a forza di svincolarmi,
torcermi e piegarmi, da lui mi sciolsi!
DON OTTAVIO
Ohimè! Respiro!
DONNA ANNAAllora rinforzo i stridi miei, chiamo soccorso; fugge
il fellon; arditamente il seguo fin nella strada per
fermarlo, e sono assalitrice d’assalita. Il padre
v’accorre, vuol conoscerlo, e l’iniquio, che del
povero vecchio era più forte, compie il misfatto
suo col dargli morte!
Or sai chi l’onore
Rapire a me volse,
Chi fu il traditore
Che il padre mi tolse.
Vendetta ti chiedo,
La chiede il tuo cor.
Rammenta la piaga
Del misero seno,
Rimira di sangue
Coperto il terreno.
Se l’ira in te langue
D’un giusto furor.
Mozart, Don Giovanni, “Now. you know that the honor”
DONNA ANNA
Don Ottavio, I shall die!
DON OTTAVIO
What is it?
DONNA ANNA
For pity’s sake, help me!
DON OTTAVIO
My beloved, take heart!
DONNA ANNA
O ye gods! O ye gods! That man is my father’s murderer!
DON OTTAVIO
What are you saying?
DONNA ANNA
There is no doubt about it. The parting words the
villain uttered, his whole voice recalled to my heart
that worthless creature who, in my apartment…
DON OTTAVIO
Oh heaven! Is it possible that beneath the sacred
cloak of friendship…? But how was it? Tell me
about the strange happening.
DONNA ANNA
It was already quite late when into my rooms,
where I unluckily happened to be alone, I saw a
man enter, wrapped in a cloak. At first I mistook
him for you, but then I realised that I was
mistaken.
DON OTTAVIO
Good Lord! Continue!
DONNA ANNA
Silently he approached me and tried to embrace
me. I tried to free myself but he seized me all the
harder. I screamed, but no one came! With one
hand he tried to quiet me, and with the other he
seized me so hard that I already thought myself lost.
DON OTTAVIO
The scoundrel! And then?
DONNA ANNA
Finally my despair, my horror of the deed so
strengthened me that by dint of twisting, turning
and bending I freed myself of him!
DON OTTAVIO
Ah me, I breathe again!
Then I redoubled my screams for help. The felon
fled. Quickly I followed him as far as the street in
order to catch him, becoming in my turn the
pursuer. My father ran out, wanted to learn his
identity, and the rascal, who was stronger than the
old man, completed his misdeed by murdering him!
Now you know who sought
to steal my honor,
who was the betrayer
who killed my father:
I ask you vengeance,
your heart asks it too.
Remember the wound
gaping in his poor breast,
recall the earth
covered with his blood,
if ever the wrath of a just
should weaken in you.
Nunziata is about 60 years old here.
Mascagni, Cavalleria Rusticana, “Voi lo sapete”
Voi lo sapete, o mamma,
Prima d’andar soldato,
Turiddu aveva a Lola
Eterna fè giurato.
Tornò, la seppe sposa;
E con un nuovo amore
Volle spegner la fiamma
Che gli bruciava il core:
M’amò, l’amai.
Quell’invidia d’ogni delizia mia,
Del suo sposo dimentica,
Arse di gelosia…
Me l’ha rapito…
Priva dell’onor mio rimango:
Lola e Turiddu s’amano,
Io piango, io piango!
Mascagni, Rustic Chivalry “O Mother, you know”
O mother, you know
That before he went for a soldier
Turiddu had sworn
Eternal faith to Lola.
On his return, he found her married,
And sought with a new love
To quell the flame
Which burned in his heart:
He loved me, I loved him.
But she, envious of my only delight
And forgetful of her husband,
Burned with jealousy …
She stole him from me …
And I am left disgraced;
Lola and Turiddu are lovers,
And I am left to weep.
Puccini, Madama Butterfly, “Viene la sera”
PINKERTON
Viene la sera.
BUTTERFLY
E l’ombra e la quiete.
PINKERTON
E sei qui sola.
BUTTERFLY
Sola e rinnegata!
Rinnegata… e felice!
PINKERTON
(batte le mani. I servi accorrono.)
A voi, chiudete.
BUTTERFLY
Sì, sì, noi tutti soli…
E fuori il mondo…
PINKERTON
E il Bonzo furibondo!
BUTTERFLY
Suzuki, le mie vesti.
(Suzuki le porta una veste bianca e l’aiuta a metterla,
poi se ne va.)
SUZUKI
Buona notte.
BUTTERFLY
Quest’obi pomposa
di scioglier mi tarda…
Si vesta la sposa
di puro candor.
Tra moti sommessi
sorride e mi guarda.
Celarmi potessi!
Ne ho tanto rossor!
E ancor l’irata voce
mi maledice…
Butterfly rinnegata,
rinnegata… e felice.
PINKERTON
Con moti di scoiattolo,
i nodi allenta e scioglie!
Pensar che quel giocattolo
è mia moglie! Mia moglie!
Ma tal grazia dispiega
ch’io mi struggo
per la febbre
d’un subito desìo.
(Pinkerton s’avvicina a Butterfly, che ha finito di
vestirsi.)
Bimba dagli occhi pieni di malia
ora sei tutta mia.
Sei tutta vestita di giglio.
Mi piace la treccia tua bruna
fra candidi veli.
BUTTERFLY
Somiglio la dea della luna,
la piccola dea della luna
che scende la notte
dal ponte del ciel.
PINKERTON
E affascina i cuori…
BUTTERFLY
…E li prende, e li avvolge
in un bianco mantel.
E via se li reca
negli alti reami.
PINKERTON
Ma intanto finor non m’hai detto,
ancor non m’hai detto che m’ami.
Le sa quella dea le parole
che appagan gli ardenti desir?
BUTTERFLY
Le sa. Forse dirle non vuole
per tema d’averne a morir,
per tema d’averne a morir!
PINKERTON
Stolta paura,
l’amor non uccide,
ma dà vita, e sorride
per gioie celestiali
come ora fa
nei tuoi lunghi occhi ovali.
BUTTERFLY
Adesso voi siete per me
l’occhio del firmamento.
E mi piaceste dal primo momento
che vi ho veduto.
Siete alto, forte.
Ridete con modi sì palesi!
E dite cose
che mai non intesi.
Or son contenta. Or son contenta.
Vogliatemi bene, un bene piccolino,
un bene da bambino
quale a me si conviene.
Noi siamo gente avvezza
alle piccole cose,
umili e silenziose,
ad una tenerezza
sfiorante e pur profonda
come il ciel, come l’onda del mare.
PINKERTON
Dammi ch’io baci
le tue mani care,
mia Butterfly!
Come t’han ben nomata
tenue farfalla…
BUTTERFLY
Dicon ch’oltre mare
se cade in man dell’uom
ogni farfalla d’uno spillo
è trafitta
ed in tavola infitta!
PINKERTON
Un po’ di vero c’è:
e tu lo sai perché?
Perché non fugga più.
Io t’ho ghermita…
Ti serro palpitante.
Sei mia.
BUTTERFLY
Sì, per la vita.
PINKERTON
Vieni, vieni…
Via dall’anima in pena
l’angoscia paurosa.
È notte serena! Guarda:
dorme ogni cosa!
Sei mia! Ah! vien!
BUTTERFLY
Ah! dolce notte! quante stelle!
Non le vidi mai sì belle!
Trema, brilla ogni favilla
col baglior d’una pupilla.
Oh! quanti occhi fisi, attenti,
d’ogni parte a riguardar!
pei firmamenti, via pei lidi,
via pel mare…ride il ciel!
Ah! dolce notte!
Tutto estatico d’amor,
ride il ciel!
Puccini, Madama Butterfly, “Night is falling”
PINKERTON
Night is falling.
BUTTERFLY
And darkness and peace.
PINKERTON
And you are here alone.
BUTTERFLY
Alone and renounced!
Renounced and happy!
PINKERTON
(claps; the servants run out.)
Come here and close up the house.
BUTTERFLY
Yes, yes, we are all alone…
and the world shut outside…
PINKERTON
And the furious Bonze.
BUTTERFLY
Suzuki, my clothes.
(Suzuki goes to a chest and gives Butterfly her night
clothes.)
SUZUKI
Good night.
BUTTERFLY
I long to take off
this ceremonial sash,
let the bride be dressed
in pure white.
Whispering to himself
he smiles and watches me.
If I could only hide!
It makes me blush so!
And still the angry voice
is cursing me…
Butterfly renounced,
renounced… and happy.
PINKERTON
With squirrel-like movements
she shakes the knots loose and undoes them!
To think that this little toy
is my wife! My wife!
But she displays such grace
that I am consumed
by a fever
of sudden desire!
(Pinkerton approaches Butterfly, who has finished
dressing.)
Dear child, with eyes full of witchery,
now you are all mine.
You’re dressed all in lily-white.
I love your dark tresses
amid the white of your veils.
BUTTERFLY
I am like the moon-goddess,
the little goddess of the moon,
who comes down at night
from the bridge of heaven.
PINKERTON
And captivates all hearts…
BUTTERFLY
…and takes them and folds them
in a white cloak.
And carries them away
to the higher regions.
PINKERTON
But meanwhile, you haven’t told me yet,
you haven’t told me you love me.
Does that goddess know the words
that satisfy burning desire?
BUTTERFLY
She does. Maybe she’s unwilling
to say them for fear of dying of it,
for fear of dying of it!
PINKERTON
Foolish fear –
love does not kill,
but gives life and smiles
for heavenly joy,
as it does now
in your almond eyes.
BUTTERFLY
For me you are now
the eye of heaven.
And I liked you from the first moment
I set eyes on you.
You are tall and strong.
You laugh out so heartily.
And you say things
I’ve never heard in my life before.
I’m happy now, so happy.
Love me with a little love,
a child-like love,
the kind that suits me.
Love me, please…
We are a people used to small,
modest, quiet things,
to a tenderness gently caressing,
yet vast as the sky
and as the waves of the sea.
PINKERTON
Give me your dear hands
and let me kiss them!
My Butterfly!
How aptly you were named,
fragile butterfly!
BUTTERFLY
They say that overseas
if it should fall into the hands of man
a butterfly is stuck through
with a pin
and fixed to a board!
PINKERTON
There’s some truth in that;
and do you know why?
So that it shouldn’t fly away again.
I’ve caught you…
Quivering, I press you to me.
You’re mine.
BUTTERFLY
Yes, for life.
PINKERTON
Come along, come…
Cast all sad fears
out of your heart!
The night is clear! See,
all things sleep!
You are mine! Oh, come!
BUTTERFLY
Oh, lovely night! What a lot of stars!
Never have I seen them so beautiful!
Every spark twinkles and shines
with the brilliance of an eye.
Oh! What a lot of eyes fixed and staring,
looking at us from all sides!
In the sky, along the shore,
out to sea…the sky is smiling!
Oh, lovely night!
In a ecstasy of love
the sky is smiling!
Elena Mauti-Nunziata
August 28, 1946 – July 22, 2024
Lyric soprano Elena Mauti-Nunziata was born near Naples, in Palma Campania. She studied with Gina Cigna and won an international singing competition in Palermo. She made her debut at the Teatro Massimo, in the role of Liù (Turandot). Mauti-Nunziata sang Mimi (La Bohème), Nedda (I Pagliacci), Elvira (I Puritani) and, of course, Violetta (La Traviata), roles in which numerous pirate recordings reveal her splendid emotion, vocal control across the entire range and impeccable style.
In 1978, Elena Mauti-Nunziata made a remarkable debut across the Atlantic (Madama Butterfly, I Puritani, Rigoletto in Chicago and then Dallas). The following years saw her perform with great success at all the major international opera houses (Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Caracas, Madrid, Hamburg, Munich, Vienna, the Arena di Verona, Monaco, Paris, and Aix-en-Provence in the role of Elvira in Don Giovanni). She sang at 26 performances at the Metropolitan Opera between 1977 and 1979, including productions of La Bohème and Cavalleria Rusticana/I Pagliacci. She made forays into the lirico-spinto repertoire as Leonora in Il Trovatore and La Forza del destino, and even Turandot. She did not hesitate to perform in Zandonai’s Francesca da Rimini or Puccini’s Magda in La Rondine, and in the French opera (Marguerite in Faust, Leila in Les Pêcheurs de Perles).
She retired from the opera stage at the end of the 1990s.