Stefano Donaudy
Vaghissima sembianza... 아득히 멀어간 그대의 모습
D'antica donna amata, 그 옛날 사랑했던 여인
Chi, dunque, v'ha ritratta 누구에 의해 그려진 모습인가?
Con tanta simiglianza 무척이나 닮았구료,
Ch'io guardo, e parlo, 바라보고 말을 건네고 내 그대를 가졌다고 믿었으나
e credo d'avervi 내게서 멀어져 갔네
A me davanti come ai bei d amore? 얼마나 아름다웠던 사랑인가 ?
La cara rimembranza 내 마음을 사로 잡았던 사랑스런 그 기엌이여 !
Che in cor mi s' 지나버린 열정이 새로운 희망으로 태어 나는가
destata s ardente 입맞춤과 맹세와 사랑을 선포하네
V'ha gi fatta rinascer la speranza, 난 더이상 바라지 않네
Che un bacio, un voto, un grido d'amore 언제나 말없이 항상 그대로인 그대가 있으니 !
Pi non chiedo che a lei
che muta ognor.
Non chiedo, non chiedo che a lei
che muta ognor.
Very Vague Semblance
Very vague semblance
of my formerly loved woman,
who, then, has portrayed you
with such a likeness
that I gaze, and speak,
and believe to have you
before me as in the beautiful days of love?
The cherished memory
which in my heart has been
awakened so ardently
has already revived hope there,
so that a kiss, a vow, a cry of love
I no longer ask except of her
who is forever silent.
I do not ask, I do not ask except of her
This page is taken word-for-word from the first page of Ricordi's 36 Arie Di Stile Antico
Stefano Donaudy (Palermo, February 21, 1879 – Naples, May 30, 1925), son of a French father
and an Italian mother, was a minor Italian composer active in the 1890s and early 20th century,
at a time when Palermo, his native city, was enjoying a period of relative splendour under the influx of rich
Anglo-Sicilian families such as the Florios and the Whitakers. No biographical or musicological studies
have so far been devoted to him, but it seems that Donaudy was very precocious, as a variety of sources
date both his first opera Folchettoand one of his most popular songs, Vaghissima sembianza, to 1892,
when he was only thirteen.
After studies with the director of Palermo's Conservatoire, Guglielmo Zuelli (a rival of Giacomo Puccini in his early years), it seems that Donaudy made a living as singing teacher, coach and accompanist for some of
Sicily's wealthiest families, all while actively pursuing a career as a composer. He wrote mostly vocal music, dividing his efforts between opera and song, though he did also write chamber and orchestral music.
Practically all his song texts and libretti were supplied by or written at four-hands with his brother,
Alberto Donaudy(1880–1941), a poet whose style reflects the prevailing literary tastes of the period,
from Arrigo Boito and Gabriele D'Annunzio to Guido Gozzano.
Today, Donaudy's fame rests exclusively on his collection 36 Arie di Stile Antico,
first published by Casa Ricordi in 1918 with revisions in 1922, but using material composed from 1892
onwards. It's still currently in print. Several of its songs have never disappeared from the concert repertoire of Italianate opera singers, and titles such as Vaghissima sembianza, Spirate pur, spirate, O del mio amato ben and the beautiful Amorosi miei giorni, have been given unforgettable renditions on record by singers like Enrico Caruso,Beniamino Gigli, Tito Schipa, Claudia Muzio, Luciano Pavarotti, Rosa Ponselle and more recently people like Arleen Auger, Marcello Giordani, Sumi Jo and Andrea Bocelli. All these songs reveal a perfect mastery of vocal technique and a deeply sensuous and elegant melodic vein,
which make them a worthy testimony of that particular variant of Art Nouveau spirit known in Italy as
Stile Liberty. Perhaps, the quickest way to epitomise Donaudy is calling him an Italian equivalent
of Reynaldo Hahn.
The rest of his production is completely forgotten. This includes the operas Folchetto (Palermo, 1892),
La scampagnata (Palermo, 1898), Teodoro Koerner (Hamburg, November 27, 1902 as Theodor Korner),
Sperduti in buio (Palermo, April 27, 1907) and Ramuntcho (from Pierre Loti, Milan, March 19, 1921).
Donaudy's final opera was premiered at the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples on April 25, 1922:
La Fiamminga was an unmitigated fiasco, and Donaudy was so hurt that he abandoned composition
for the rest of his life. He died three years later, when he was barely forty-six.
Even less information is available on the rest of his output, which seems to include
a cantata Il sogno di Palisenda, written before 1902, one symphonic poem,
several smaller works for orchestra and ≪a quartet of compositions≫ for violin and piano.
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