I learned from that countenance
(Poet's title: Da quel sembiante appresi)
Set by Schubert:
D 688/3
[January 1820]
Part of Vier Canzonen für eine Singstimme mit Klavierbegleitung, D 688
Da quel sembiante appresi
A sospirar d’amore;
Sempre per quel sembiante
Sospirerò d’amore.
La face, a cui m’accesi
Solo m’alletta e piace;
È fredda ogn’altra face
Per riscaldarmi il cuore.
From that visage I learned
How to sigh with love;
Because of that visage I shall always
Sigh with love.
That fire which ignited me
Is all that attracts and pleases me;
And all other fires are too cold
To warm my heart.
All translations into English that appear on this website, unless otherwise stated, are by Malcolm Wren. You are free to use them on condition that you acknowledge Malcolm Wren as the translator and schubertsong.uk as the source. Unless otherwise stated, the comments and essays that appear after the texts and translations are by Malcolm Wren and are © Copyright.
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Confirmed by Peter Rastl with Tutte le opere di Pietro Metastasio, Firenze, Tipografia Borghi e compagni 1832, page 395.
The text appears in L’Eroe cinese, atto I, scena III (Lisinga’s aria).
To see an early edition of the text, go to page 193 [205 von 438] here: http://digital.onb.ac.at/OnbViewer/viewer.faces?doc=ABO_%2BZ176741500