We know only the Lamento from Monteverdi's second opera L'Arianna, written arond 1608. This aria would be so popular that Monteverdi rearranged it to a madrigal as well and published independently from the opera in other different versions, too. It has survived in this form - although all other parts of the opera have been lost.
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| (Austrian National Library/wikimedia) |
The whole Lamento is longish, ~11 min, and very often, only the introductory part is performed in concerts. This excerpt has a ternary musical form (ABA) in a dark and dramatic style - eventually, Monteverdi was the first master of musical drama. The aria is originaly written for a soprano, but out of the operatic context it is also performed by alts, tenors and even baritones.
The text is: Let me die; let me die! What you think could comfort me in such a harsh fate, in such a great martyrdom? Let me die.
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