Ghena Dimitrova: Verdi - Un Ballo In Maschera, 'Ma dall'arido stelo divulsa'

Ghena Dimitrova (Bulgarian: Гeна Димитpова) (6 May 1941--11 June 2005) was a Bulgarian operatic soprano. Her voice was known for its power and extension used in operatic roles such as Turandot in a career spanning four decades. She started singing in the school choir and her powerful voice led to her being offered a place at the Sofia Conservatory studying under Cristo Brambarov between 1959 and 1964. While she was initially classified as a mezzo-soprano, she was recognised as a soprano in her second year. She made her Italian debut as Turandot in Treviso in 1975, and essayed the same role for her 1983 La Scala debut opposite tenor Plácido Domingo in Franco Zeffirelli's lavish production. Her Turandot is also preserved in a video of the Arena di Verona production from 1983, with Nicola Martinucci and Cecilia Gasdia. In 1988, she made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York performing the same role. Dimitrova once said of the role: "Turandot may not be my favorite part, but it shows off the voice to great advantage. The way the music is written, you need a voice like a trumpet to do it justice." Her debut in the United States was in 1981 performing the role of Elvira in Ernani. She sang at the Barbican Arts Centre in Ponchielli's La Gioconda in 1983 before making her Covent Garden debut in the same year... en.wikipedia.or...
Lyrics & English Translation
Here is the dreadful field where
death is matched with crime!
There are the gallows . . .
The plant is there, it spreads green at the foot. Let me approach.
Ah, my heart freezes!
Even the sound of my own footsteps, everything here
fills me with horror and dread!
And if I must die?
To die! Very well, since it is my fate,
such is my duty, let it be fulfilled, and so be it.
[She is about to proceed.]
But when that herb
has been torn from the dry stem by my hand,
and when in my feverish mind
that heavenly image dies,
what remains to you, once love is lost . . .
what remains to you, my poor heart!
Ah! Who is weeping, what force holds me back?
Does the bleak path hinder me?
Come, courage . . . and be made of stone,
do not betray me, cease from tears;
or cease beating and die,
be annihilated, my poor heart!
[A bell is heard striking the hour.]
Midnight! . . . Ah, what do I see? A head
rises from under the ground . . . and groans!
Its eyes flash with anger
and it stares at me and is terrifying!
[She falls to her knees.]
Please guide me, help me, o Lord,
have mercy on a poor heart!
A link to this wonderful artists personal Website: www.ghenadimitr...
Please Enjoy!
I send my kind and warm regards,