Quando me'n vo'

"Quando me'n vo'", also known as "Musetta's Waltz", is a soprano aria in 3/4 time (a waltz) from Act 2 of Puccini's opera La bohème. It is sung by the character Musetta, in the presence of her bohemian friends, and is directed toward Marcello in order to make him jealous.

Libretto

Quando me'n vo', Quando me'n vo' soletta per la via la gente sosta e mira... e la bellezza mia tutta ricerca in me, ricerca in me Da capo a piè. Ed assaporo allor la bramosia sottil che dagli occhi traspira e dai palesi vezzi intender sa alle occulte beltà. Così l’effluvio del desìo tutta m'aggira, felice mi fa! E tu che sai, che memori e ti struggi, da me tanto rifuggi? So ben: le angoscie tue non le vuoi dir, non le vuoi dir, so ben, ma ti senti morir!

When I walk When I walk alone in the street People stop and stare at me And everyone looks at my beauty, Looks at me From head to foot. And then I relish the sly yearning Which escapes from their eyes And which is able to perceive My most hidden beauties. Thus the scent of desire is all around me, And it makes me happy! And you who know, who remember and yearn, You shrink from me? I know it very well: You do not want to express your anguish, I know so well that you do not want to express it but you feel as if you are dying!

See also

• Bal-musette

External links

• Complete lyrics and dialogue at Abmusica.com (with spelling errors)
• "Quando me'n vo'" on YouTube sung by Anna Netrebko at The Proms