Return to La Gatta Cenerentola home page
THE SONGS OF LA GATTA
CENERENTOLA
[in literal
translation]
Songs translated by Ed Emery
in collaboration with Jana Gough
Translator's Note:
The songs of La Gatta Cenerentola are presented here in translation. Eventually the Italian text will also be placed on this site, as a parallel text. And even more eventually some of the tunes of the songs will be placed here too, in musical notation.
[Special thanks to Rossella Galeota-Wilson, David
Castillejo,
and all the group who gathered under Luigi Schiano's
"umbrella" at the
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
INDEX OF SONGS
Act One
Song No. 1 Jesce sole
Song No. 2 È nata mmiez' 'o mare
Prologue - Prologo
Song No. 3 Villanella di Cenerentola
Song No. 4 La canzone della matrigna
Song No. 5 La canzone delle sei sorelle
Song No. 6 Mamma, mamma, che bella cosa
Song No. 7 Filastrocca monacello
Song No. 8 Figlia, figlia jesce e abballa
Act Two
Song No. 9 Vurria addeventare
Song No. 10 Il parto dei mobili
Song No. 11 Moresca
Song No. 12 Prima notte di Cenerentola
Song No. 13 Primo madrigale
Song No. 14 Seconda notte di Cenerentola
Song No. 15 Secondo madrigale
Song No. 16 Terza notte di Cenerentola
Song No. 17 Oi mamma ca mò vene
Act Three
Song No. 18 Canzone dei militari
Song No. 19 Primo
Song No. 20 Secondo
Song No. 21 Canzone
Song No. 22 Scena delle ingiurie
Song No. 23 Finale Atto Terzo
++++++++++++++++++++
.
SONG No. 1:
JESCE SOLE
RISE, OH SUN
[A woman dressed in black sings a sombre invocation of the sun. Her mourning attire puts us in mind of death]
Rise, oh sun
Rise, oh sun
Rise, oh sun
Don't make us wait any longer!
Do young girls
Really have to
Implore you so?
[Repeats]
Note: Jesce Sole (anon. early thirteenth century): Not
everyone agrees that this is the first Neapolitan song to have come down to us,
but it is certainly one of the earliest. The text is mentioned in Bocaccio's
Decameron and quoted in a fifteenth-century codex now in the Bibliothèque Nationale
in
++++++++++++++++++++
SONG No. 2:
È NATA MMIEZ' 'O MARE NA SCAROLA
ON THE SEA A GIRL WAS BORN
[Some of the women in black shed their garb, to reveal their identity as fearsome men dressed in the Turkish or Oriental manner]
In the midst of the sea a girl was born, with a mop of curly hair.
The Turks are playing cards for her.
Some by the top and some by the stem,
Lucky the man who wins this girl.
This girl is the daughter of a lawyer
And on her breast she wears the morning star.
She makes her lovers die, two by two,
When the moon breaks through in the East
And the moon, and the moon
All the women have no clothes
Naked and with no clothes on
Now that it's the feast of San Giovanni †
San Giovanni, San Giovanni
It's a goat whose throat's being cut
It's a goat, it's a goat,
It's a neck without a head
It's a neck, it's a neck,
First it's hard and then it's limp
First it's hard, first it's hard
And our blood is seething now
And the blood, and the blood
And the sea turns white
And the sea, and the sea,
And the basin is a haven for the sea
The basin, the basin,
And the knife beneath the hairs,
The knife, the knife
The earring and the nipple
The earring, the earring
And a barrel full of wine,
And a barrel, and a barrel,
Has a hole in the bottom
A hole, a hole,
On top of the bed it's soaking
And a bed, and a bed,
And a cone of sugared almonds
And a cone, and a cone
And some pig's liver
Some liver, some liver,
And a cock that can't stay still
And a cock, and a cock
San Giovanni's going on horseback
Riding a horse in the middle of the sea
A capon and a godfather
A capon and a capon
Let's slit its throat
We'll cook it with lemon
And even your brother's a homosexual.
With a one, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8...
[...]
And break his head
And give him a stab
Down below and up above
Ah!....
Note: The opening verses of È Nata Mmiez' 'O Mare are
based on a song called Michelemmà, traditionally attributed to the
seventeenth-century painter Salvator Rosa. It tells the story of a ravishing
young girl taken hostage by the Turks, but who is so stubborn in refusing all
advances that she kills all her kidnapper would-be lovers. In the background
lurks the ever-present historical fear among the peoples of the
† The Feast of San Giovanni - Midsummer's Day - had powerfully pagan antecedents, and in older times people would dance naked, a practice somewhat frowned on by the Church.
++++++++++++++++++++
PROLOGO
PROLOGUE
My good people! Most excellent audience!
You know well that when I was alive I had the well-deserved
title of Cavaliere, and that, against the workings of time and oblivion, the
paintbrushes of Timante and the marbles of Lisippo acclaimed me in
And you will also know that the sciences to which I devoted myself, and which I most esteemed, were the sublime trifles of the simple souls who secretly speak from the stars of the human imagination.
Those snowy orbits, those transparent pavilions which the Sun illuminates with his rays, which the Moon divides with its course, those adamantine spheres, those crystalline globes ornamented with stars and full of constellations, are the books of dreams, the notebooks of sapphire, on which Heaven writes, with lines of gold, our nature, our useless past, and the futile future.
For this reason, this is the third time that you see me, and you do not succeed in remembering who I am, because all three times you saw me in different clothing and aspect.
The first time you thought me a man, and you reflected in me your shameless lie.
The second time you admired me as a woman, when the pomp of your presumption took satisfaction in a hypocritical dream, in an illusion, in a shadow.
The third time is now, when I am a hybrid of two natures, because together with my ornaments as a woman I carry the weapons of a man. But watch out, because if you try to possess me as a woman, then I shall kill you as a man, defending my honour with honour.
One is the Sun, two is the Moon, three is the life-giving beating of the heart, four is the silence of Death, and ninety-nine are the faces of the entire Universe.
One should perhaps repress this desire, this obsession, just in case it might happen that we dream again. And we shall do it, because we live in a world that is so strange that even the mere fact of living is to make believe, and to lie.
For this reason I, who am here among you, dream, and perhaps I already dreamed when I was alive, of narrating to you the mysterious cabal of an ancient city with the deceitful name of Neapolis.
The rich man dreams of being rich in his richness; the poor man dreams of suffering the wretchedness of his poverty; the man dreams who labours and who is reaching the end; and those who oppress and offend also dream.
And so what is this thing called life? A dream of the dead, a delirium, an illusion, a shadow, a fiction, and as the old song rightly says:
I dreamed my heart
was happy and light.
But in truth, oh Mother,
Dreams are only dreams.
In other words, life is but a chimera, and dreams are no more than dreams.
++++++++++++++++++++
SONG No. 3:
VILLANELLA DI CENERENTOLA
CINDERELLA'S VILLANELLA
[Cinderella enters, and sings a song about life's fortunes.]
Some people are born naked, and some are born clothed.
I, who was born naked and with nothing,
Am waiting for my luck to change..
Some people are born as dogs, and some are born as cats.
I, who was born a cat and not a little dog,
Am waiting to catch myself a mouse.
Some people have a cage of silver, and some of gold,
To catch the dove
And maybe only I will have one of lead.
Some people are born as anvils, and some as hammers.
If this hammer goes at it too hard and doesn't appreciate me,
The day will come when it will break.
Some people are born white and some as black as coal.
I'm coal now, but you watch out - you'll know it,
The day that I really catch fire
Note: The villanella (which flourished throughout the second half of the sixteenth century) was an improvised song form based on rural motifs and sung by several voices. The villanelle, which could be playful, satirical or tear-jerking and were accompanied by dancing, often ended in acts of public defiance. They enjoyed such success that they attracted the attention of some of the greatest musicians of the time (including Claudio Monteverdi), who used them as models for their polyphonic compositions..
++++++++++++++++++++
SONG No. 4:
LA CANZONE DELLA MATRIGNA
THE STEPMOTHER'S SONG
[After the scene with the Hairdresser, the Stepmother sings
of her many husbands, by whom she had equally many daughters, and each of whom
died on the wedding night.
The first time I got married
I took me a sailor.
I went on board for the first voyage,
.....With a nfri-nfro-nfra
And when the ship came into port,
My husband was on watch
But that same evening
His sails drooped,
He was banging away at the poop
And then he sank,
.....With a nfri-nfro-nfra
The second time I got married,
I got hitched to a soldier,
And he taught me how to make war
.....With a nfri-nfro-nfra
But the night of our first skirmish
My husband was making war.
First he advanced,
And then he retreated
And his flag went all limp
He lost the battle and never came back,
.....With a nfri-nfro-nfra
And the fifth time I got married,
I fell in love with a thief
Who gave me a key that didn't work
.....With a nfri-nfro-nfra
But all night long, there in the dark,
He tried to break the lock
I warned him,
But he forced it,
Then he swore
And his key broke,
.....With a nfri-nfro-nfra
And the sixth time, Fate sent me
A violinist
Who played me a little concert,
.....With a nfri-nfro-nfra
But then as he was playing me his serenade
His whole instrument went out of tune.
He tried a ' 'mi' ',
He played a ' 're' '
But he couldn't manage it
And I sang a requiescat in pace over him,
.....With a nfri-nfro-nfra
And that's the way things have gone with me -
After that one, another one too
But I put all of them six feet under,
.....With a nfri-nfro-nfra
And now let's open this last will and testament,
But without shedding a tear.
Not one of them left me a thing,
.....With a nfri-nfro-nfra
++++++++++++++++++++++++
SONG No. 5
LA CANZONE DELLE SEI SORELLE
THE SONG OF THE SIX SISTERS
[The six Sisters enter, one at a time, and the delights of
their sexual parts are variously described.]
What a lovely mouth
The first sister has.
She did it deliberately,
Showing off that mouth....
How beautiful the first sister is,
And she's made me fall in love with her.
With a mouthing here,
And a mouthing there,
With that mouth I want to "mouth" you.
What lovely hands
The second sister has.
She did it deliberately
Showing off those hands...
How beautiful the second sister is,
And she's made me fall in love with her.
With a handling here,
And a handling there,
With those hands I want to "handle" you.
What lovely breasts
The third sister has.
She did it deliberately
Showing off those breasts...
How beautiful the third sister is
And she's made me fall in love with her.
With breasts here,
And breasts there,
With those breasts I want to "get abreast" of you.
What a lovely bum
The fourth sister has.
She did it deliberately,
Showing off that bum...
How beautiful is the fourth sister,
And she's made me fall in love with her.
With a bum here,
And a bum there,
With that bum I want to "bum" you.
What a lovely belly
The fifth sister has.
She did it deliberately,
Showing off that belly
How beautiful is the fifth sister,
And she's made me fall in love with her.
With a belly here,
And a belly there,
With that belly I want to "belly" you.
What a beautiful "thingy"
The sixth sister has.
She did it deliberately,
Showing off that "thingy"
How beautiful is the sixth sister,
And she's made me fall in love with her.
With a "thingy" here
And a "thingy" there,
With that thing I want to "thingy" you.
++++++++++++++++++++
SONG No. 6:
MAMMA, MAMMA, CHE BELLA COSA (Duetto)
MOTHER, MOTHER, HOW LOVELY IT WOULD BE (Duet)
[The Stepmother and her favourite daughter Patrizia sing about going to the Ball, and Patrizia's chances of marrying the king and becoming queen.]
PATRIZIA:
Mother, mother, how lovely it would be
If I make myself this bridal veil.
And if I become queen,
I'll make Cinderella burst with envy.
STEPMOTHER:
Hush, daughter, you know I love you,
Before this evening I shall have you married.
PATRIZIA:
Yes, mother, I can already see myself
Wearing a cloak, and with the crown on my head.
You can rest assured
That I've given it a lot of thought.
STEPMOTHER:
If she has this stroke of luck,
I too shall be like a queen.
And I shall pay you compliments
On your beauty, with which no other woman can compare.
PATRIZIA:
I know you never lie,
And that you always tell me the truth.
DUET:
Now that fate is smiling on us,
Let's go and dance at the palace.
And with violins and cellos
With cellos and triccabballache†
I've got a virginal daughter
Who no longer wants to stay on the shelf.
PATRIZIA:
And when the time comes for feasting and partying,
Put the wine in the middle of the table,
And then how many toasts we'll propose!
Ah, how many toasts we'll drink!
STEPMOTHER:
And you can be sure that all will go well.
If she marries the king, that'll be fine for me too,
And just see what a dowry he'll give you
Just see what a dowry he'll give you!
PATRIZIA:
But I haven't got a dowry... I haven't got anything...
STEPMOTHER:
But you've got something that's worth a hundred times more.
PATRIZIA:
But I don't know if that's enough for a dowry.
I don't know if it's enough for a dowry.
STEPMOTHER:
If you're worried about your dowry,
I've got 400 in cash.
And in addition to your dowry, this gift
Of a good-luck charm‡ that Mother will give you.
DUET:
And anyone who's jealous can crawl off and die,
Can crawl off and die, and burst with envy,
Because now that the time has come to get married,
The king will give me pearls and gold chains.
PATRIZIA:
And the whole population
Will show me respect and devotion,
And when I pass by in procession
Everyone will go down on their knees.
DUET:
Everyone kneel when I go by!
I'm the queen of this fair city!
Everyone kneel when I go by!
I'm the queen of this fair city!
† A rough popular musical instrument, consisting of pieces of wood joined at the bottom and making a "clacking" sound when shaken.
‡ Note: against the evil eye
++++++++++++++++++++
SONG No. 7:
FILASTROCCA MONACELLO
THE SONG OF THE MONACELLO †
[After the ritual singing of the mysterious men-women figures, the Monacello enters, looking for Cinderella. His song is sexually ambiguous.]
MONACELLO:
Cinders... Cooee!
Cinders, cooee, it's me...
Cinders... Cooee!
Cinders, cooee, it's me...
LEADER OF THE CHORUS
Oh my goodness... Who's that?
MONACELLO
I'm the spirit who lives in your house.
I play tricks on you, and I'm a-fire with lust.
I like young girls
When their little breasts grow,
Small and tender.
I come creeping in, when it's dark,
Through the cracks in the wall.
I come in very quietly
And I hide under the sofa
CHORUS
Watch out where you're putting your hand...!
MONACELLO
If I go in any further
I'll be in the kitchen!
CHORUS
Sweet tarts, and taglioline!
MONACELLO
Then I slip in along the wall,
And hide on top of the cupboard,
But at night, by way of mischief,
I stand by the foot of the bed,
And when you get undressed
And you're in your petticoat,
Now there's a sight to see!
CHORUS:
Watch out you don't get a good "knocking"...!
MONACELLO
Then if you let your hair down
And take out your comb
Do you know what I would say to you?
Cinders... cooee
Cinders, let's take a look!
The king himself is waiting for you!
† According to popular belief the monacello is a mischievous sprite who lives in people's houses and plays tricks on them.
++++++++++++++++++++++++
SONG No. 8:
FINALE ATTO PRIMO:
FIGLIA, FIGLIA, JESCE E ABBALLA
FINALE ACT ONE:
DAUGHTER, DAUGHTER, GO TO THE BALL
[The Monacello encourages Cinderella to go to the ball. They bring out the magic plant that will help dress her in fine clothes.]
MONACELLO:
Daughter, daughter, go to the ball.
CHORUS:
But father, father, I can't go...
MONACELLO:
Daughter, daughter, why ever not?
CHORUS:
Because I've got nothing to wear.
MONACELLO:
Daughter, daughter, what do you need?
Daughter, daughter, what do you need?
CINDERELLA:
I've got no stockings.
CHORUS:
So off he went
And got her some stockings.
MONACELLO:
Daughter, daughter, go to the ball.
CHORUS:
But father, father, I can't go...
MONACELLO:
Daughter, daughter, why ever not?
CHORUS:
Because I've got nothing to wear.
MONACELLO:
Daughter, daughter, what do you need?
Daughter, daughter, what do you need?
CENERENTOLA:
I've got no earrings
CHORUS:
So off he went
And got her some earrings.
MONACELLO:
Daughter, daughter, go to the ball.
CHORUS:
But father, father, I can't go.
MONACELLO:
Daughter, daughter, why ever not?
CHORUS:
Because I've got nothing to wear...
MONACELLO:
Daughter, daughter, what do you need?
Daughter, daughter, what do you need?
CENERENTOLA:
I've got no shoes.
CHORUS:
So off he went
And got her some shoes.
MONACELLO:
Daughter, daughter, the music's playing.
Go to the dance, it will be fun.
Last year you were just a little girl
Now you're ripe and ready for marriage.
WITH THE CHORUS
Take these sugared almonds
The kerchief to use in bed
The kerchief looks dark
The crack and the sprite within the wall
The mother who sticks out a naked foot
The princess, the hair pin
The petticoat and the apron
The underskirt and the little prince
And with the slipper, rubs against the foot
And the father that has it - he has it all limp!
++++++++++++++++++++
ACT TWO
SONG No. 9:
VURRIA ADDEVENTARE
I WISH I WAS...
[Two men in the garb of acolytes sing a song which evokes baroque mysteries, gilded thrones and carnal sensuality]
I wish this dove would fly
And that it arrived before it died.
Ah cuccurusà
Curly-headed girl, I would say that
The slipper's pretty,
But the girl who wears it is prettier still.
It bites your foot
When it breaks the chain
In order to stamp on your heart
When love dances inside...
I wish I was a drum
When the breast becomes the cymbal of love.
Ah cuccurusà
Curly-headed girl, I would say that
The stockings are pretty,
But the girl who wears them is prettier still.
She fills you with sighs,
But leaves you empty-handed.
Your heart will drain away
Like water from a fountain.
I wish love would shoot like a leaf
In that garden of the heart.
Ah cuccurusà
Curly-headed girl, I would say that
The skirt is pretty,
But the girl who wears it is prettier still.
She's running to this ball
Where she'll become queen,
When even the moon
Will dance with sword in hand...
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
SONG No. 10
IL PARTO DEI MOBILI
THE FURNITURE GIVES BIRTH
[A song about odd goings-on in the royal family]
You should know...
That when the late-departed queen,
Got pregnant...
Her longing for a child
Was so great
That in sympathy with her
All the furniture in the house swelled up too...!
And after nine months,
You should have seen it...
They all dropped their loads at once...!
The bed gave birth
To a baby bed...
The table to a little table...
The chair to a little chair...
The piss-pot to a little potty...
And as for the queen, she gave birth to
A thumping great son
Who weighed seven and a half kilos...!
Now, to get back to us...
Given that...
At that, time the wife of the queen's father
Died...
And since he couldn't find another
Woman as beautiful
As her...
He wanted to marry his own daughter!
Now what do you think of that?
Well...! And he had made for her
A dress, with a sun on the front
And a moon on the back
That was beautiful, really beautiful.
++++++++++++++++++++
SONG No. 11:
MORESCA †
[Various carnival figures enter. These are the
"Cuccurucus". They sing a fantastical song, of cats and sexual
desire.]
Lucia, miaow miaow,
The cat sings, bleached by the light
When the cuckoo suddenly
Goes cuccurucuccu
and rucca, rucca
It parades around
And goes round [the other one], raising its tail
My love
Miaow miaow... cuccurucuccu
Cat and cuckoo, both on heat
Fan the flames in your hearth,
Giorgetiella wants to dance.
Your dark-skinned beauty
Has driven a stake into the heart...
A hail of stones beats
Against this enamoured breast.
Your sugar-sweet mouth,
Your eyes, your breasts,
Your you-know-what
Giorgetiella is in a state of desperation,
She can no longer get through the night.
She beats her head and heaves a sigh,
She wants to come in at your door.
Let her come in through this crack,
The naughty beast, because here she comes.
The moon in the sky waxes and wanes,
Goes around and never gets tired.
Goes around,
And comes and goes,
And becomes a full moon,
A pregnant belly.
Let the fire be stoked up well.
A heart as hard as stone.
But harder still is my head
If I don't break through this shutter.
Put oil in the lamp.
It's a grey-flecked sky.
The wind lifts your skirt.
This window
Lets in water.
Let my storm find a haven
In your head.
Seven sheep all huddled up,
After the whey had turned out well.
Cuccuruccu, she licked it
Like a shameless thief
Good for you!
Lucky you!
All dressed up
And wearing a crown.
Cuccuruccu, listen to the song.
A peacock feather floats up in the sky.
The peahen puts on her crown.
It looks good to me.
The lute is playing,
The lute plays.
Dusky girl,
Dies and lives,
Lives and dies,
I'm dying...
Cuccuruccu, miaow miaow
Cuccuruccu, miaow miaow
Cuccuruccu, miaow miaow
Cuccuruccu, miaow miaow
† Moresca... Can mean a dark-skinned girl or a Moorish dance (from which we get our "morris" dance).
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
SONG No. 12:
PRIMA NOTTE DI CENERENTOLA
CINDERELLA'S FIRST NIGHT
[Cinderella's first night with the Prince.]
The truth... my lord...
Is that I've always aroused
Envy and jealousy...
And I wouldn't like, by obeying
Your commands,
To upset anybody in this house...
Look, you see...? They're thinking...
"Who on earth is this woman...?
Where has she popped up from...?!"
And so I'd like to run away,
A thousand miles away...
Why? What do you mean, why...?!
It's because I feel like a stranger here...!
It's as if once there was someone who was a cat
For years and years, and then one evening...
Pop...!
All of a sudden she becomes a woman,
And the prince invites her to dance...!
Your Highness... if you don't mind...
Put your hand a bit higher up...!
Can't you see, everyone's looking at us...?
You're going to make me change my mind...
You'll make me melt away
Like that princess
Who was inside the pomegranate...
Oh... don't you know the story...?
A prince broke open a pomegranate
With a knife... pop...!
And out came a princess, who wanted to drink...
"Dear heart, let me drink, otherwise I shall die!"
She took the water
But she didn't make it in time
To drink it, and so she died...!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
SONG No. 13
PRIMO MADRIGALE
FIRST MADRIGAL
[Two of the carnival figures and one of the Chambermaids enter and sing a madrigal]
What did the bride eat on the first evening?
What did the bride
the bride
What did the bride eat
What did the bride eat
on the first evening?
The first evening that she went to bed with him
The first evening that
she went to bed with him...
The first evening that she went to bed with him,
She felt cold.
She felt cold, but he was feverish hot.
She ran off like a thief
like a thief
What did the bride eat on the first evening
on the first evening
on the first evening?
What did the bride eat on the second evening...?
++++++++++++++++++++
SONG No. 14:
SECONDA NOTTE DI CENERENTOLA
CINDERELLA'S SECOND NIGHT
[Cinderella's second night with the Prince.]
Oh palace, as high as a thousand miles,
Come down a bit and let me climb up, let me climb up.
Up above there's a mother and a daughter.
Listen, it looks to me like the golden sword
with a hundred blades
And you see, it's so hot you could die.
Pimpernel, basil, not for you but for your sisters.
Oh, heavens, this palace is so high.
And so, Anna, this is the time and it's been a year. [
And Nella, you're not short, you're not tall, you're a young lady now.
++++++++++++++++++++
[The figures from the preceding madrigal are joined by the Stepmother and Patrizia]
SONG No. 15:
SECONDO MADRIGALE
SECOND MADRIGAL
What did the bride eat on the second evening?
What did the bride eat,
the bride?
When she said
When she said
This is the boat
This is the boat if you want to set sail.
Who can she be, who can she be,
This beautiful stranger of a girl,
A princess or a great whore?
What can it be, what can it be,
What can it be, this rage,
That's eating up both mother and daughter?
And she said to him when he went off to sea,
This is the boat if you want to set sail.
She felt cold, but he was feverish hot.
She ran off like a thief
like a thief.
What did the bride eat on the second evening,
on the second evening,
on the second evening?
What did the bride eat on the third evening?
What did the bride eat on the third evening...?
++++++++++++++++++++
SONG No. 16:
TERZA NOTTE DI CENERENTOLA
CINDERELLA'S THIRD NIGHT
[Cinderella's third night with the Prince. The "Cuccurucus" try to catch her, and the Stepmother enters.]
CINDERELLA:
And so, my lord Prince,
You'd like to know?
Has nobody ever told you the story of Rospacénere?
What? I should sit myself down?
Right there?
CHORUS:
I'm dying, I leave my suffering.
And he who could give me life,
Ah! he kills me instead!
CINDERELLA:
Now, listen to me,
I'm going to tell you the story...
On the third Sunday
The weather was stormy;
Bad weather, as if
It was going to rain.
This girl, whose name was
Rospacénere, said...:
Flowers, take off your clothes
And dress me instead...
But, before the midday
mass was ended,
A storm broke out,
She started running
And lost one of her shoes.
CHORUS:
And then the sun came out,
And a prince passed by...
CINDERELLA:
A prince passed by,
He saw this golden slipper on the ground,
And he thought to himself:
"I must find out who this
Golden slipper belongs to,
And I shall take her for my wife."
CHORUS:
Ah, it is killing me...!
CINDERELLA:
Rospacénere! Rospacénere!
Come here, because the prince wants you...!
And what would I do with a prince?
I'm fine just as I am...!
But when she tried on
The slipper,
It fitted her foot perfectly.
++++++++++++++++++++
SONG No. 17:
FINALE ATTO SECONDO
OI MAMMA CA MO' VENE
FINALE, ACT TWO
OH MOTHER, NOW HE'S COMING
[A wild tarantella, after which Cinderella escapes, losing
her shoe in the process.]
CHORUS:
Take the dog, catch the dog,
The head of the dog, the dog, the dog.
CINDERELLA:
Oh, mother, now he's coming!
CHORUS:
Bim, bom, ba
STEPMOTHER
Open the door and let him come in
With a bamberambá and a bamberambí
CINDERELLA
Oh, mother, now he's come in!
CHORUS
Bim, bom, ba
STEPMOTHER
Take the chair and let him sit down,
With a bamberambí and a bamberambá
CINDERELLA
Oh, mother, now he's sitting down!
CHORUS
Bim, bom, ba
STEPMOTHER
Lay the table and let him eat
With a bamberambí and a bamberambá
CINDERELLA
Oh, mother, now he's eaten!
CHORUS
Bim, bom, ba
STEPMOTHER
Make up the bed and let him lie down
With a bamberambí and a bamberambá
CINDERELLA
Oh, mother, now he's in bed!
CHORUS
Bim, bom, ba
STEPMOTHER
Take the knife and slit his throat
With a bamberambí and a bamberambá
CHORUS
Take the dog, catch the dog,
The head of the dog, the dog, the dog.
A fleeing
A running away
A going-up at midnight
One, two, three, four
Five, six, seven and eight
The clock strikes twelve
The cat runs away and so do the mice
Ay, mother, now he's coming
The head of the dog, the dog, the dog.
Oh, mother, now he's coming
The head of the dog, the dog, the dog.
And so both the foot and love
Remain shoeless.
Take the dog, catch the dog
The head of the dog, the dog, the dog.
++++++++++++++++++++++++
SONG No. 18
ACT THREE
SONG OF THE SOLDIERS
[Various soldiers enter, carrying the lost shoe on a cushion. They are accompanied by the Ace of Clubs, a town crier acting on behalf of the King.]
Napoli, Napoli, that beautiful woman,
Lost her slipper,
Her slipper and her crown,
To the king of France and of Aragon,
Her slipper and her dreams
To the king of Spain and the king of Turkey
Napoli, Napoli, that beautiful woman,
Without a slipper,
Napoli, Napoli, that beautiful siren.
The full moon,
The new moon,
Every soldier tries his luck.
They're six sisters,
They're all beautiful,
They're all beautiful
And ready for making love!
[Repeat]
And there's the first one,
Who's only young,
Who's only young,
But ready for making love!
There's the second one
Who's brown-skinned and blonde,
Who's brown-skinned and blonde,
And ready for making love!
But for the third one
You'll need a whip,
You'll need a whip,
For making love.
And there's the fourth,
Who's a dressmaker,
And goes at it full tilt,
When making love!
And there's the fifth one
Who pretends to be a virgin
But is pregnant,
And ready for making love!
And there's the sixth one
Who goes to the party
Who goes to the party
Ready for making love!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
[The Soldiers repeat the above song in parallel with the following text.]
ACE OF CLUBS
Oyez! Oyez...!
All you beautiful girls...!
Yesterday at the
Someone lost a shoe on the staircase!
Fortune will smile
On whoever lost this shoe
If she agrees
To undergo this fine test!
Don't be afraid...!
Stick out your bare foot...!
These soldiers will do the measuring
So as not to damage it.
This king is not a dog...!
He's a good fellow...!
And if I play the go-between,
It's for the honour of
And now fire the cannon...!
Because the king's a genial fellow...!
So full of passion is he
That he wants to marry the whole nation...!
Oyez! Oyez..!
All you beautiful girls...!
Yesterday at the
Someone lost a shoe on the staircase!
Vucciahé...
Brebbede bré...
Stick out your foot
And show it to the king...!
++++++++++++++++++++
SONG No. 19:
PRIMO
FIRST CHORUS OF THE WASHERWOMEN
[As they prepare to do their washing, the Washerwomen sing of the climate of tension in the city.]
WASHERWOMEN
Since this morning there's been drums and trumpets
Drums and trumpets
Drums and trumpets
And the air is a-flare with ashes
And the air is a-flare with ashes
FIRST WASHERWOMAN
Since this morning there's been drums and trumpets
Trumpets and drums
Like when the procession passes
On Good Friday...!
Since this morning, an empty shoe has been
Carried in procession
And on top of the castle stand
A hundred cannon
With their muzzles open to the sky
Waiting for a signal
To make all the windows of the houses
Tremble with fear and joy...!
WASHERWOMEN
Wait, wait, my heart, until the moment
Wait until the moment...!
If this ship has not gone down,
Has not sunk to the bottom...!
FIRST WASHERWOMAN
It's as if this day
Had committed the sin
Of dawning with a bare foot
So that all the women can't wait to cover it!
Even the sea
Under the sun this morning
Seemed like a silent oath
And even the voice of the fig-seller
Doesn't dare
Stir this heavy air
Which is like the embers after a fire
WASHERWOMEN
Help, help, the world is lost
The world is lost
Even nuns want to get married!
Want to get married...!
FIRST WASHERWOMAN
Have you heard the soldiers...?
It's only them
Going round singing foreign songs
That we don't know,
The kind that are only heard when
a war has been lost...!
But instead, all of this
Is over a lost shoe
As if the whole world has gone topsy-turvy!
And the king has issued a new decree
Ordering a test
To the honour and glory
Of the passion that has bitten him...!
And in honour of the king
This land has come to a stop
In a cat's cradle full of lies
Waiting only for an earthquake,
Burning lava,
A war,
In order to scream and cry
Seeing the miracle
Of a saint without a head
And of a foot without a shoe!
WASHERWOMEN
My love, my love, prepare your coffin
Prepare your coffin...!
And wall yourself up inside,
Nail yourself up inside...!
FIRST WASHERWOMAN
Think of the girl who's lost the shoe!
A dawn flight with the guards after her
And her heart trembling with fear!
WASHERWOMEN
Fear of what?
FIRST WASHERWOMAN
Who knows?!
Can you ever know what it is that makes you afraid?
Look at this sun...!
It seems kindly enough
But doesn't it sometimes seem as if it wants to turn
you to ashes?
But you call it fear!
And isn't it nice to clothe ourselves in this heat
And to become the heat itself which gets undressed
In order to dance with a beam of fire?
You know what I think?
The shoe that was lost last night is our good luck!
Either way, it was a female who lost it,
And if the king is acting like all hell let loose
It means he can't live without her
And who is she?
Either way, she's a female!
One of us, who can put the king under her foot
And become queen of this land!
WASHERWOMEN
Oh sun, come out, rise over this land,
Rise over this land!
Where anyone who loves you is killed and dies,
Is killed and dies...!
++++++++++++++++++++
SONG No. 20:
SECONDO
THE SECOND CHORUS OF THE WASHERWOMEN
[As they continue with their washing, the Washerwomen strike up a wild song, about an imagined sexual encounter with the King. During this one of their number is taken with a frenzy.]
Oh, Madonna, what a lovely dream,
Oh, Madonna, what a lovely dream
Came to me in my sleep during the night,
With the thought, the same obsessive thought
That hammers at your mind at the age of sixteen
When you toss and turn in bed
And turn and toss, and toss and turn,
Without ever finding peace.
The king came to me in my dream.
He came to me as if he was
Really there in front of me
Yess...! Yess...! Yess...! Yess...!
It was really him, just as he is,
As handsome as San Pasquale,
Peaches and cream, milk and honey,
Like the fish of San Rafaele.
Oh, Madonna, I felt,
I felt a wooden beam in my breast,
A beam, a pole,
Two shots from a gun,
And a thrust of a knife,
A hammer, working heel and toe,
When it knocks a nail in without bending it.
Pumice stone and petting,
Mother of mine, mother of mine!
The king! He wanted me!
Yess...! Yess...! Yess...! Yess...!
Me with my English handkerchief,
All starched and held just so,
I returned his thrust
With a gracious movement.
The windows came down,
The shutters came down,
That covered his heart,
That covered his heart...
Because right at the best point of the dream,
Just when you're thinking of making love,
There we were, in my dream, with the sheets
All tangled up, lying side by side,
Ah... ah... ah... ah...
When he went to the ball,
Hey what music and music-making,
Whirling and dancing, this way and that,
He wanted to take me round the dance floor.
I said, "Your majesty,
Your majesty, if you will be the male dove
Then I shall be the she-dove for you,
And I shall dance for you.
But if I catch you under my arm
The billing and cooing will stop."
Then he grasped me
And pulled me towards him.
I pretended to hide down below,
And made such a mess of the bed,
With the pillows all over the place...
The he started rubbing against me,
And in my stomach I was all twisting up
Like the clothes in the wash tub
Under the sun that beats on the terrace.
One thrust, two thrusts,
My darling, my love,
Now I'm ready for love!
Come on, let's get on with it!
Because I'm rich and I'm a king.
If you come with me on horseback
I'll put this ring on your finger
I'll put,
I'll put...
Because you're beautiful and you merit it
You're the beauty with the stockings...
And with these words
He thrust a dagger into my heart,
And then he covered my breast
With gold chains and corals,
Clusters of red pearls,
A bunch of grapes made of diamonds,
A brooch placed just here,
Another one just there,
A bit more this way.
What a dagger thrust that was, in my sleep!
Ah... ah... ah... ah...
When the moment came to kiss him
Pumice stone and petting,
You can experience this fiery sensation too, if you want
Like red-hot peperoncino on the tip of your lips!
White apple and red apple,
He took me under my arms
And started to rock me.
"Let's rock together, in this dream.
Come here, my lovely,
Because you're made to be queen.
I want to give you satisfaction,
I want to place this whole world
Into your hands as a plaything.
This world is like a ball,
And I'll put the ball into your hands.
Into my hands,
Into your hands,
You're the queen and I'm the king..."
Yess...! Yess...! Yess...! Yess...!
But right in the middle of my dream
I felt something on my shoulder,
Pinching me, poking me.
Oh, Madonna, what could it be,
At the best point of my dream,
At the best point of my dream,
It was my mother, at the best point of my dream
Come to wake me up.
Oh, damn my bad luck!
The dream ended,
The desire evaporated,
You put some of yours and I'll put some of mine...
Right at the best part of my dream,
Oh damn, oh baccalà!
Mother, may your dead ones
All go to hell
May you die
May you go looking for charity
May you be hit on the head and
Left for dead
Under the bridge at la Sanita',
Ah... ah... ah... ah...
Oh, what a moon
Oh, what a moon
This wish, this dreaming,
When it comes it makes me go:
Ah... ah... ah... ah...
Who's going to come to console my,
Graziella...
Madonna, Madonna, Madonna,
The husband is dead!
Madonna, Madonna, Madonna,
The husband is dead
He left her with a withered rose
With a withered rose
With a withered rose...
Damnation here, damnation there,
Damn your mother's c**t!
I want to get right down there
I want to see what it's like there.
And she wants to do it, wants to do it, wants to do it.
Turn around and use your hand, because it's coming,
Your sister has one, has one, has one,
Use your hand, because it's on fire
And under the pergola hang the grapes,
Better for it to happen to you than to one of us,
And catch the dog that comes and goes.
Take the tripod and the frying pan,
The fire is ready and hot,
And the sea is rippling, restless,
Yours is limp and mine is getting aroused. †
† Reference to male homosexual love.
++++++++++++++++++++
SONG No. 21
CANZONE DELLA FEMMINELLA
SONG OF THE FEMMINELLA
[A man-woman figure enters, attempting to raffle a doll, which has lost a shoe. A charged sexual interchange with the Washerwomen leads to his death - or perhaps his rebirth]
WOMAN-MAN [Femminella]
The trousers of my beloved I want to se-
I want to se-
Sell.
And do you want to buy them, oh beautiful wom-
Oh beautiful wom-
Beautiful women?
The bird of my beloved wants to fl-
Wants to fl-
Fly away.
Catch it tight in your hands, oh beautiful wom-
Oh beautiful wom-
Beautiful women.
The mouth of my beloved now wants to dri-
Wants to dri-
Drink
And let me suck it, oh beautiful wom-
Oh beautiful wom-
Beautiful women...
CINDERELLA AND WOMEN
Hey, Madonna, Madonna,
How many daughters this mother's got!
She promised one to me,
But now she doesn't want to give me one...
WOMAN-MAN
Once upon a time there was a shoemaker,
Who had leather-knife in his hand.
His hunchback wife
Smashed up his bench.
When I found myself in the middle of the row,
The shoemaker began swearing
He cursed the names of Jesus and Sant' Anna
And fell off the top of his bench.
WOMEN
In Filumena's alley
There's a pregnant cat
No sooner had she given birth
Than she ate up all her kittens.
WOMAN-MAN
Crouched under a tree
There's an ogre who's in love.
If he gives out a fart,
Every plant will end up pregnant.
WOMEN
In the middle of the field of broad beans
There was the old granny's donkey...
Every time it brayed
It shat out gold and silver.
WOMAN-MAN
And a king fell in love
With an old hag
But when he touched her big "brioche"
He turned her topsy-turvy.
WOMEN
The late Don Arturo
Came up to the wash-tub
And stole the kerchief
And wouldn't give it back to me.
WOMAN-MAN
That's my kerchief
That my mother gave me.
I sold it a long time ago
In the days when it rained raisins and figs.
WOMEN
Raisins and figs, with the pretty young girl...
That cat is a thief
As a result of dancing up on the tiles,
Her "tomato" has gone swollen.
WOMAN-MAN
Stuff it with rags
So it looks like a belly and two breasts,
Put a stick in the body as well
If this test has to be done
WOMEN
By the sea at Mergellina
I lost a shoe.
Femminella, come to my arms
If you want to caress this foot
WOMAN-MAN
But I've already got someone to caress me,
The washerwoman doesn't understand.
The dog pisses behind the door
When it pisses and I want to go through
WOMEN
He went through at
Feminella, I am overcome by shame.
But if you want to come back another time,
I still want to play with you.
WOMAN-MAN
Playing, playing,
It rose as far as the throat,
The clothes-horse grew hard
To make the barn-owl ‡ come out
When Granatiello † was reached
The baker had fun
When he went to San Rocco,
He played above and below
He played before and behind
And such a big thing came out.
He lifted my petticoat
And a lovely thing popped out.
Hey, if you don't believe it
Go and see, and you can enjoy it too.
Seven times behind and twenty in front,
The scales are going crazy.
When all inhibitions are dropped,
Even the king may get pregnant...
CINDERELLA AND WOMEN
And pike-fish and pike-fish, §
By the sea there is a well,
Go and throw yourself in
Because if you don't, you'll die damned...!
Note:
This complex scene is open to many interpretations.
According to Roberto De Simone, the femminella can be seen as the virginal
young boy without sexual experience, who is pushed into an
"initiation" ritual by the Washerwomen; only then can he lose his
fear and make love to women as a man. However, similarly according to De
Simone, the femminella is additionally a Sun figure (according to ancient
Neapolitan legend, the sun sets in the sea and is reborn "in a
well"). Thus, when the femminella jumps into the well it is not (only) a
suicide, it is a regeneration. Every initiate has to "die" before
being reborn (c.f. the Christian baptism in water). As if in confirmation of
this interpretation, this scene is immediately followed by the invocation to the
Sun, calling on it to rise.
‡ Paperascianno has two meanings, barn-owl and penis.
† Granatiello is the port area at
§ Aluzze - a member of the pike family, Sphyraena
spet.
++++++++++++++++++++
SONG No. 22:
SCENA DELLE INGIURIE
THE INSULTS SCENE
[The soldiers sing THE SOLDIERS' SONG (see above) as a counterpoint, alongside
the mutual insults which are generated between the Stepmother, the Washerwomen
and Patrizia]
CHORUS OF SOLDIERS
They're six sisters,
They're all beautiful,
They're all beautiful
And ready for making love!
[Etc, sung at the same time as the following exchanges]]
STEPMOTHER
Troublemaker!
WASHER WOMEN
Gossip!
PATRIZIA
Windbag!
WASHER WOMEN
Vulgar show-off!
STEPMOTHER
Streetwalker!
WASHER WOMEN
Cheat!
PATRIZIA
Ugly fat bum!
WASHER WOMEN
Slag!
STEPMOTHER
Loud-mouthed pleb!
WASHER WOMEN
Slop-basin and pisspot!
PATRIZIA
Procuress!
WASHER WOMEN
Whore!
STEPMOTHER
Man-eater!
ACE OF CLUBS
Stand back!
WASHER WOMEN
I'll die if I don't give you a thrashing,
You and that old
Chewer of tobacco!
STEPMOTHER
Ugly hangman's face!
WASHER WOMEN
Nothing, compared to yours!
Those rheumy eyes ,
That mouth like a latrine
Those teeth like a lime-pit
If you come here
I'll bruise your backside!
ACE OF CLUBS
Turn around,
And get set for another charge!
STEPMOTHER
Ah...! May that sharp tongue of yours
Be cut out,
It rains down insults
And sounds like an open drain
Get lost...! And may you
Be struck dumb!
WASHER WOMEN
And may you
Shrink like
Pigskin
On the fire!
STEPMOTHER
Tattered wretch!
WASHER WOMEN
Bandy-legged sewing-wench!
Shitlegs,
You and all the rest of you!
STEPMOTHER
Wash your mouth out
When you're talking to me!
WASHER WOMEN
May you die in a ditch
If I don't break your bones!
PATRIZIA
Duck's arse!
WASHER WOMEN
Calloused heels...
Eyes like a vampire...
STEPMOTHER
Puppy-dog nose!
WASHER WOMEN
Ugly shitty monkey
ACE OF CLUBS
And now let's have
The final volley!
STEPMOTHER
Argumentative!
WASHER WOMEN
Touchy!
PATRIZIA
Piece of shit!
WASHER WOMEN
Dressed in tatters!
STEPMOTHER
Louse-head!
WASHER WOMEN
Broody hen with scabies!
PATRIZIA
Handle of a wet broom!
WASHER WOMEN
Malicious gossip
STEPMOTHER
Shirt-tail full of holes!
WASHER WOMEN
Catarrh-spitting harpy!
STEPMOTHER
Filthy great bird!
WASHER WOMEN
Blind cat!
PATRIZIA
Lump of soggy left-over bread!
WASHER WOMEN
Stuck up!
STEPMOTHER
Out-of-tune trumpet!
WASHER WOMEN
Beaten-up bass drum!
PATRIZIA
Hag in rags!
WASHER WOMEN
Useless, worn-out stove!
ACE OF CLUBS
And now really let yourselves go...!
And give each other a good thrashing!
++++++++++++++++++++
SONG No. 23
FINALE ATTO TERZO
ACT THREE: FINALE
[The Gypsy Woman enters, to round off the meaning of the night's events.]
ACE OF CLUBS
And all this could only happen in a city
Where every Saturday three lucky numbers come up
And he who controls the wheel of this game
Can even make you believe that you were born lucky!
GYPSY WOMAN
I think that to make this world a decent place
Either all the men would have to become women
Or all the women would have to become men
Or there would have to be
Neither men nor women
So that everyone can live in peace.
And what I say is true...
Ends
