Within / Without

LISETTE OROPESA
& VLAD IFTINCA

Lisette Oropesa, Within / Without

Within / Without

Within/Without is a recital that Vlad Iftinca and I planned together, and was performed March 11th, 2017, in Washington, DC. This is a varied program of music that speaks to both of us as artists, and encompasses five different languages and styles. Vlad and I have known each other for almost a dozen years, and this is our first major collaboration in a full recital.

The music we chose takes a journey through many different emotions, personalities, and experiences; this is one of the most beautiful things about a recital, getting to be several different characters. It is also a challenge to find the range of colors desired to express such a vast palette of emotions. Working together as friends as well as colleagues, Vlad and I put all our most heartfelt sentiment into this evening of music, and it is one that I’ll never forget.

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Within / Without

Track List

1. Il mondo della luna, Hob. XXVIII:7, Ragion nell'alma siede
Franz Joseph Haydn
 2. Gesänge aus ‘Wilhelm Meister’, Op. 62, D 877: II. Lied Der Mignon (Heiss mich nicht reden)
Franz Schubert
 3. Gesänge aus ‘Wilhelm Meister’, Op. 62, D 877: III. Lied Der Mignon (So lasst mich scheinen)
Franz Schubert
 4. Gesänge aus ‘Wilhelm Meister’, Op. 62, D 877: IV. Lied Der Mignon (Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt)
Franz Schubert
 5. 6 Lieder, Op. 57: III. Suleika
Felix Mendelssohn
 6. 6 Lieder, Op. 57: IV. O Jugend, o schöne Rosenzeit!
Felix Mendelssohn
 7. 6 Lieder, Op. 57: V. Venetianisches Gondellied
Felix Mendelssohn
 8. 6 Lieder, Op. 57: VI. Wanderlied
Felix Mendelssohn
 9. Deux poèmes de Louis Aragon, FP122: I. C.
Francis Poulenc
 10. Deux poèmes de Louis Aragon, FP122: II. Fêtes galantes
Francis Poulenc

11. Four Songs, Op. 13: I. A Nun Takes the Veil
Samuel Barber
 12. Four Songs, Op. 13: II. The Secrets of the Old
Samuel Barber
 13. Four Songs, Op. 13: III. Sure on this Shining Night
Samuel Barber
 14. Four Songs, Op. 13: IV. Nocturne
Samuel Barber
 15. Canciones Clásicas Españolas: I. La mi sola, Laureola
Fernando Obradors
 16. Canciones Clásicas Españolas: II. Al amor
Fernando Obradors
 17. Canciones Clásicas Españolas: III. ¿Corazón porqué pasáis...?
Fernando Obradors
 18. Canciones Clásicas Españolas: IV. El majo celoso
Fernando Obradors
 19. Canciones Clásicas Españolas: V. Con amores, la mi madre...
Fernando Obradors
 20. Canciones Clásicas Españolas: VI. Del cabello más sutil
Fernando Obradors
 21. Canciones Clásicas Españolas: VII. Chiquitita la novia
Fernando Obradors
 22. Robert le diable, Act IV: Robert, toi que j'aime
Giacomo Meyerbeer

Lisette Oropesa would like to thank some very special people who made this all happen.

Thanks to Vocal Arts DC for hosting the recital and allowing recording
A special thank you to Arts Laureate for recording the recital
Lisette Oropesa's dress provided by Austin Scarlett
Photos by Crystal Green and Steven Harris
Makeup by Jessica Oropesa

Copyright © 2017 All Rights Reserved

Within / Without

Il mondo della luna, Hob. XXVIII:7, Ragion nell'alma siede

Libretto by Carlo Goldoni

Translated by Lisette Oropesa

Ragion nell’alma siede
Ragion nell'alma siede
regina dei pensieri,
ma si disarma e cede
se la combatte amor.
E amor, se occupa il trono,
di re si fa tiranno,
e sia tributo o dono,
vuol tutto il nostro cor.
Reason sits in the soul
Reason sits in the soul
Queen of thoughts,
But she is disarmed and forfeits
If she is fought by love.
And love, if it occupies the throne,
Like a king it becomes a tyrant,
And be it a tribute or gift,
It wants our entire heart.

Gesänge aus ‘Wilhelm Meister’, Op. 62, D 877: II. Lied Der Mignon (Heiss mich nicht reden)

Texts by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Translated by Lisette Oropesa

Heiß mich nicht reden
Heiß mich nicht reden, heiß mich schweigen,
Denn mein Geheimnis ist mir Pflicht,
Ich möchte dir mein ganzes Innre zeigen,
Allein das Schicksal will es nicht.

Zur rechten Zeit vertreibt der Sonne Lauf die finstre Nacht,
Und sie muss sich erhellen,
Der harte Fels schliesst seinen Busen auf,
Missgönnt der Erde nicht die tief verborgnen Quellen.

Ein jeder sucht im Arm des Freundes Ruh,
Dort kann die Brust in Klagen sich ergiessen,
Allein ein Schwur drückt mir die Lippen zu,
Und nur ein Gott vermag sie aufzuschliessen.
Bid me not speak
Bid me not speak, bid me be silent,
Because my secret is to me duty,
I would like to reveal to you my entire heart,
Only fate does not will it so.

At the right time the sun’s course will chase away the dark night,
And she must brighten herself,
The hard stone will unlock its bosom,
The earth ungrudgingly will flow with deep hidden springs.

Those others will search for peace in the arm of a friend,
There can the suffering heart pour itself out,
Only a vow locks my lips shut,
And only a God will unlock them.

Gesänge aus ‘Wilhelm Meister’, Op. 62, D 877: III. Lied Der Mignon (So lasst mich scheinen)

Texts by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Translated by Lisette Oropesa

So lasst mich scheinen
So lasst mich scheinen, bis ich werde,
Zieht mir das weisse Kleid nicht aus!
Ich eile von der schönen Erde
Hinab in jenes dunkle Haus.

Dort ruh' ich eine kleine Stille,
Dann öffnet sich der frische Blick;
Ich lasse dann die reine Hülle,
Den Gürtel und den Kranz zurück.

Und jene himmlischen Gestalten
Sie fragen nicht nach Mann und Weib,
Und keine Kleider, keine Falten
Umgeben den verklärten Leib.

Zwar lebt' ich ohne Sorg' und Mühe,
Doch fühlt' ich tiefen Schmerz genung.
Vor Kummer altert' ich zu frühe;
Macht mich auf ewig wieder jung!
So let me seem to be
So let me seem to be, until I become so,
Don’t take the white dress from me!
I rush from the beautiful Earth
down to that dark house.

There will I rest a brief quiet while,
Then my eyes open again anew;
I then leave the pure shrouds,
The belt and the wreath behind.

And those heavenly figures,
They ask not about man or woman,
and no clothes, no garments
will surround the transfigured body.

It’s true I have lived without worries and troubles
But I have still felt deep pain.
For suffering I have aged too soon;
Make me forever young again!

Gesänge aus ‘Wilhelm Meister’, Op. 62, D 877: IV. Lied Der Mignon (Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt)

Texts by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Translated by Lisette Oropesa

Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt
Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt
Weiss, was ich leide!
Allein und abgetrennt
Von aller Freude,
Seh ich ans Firmament
Nach jener Seite.

Ach! der mich liebt und kennt,
Ist in der Weite.
Es schwindelt mir,
es brennt mein Eingeweide.
Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt
Weiss, was ich leide!
Only he who knows longing
Only he who knows longing
Knows how I’m suffering!
Alone and separated
From all joy
I see on the earth
from all sides.

Ah! He who loves me and knows me,
is in the distance.
It makes me dizzy,
it burns my insides.
Only he who knows longing
Knows how I’m suffering!

6 Lieder, Op. 57: III. Suleika

Texts by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Translated by Lisette Oropesa

Suleika
Was bedeutet die Bewegung?
Bringt der Ost mir frohe Kunde?
Seiner Schwingen frische Regung
Kühlt des Herzens tiefe Wunde.

Kosend spielt er mit dem Staube,
Jagt ihn auf in leichten Wölkchen,
Treibt zur sichern Rebenlaube
Der Insekten frohes Völkchen.

Lindert sanft der Sonne Glühen,
Kühlt auch mir die heißen Wangen,
Küßt die Reben noch im Fliehen,
Die auf Feld und Hügel prangen.

Und mir bringt sein leises Flüstern
Von dem Freunde tausend Grüße;
Eh' noch diese Hügel düstern,
Grüßen mich wohl tausend Küsse.

Und so kannst du weiter ziehen!
Diene Freunden und Betrübten.
Dort wo hohe Mauern glühen,
Dort find' ich bald den Vielgeliebten.

Ach, die wahre Herzenskunde,
Liebeshauch, erfrischtes Leben
Wird mir nur aus seinem Munde,
Kann mir nur sein Athem geben.
Suleika
What means this movement?
Does the east bring me good news?
Its flourishing, fresh stirring
cools the heart’s deep wounds.

Carressingly it plays with the dust,
It drives it up in light little clouds,
It drives to the secure grapevines
The insects, joyful little ones.

It eases the rays of the sun,
It cools also my hot cheeks,
It kisses the vines still in flight,
Those that are resplendent on the fields and the hills.

And it brings me its light whisper
From my friend a thousand greetings;
Before these hills become dark,
I’ll be greeted with a thousand kisses.

And so you can move along then!
Serve friends and those who are suffering
There where the high walls glow,
There I will soon find my most beloved.

Ah, the true heart’s message,
The touch of love, freshest life,
For me, comes ony from his own mouth,
Only his breath can give it to me.

6 Lieder, Op. 57: IV. O Jugend, o schöne Rosenzeit!

Rheinisches Volkslied

Translated by Lisette Oropesa

O Jugend, o schöne Rosenzeit
Von allen schönen Kindern auf der Welt
Mir eines doch am meisten wohlgefällt;
Es hat ein rot Mündlein und dunkelbraunes Haar;
Wohl will ich es lieben auch ganz und gar.

Die Grübchen in den Wangen,
Das Grübchen in dem Kinn,
Drin war mich gleich gefangen
Mein ganzer leichter Sinn,

Und in die blauen Augen,
Seh' ich da recht hinein,
Da möcht' ich mein Lebtag
Gefangen drin sein!

O Jugend, o schöne Rosenzeit!
Die Wege, die Stege sind mit Blumen bestreut;
Der Himmel steht offen, man schaut die Engelein.
O könnt' ich, Herzliebsten, stets bei dir sein!
O youth, o lovely time of roses
Of all the lovely youths of the world,
There is just one I like the most of all;
He has a red little mouth and dark brown hair;
Very much I want to love him completely and totally.

The dimples in his cheeks,
The dimple in his chin,
I am all caught up in them
All of my fleeting senses.

And in the blue eyes,
I see right directly within,
There I would like for my lifetime
To be caught up inside!

O youth, o lovely time of roses
The paths, the shores are littered with blossoms;
The heavens stand wide open, one can see the angels.
O if only I could, my heart’s love, forever be near you!

6 Lieder, Op. 57: V. Venetianisches Gondellied

Translation of poem by Thomas Moore

Translated by Lisette Oropesa

Venetianisches Gondellied
Wenn durch die Piazetta
Die Abendluft weht,
Dann weißt du, Ninetta,
Wer wartend hier steht.
Du weißt, wer trotz Schleier
Und Maske dich kennt,
Du weisst, wie die Sehnsucht
Im Herzen mir brennt.

Ein Schifferkleid trag' ich
Zur selbigen Zeit,
Und zitternd dir sag' ich:
„Das Boot liegt bereit!
O, komm’! jetzt, wo Lunen
Noch Wolken umziehn,
Laß durch die Lagunen,
Mein Leben, uns fliehn!“
Venetian Gondola Song
When through the “piazetta”
The evening’s breeze drifts,
Then you will know, Ninetta,
Who waiting here stands.
You know, who despite the veil
And mask knows it is you,
You know how the longing
Burns within my heart.

A boatman’s dress I will wear
At that very time,
And trembling I will say to you:
“The boat lies ready!
O come! Now while the moon
Still is surrounded by clouds,
Let us, through the lagoons,
My life, run away together!"

6 Lieder, Op. 57: VI. Wanderlied

Text by Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff

Translated by Lisette Oropesa

Wanderlied
Laue Luft kommt blau geflossen,
Frühling, Frühling soll es sein!
Waldwärts Hörnerklang geschossen,
Mut'ger Augen lichter Schein;
Und das Wirren bunt und bunter
Wird ein magisch wilder Fluß,
In die schöne Welt hinunter
Lockt dich dieses Stromes Gruß.

Und ich mag mich nicht bewahren!
Weit von Euch treibt mich der Wind;
Auf dem Strome will ich fahren,
Von dem Glanze selig blind!
Tausend Stimmen lockend schlagen;
Hoch Aurora flammend weht;
Fahre zu! ich mag nicht fragen,
Wo die Fahrt zu Ende geht.

Travel Song


Balmy wind has turned blue,
Spring, springtime it must be!
Forestward the sound of horns burst out,
Brave eyes the glare of the light;
And the excitement more and more colorful
Becomes a magical wild river,
Into the beautiful world there underneath
Entices you this great river’s greeting.

And I may not be able to save myself!
Far from you the wind drives me;
Against the storm I will journey,
From radiance, blessedly blind!
A thousand voices tempt defeat;
High morning flaming drifts;
Journey on! I may not ask,
Where this journey will end.

Deux poèmes de Louis Aragon, FP122: I. C.

Translated by Lisette Oropesa

C.
J'ai traversé les ponts de Cé
C'est là que tout a commencé
Une chanson des temps passé
Parle d'un chevalier blessé
D'une rose sur la chaussée,
Et d'un corsage délacé
Du château d'un duc insensé,
Et des cygnes dans les fossés
De la prairie où vient danser
Une éternelle fiancée
Et j'ai bu comme un lait glacé,
Le long lai des gloires faussées
La Loire emporte mes pensées
Avec les voitures versées
Et les armes désamorcées
Et les larmes mal effacées
O ma France, ô ma délaissée;
J'ai traversé les ponts de Cé.
C.
I crossed the bridges of Cé
It’s there that everything started
A song of times gone by
Talks of a wounded knight
Of a rose on the road,
And of an undone blouse
Of the castle of an insane Duke,
And of swans in their ditches
Of the meadow where comes to dance
An eternal fiancée
And I drank like icy milk,
The long lay of wrongful glories
The Loire takes away my thoughts
With overturned vehicles
And the defused weapons
And the tears not well hidden
O my France, oh my neglected one;
I crossed the bridges of Cé.

Deux poèmes de Louis Aragon, FP122: II. Fêtes galantes

Translated by Christopher Goldsack

Fêtes Galantes

On voit des marquis sur des bicyclettes
On voit des marlous en cheval-jupon
On voit des morveux avec des voilettes
On voit des pompiers brûler les pompons

On voit des mots jetés à la voirie
On voit des mots élevés au pavois
On voit les pieds des enfants de Marie
On voit le dos des diseuses à voix

On voit des voitures à gazogène
On voit aussi des voitures à bras
On voit des lascars que les longs nez gênent
On voit des coïons de dix huit carats

On voit ici ce que l'on voit ailleurs
On voit des demoiselles dévoyées
On voit des voyous On voit des voyeurs
On voit sous les ponts passer les noyés

On voit chômer les marchands de chaussures
On voit mourir d'ennui les mireurs d'œufs
On voit péricliter les valeurs sûres
Et fuir la vie à la six-quatre-deux
Courtship parties

One sees marquises on bicycles
one sees pimps in petticoats
one sees brats with veils
one sees firemen burning their pompons

one sees words thrown on the rubbish-heap
one sees words carried aloft
one sees the feet of the children of Mary
one sees the backs of public speakers

one sees gasogene powered cars
one also sees handcarts
one sees fellows whose long noses bother them
one sees eighteen-carat fools

one sees here what one sees elsewhere
one sees girls gone astray
one sees gutter-snipes one sees voyeurs
one sees the drowned passing under the bridge

one sees shoe sellers out of work
one sees egg candlers dying of boredom
one sees reliable values in jeopardy
and life fleeing by the six-four-two*

Four Songs, Op. 13: I. A Nun Takes the Veil

Text by Gerard Manley Hopkins

Translated by Lisette Oropesa

A Nun Takes the Veil
I have desired to go

Where springs not fail,

To fields where flies no sharp and sided hail

And a few lilies blow.
And I have asked to be

Where no storms come,

Where the green swell is in the havens dumb,

And out of the swing of the sea.

Four Songs, Op. 13: II. The Secrets of the Old

Text by W.B. Yeats

Translated by Lisette Oropesa

The Secrets of the Old
I have old women's secrets now
That had those of the young;
Madge tells me what I dared not think
When my blood was strong,
And what had drowned a lover once
Sounds like an old song.

Though Marg'ry is stricken dumb
If thrown in Madge's way,
We three make up a solitude;
For none alive today
Can know the stories that we know
Or say the things we say:

How such a man pleased women most
Of all that are gone,
How such a pair loved many years
And such a pair but one,
Stories of the bed of straw
Or the bed of down.

Four Songs, Op. 13: III. Sure on this Shining Night

Text by James Agee

Translated by Lisette Oropesa

Sure on this Shining Night
Sure on this shining night
Of star made shadows round,
Kindness must watch for me
This side the ground.
The late year lies down the north.
All is healed, all is health.
High summer holds the earth.
Hearts all whole.
Sure on this shining night I weep for wonder wand'ring far
alone
Of shadows on the stars.

Four Songs, Op. 13: IV. Nocturne

Text by Frederic Prokosch

Translated by Lisette Oropesa

Nocturne
Close my darling both your eyes,
Let your arms lie still at last.
Calm the lake of falsehood lies
And the wind of lust has passed,
Waves across these hopeless sands
Fill my heart and end my day,
Underneath your moving hands
All my aching flows away.

Even the human pyramids
Blaze with such a longing now:
Close, my love, your trembling lids,
Let the midnight heal your brow,
Northward flames Orion's horn,
Westward th' Egyptian light.
None to watch us, none to warn
But the blind eternal night.

Canciones Clásicas Españolas: I. La mi sola, Laureola

Joan Ponce, XVI Century

Translated by Lisette Oropesa

La mi sola Laureola
La mi sola, Laureola
La mi sola, sola, sola…

Yo el cautivo Leriano
Aunque mucho estoy ufano
Herido de aquella mano
Que en el mundo es una sola.

La mi sola Laureola
La mi sola, sola, sola.
My one and only Laureola
My one and only, Laureola
My one and only, only...

I the captive Leriano
Even though I am very vain
Hurt by that hand
That in the world is only one.

My one and only Laureola
My one and only, only.

Canciones Clásicas Españolas: II. Al amor

Cristóbal de Castillejo, XVII Century

Translated by Lisette Oropesa

Al amor
Dame, Amor, besos sin cuento
Asido de mis cabellos
Y mil y ciento tras ellos
Y tras ellos mil y ciento
Y después...
De muchos millares, tres!
Y porque nadie lo sienta
Desbaratemos la cuenta
Y... contemos al revés.
To love
Give me, love, kisses without number
Lingering on my hair
And a thousand and a hundred after those
And after those a thousand and a hundred
And after...
Of many millions, three!
And because no one can hear it
We should start the count all over
And…count them all backwards.

Canciones Clásicas Españolas: III. ¿Corazón porqué pasáis...?

Anonymous, XVII Century

Translated by Lisette Oropesa

¿Corazon, porqué pasais?
¿Corazón, porqué pasáis
Las noches de amor despierto
Si vuestro dueño descansa
En los brazos de otro dueño?
Heart, why do you pass?
Heart, why do you pass
The night awake because of love
If the one who owns it is resting
In the arms of another owner?

Canciones Clásicas Españolas: IV. El majo celoso

Anonymous XVII Century

Translated by Lisette Oropesa

El majo celoso
Del majo que me enamora
He aprendido la queja
Que una y mil veces suspira
Noche tras noche en mi reja:
Lindezas, me muero
De amor loco y fiero
Y quisiera olvidarte
Mas quiero y no puedo!
Le han dicho que en la Pradera
Me han visto con un chispero
Desos de malla de seda
Y chupa de terciopelo.
Majezas, te quiero,
No creas que muero
De amores perdida
Por ese chispero.
The jealous cutie
From the cutie that I am in love with
I have learned the complaint
That one and a thousand times he sighs
Night after night at my window:
Beauties, I die
Of love crazy and fierce
And I wish I could forget you
But I want to and cannot!
They have told him that in the meadow
They have seen me with some nobody
Dressed in a silk shirt
And a jacket of velvet.
Cutie, I love you
Don’t think that I am dying
Of lost love
For that lowlife.

Canciones Clásicas Españolas: V. Con amores, la mi madre...

Juan Anchieta, XV Century

Translated by Lisette Oropesa

Con amores, la mi madre
Con amores, la mi madre,
Con amores me dormí;
Así dormida soñaba
Lo que el corazón velaba,
Que el amor me consolaba
Con más bien que merecí.
Adormecióme el favor
Que amor me dió con amor;
Dió descanso a mi dolor
La fe con que le serví
Con amores, la mi madre,
Con amores me dormí!
With loves, my mother
With loves, my mother,
With loves I fell asleep;
That way asleep I dreamt
That which the heart safeguarded,
That love consoled me
With more goodness than I deserved.
I was lulled to sleep with the kindness
That love gave me with love;
It gave rest to my pain
The faith with which I served it
With loves, my mother,
With loves I feel asleep!

Canciones Clásicas Españolas: VI. Del cabello más sutil

Folk song

Translated by Lisette Oropesa

Del cabello más sutil
Del cabello más sutil
Que tienes en tu trenzado
He de hacer una cadena
Para traerte a mi lado.
Una alcarraza en tu casa,
Chiquilla, quisiera ser,
Para besarte en la boca,
Cuando fueras a beber.
Of the softest hair
Of the softest hair
That you have in your braid
I should make a chain
To bring you to my side.
A jug in your house
Little one, I would like to be,
To kiss you on the mouth,
When you go to drink.

Canciones Clásicas Españolas: VII. Chiquitita la novia

Folk song

Translated by Lisette Oropesa

Coplas de curro dulce
Chiquitita la novia,
Chiquitito el novio,
Chiquitita la sala,
Y el dormitorio,
Por eso yo quiero
Chiquitita la cama
Y el mosquitero.
Couplets of sweet labor
Tiny the girlfriend,
Tiny the boyfriend,
Tiny the living room,
And the bedroom,
For that reason I want
For the bed to be tiny
As well as the mosquito net.

Robert le diable, Act IV: Robert, toi que j'aime

Libretto by Eugène Scribe and Germain Delavigne

Translated by Lisette Oropesa

Robert, toi que j'aime
Robert, Robert, toi que j’aime,
et qui reçus ma foi,
tu vois mon effroi!
Grâce pour toi-même,
et grâce pour moi.
Grâce pour moi, grâce pour toi.
Quoi! Ton coeur se dégage
des serments les plus doux.
Tu me rendis hommage,
je suis à tes genoux.
Grâce, grâce pour toi même,
et grâce pour moi.
Grâce pour toi, grâce pour moi.
Oh, mon bien suprême,
Toi que j’aime, tu vois mon effoi!
Ah grâce pour toi même,
et grâce pour moi.
Robert, you whom I love
Robert, Robert, you whom I love,
and who has received my faith,
you see my terror!
Have pity, pity for yourself,
and pity for me.
Pity for me, pity for you.
What! Your heart denies now
the sweetest promises it made.
You promised to honor me,
I am at your knees.
Have pity, pity for yourself
and pity for me.
Pity for you, pity for me.
Oh my greatest love,
You whom I love, you see my terror!
Ah have pity for your very self,
and pity for me.