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SONGS, Duos, Trios, Choruſses, &c, in the COMIC OPERA of the Carnival of Venice, as it is Performed at the THEATRE ROYAL, DRURY LANE.
LONDON. 1781.
Dramatis Perſonae.
[]- Lucio, Mr. BANNISTER,
- Sir Peter Pagoda, Mr. PARSONS,
- Melvil, Mr. DUBELLAMY,
- Piano Mr. SUETT,
- Charles, Mr. DODD.
- Marinetta, Mrs. CARGILL,
- Franciſca, Mrs. WRIGHTEN,
- Emily, Miſs PHILLIPS.
The Songs mark'd with inverted Commas, are omitted in the Repreſentation.
Songs, Choruſſes, &c.
[5]ACT 1.
AIR by Mr. DODD.
I.
Which ſenſe of the five does not Bacchus delight!
He's a roſe to the Smell. He's a ruby to Sight.
From the flaſk as He ſparkles, He ſings to the car,
And He's ſoft to the Touch as to Taſte He is dear:
'Gain'ſt his God-head 'tis impious for Mortals to ſtrive;
For each ſenſe ſhould be His, who can cheriſh the five.
II.
But no charm that He gives no delight He ſupplies,
Is ſo ſweet as the Opiate He ſheds o'er our ſighs;
For when Care or dull Sorrow perplexes our breaſts,
He can baniſh the Senſes that harbour ſuch Gueſts!
To his God- [...]ead let Mortals then ſervently call,
Who can ſooth every Senſe, by ſuſpending them all.
AIR by Mr. BANNISTER.
[6]I.
Soon as the buſy Day is o'er,
And Evening comes with pleaſant ſhade,
We Gondoliers from ſhore to ſhore,
Merrily ply our jovial trade.
And while the Moon ſhines on the ſtream,
And as ſoft muſic breathes around;
The feathering oar returns the gleam,
And dips in concert to the ſound.
II.
Down by ſome Convent's mould'ring walls
Oft we bear the enamour'd youth;
Softly the watchful Fair he calls,
Who whiſpers vows of Love and Truth.
And while the Moon, &c.
III.
"And oft where the Rialto ſwells,
"With happier pairs we circle round;
"Whoſe ſecret ſighs fond Eccho tells,
"Whoſe murmur'd vows ſhe bids reſound.
And while the Moon, &c.
IV.
"Then joys the Youth, that Love conceal'd,
"That fearful Love muſt own its ſighs;
"Then ſmiles the Maid, to hear reveal'd
"How more than ever ſhe complies,"
And while, &c.
AIR by Mr. DU BELLAMY.
[7]I.
By adverſe Fate when Beauty ſighs,
A mingled claim our boſoms prove;
'Tis Virtue grac'd with gentler ties,
'Tis Pity ſoften'd into Love.
II.
Bleſt, doubly bleſt, his tranſport glows,
Whoſe Pity can each joy refine,
When from that God-like ſource it flows,
The generous paſſion is divine.
AIR by Mrs. CARGILL.
I.
In my pleaſant native plains,
Wing'd with bliſs each moment flew;
Nature there inſpir'd the ſtrains,
Simple as the joys I knew;
Jocund Morn and Evening gay
Claim'd the merry Roundelay.
II.
Fields and ſlocks, and fragrant flow'rs,
All that health and joy impart;
Call'd for artleſs Muſic's pow'rs,
Faithful ecchoes to the heart!
Happy hours for ever gay
Claim'd the merry Roundelay.
[8]III.
But the breath of genial Spring
Wak'd the warblers of the grove;
Who, ſweet birds, that heard you ſing,
Wou'd not join the ſong of love?
Your ſweet notes and chauntings gay
Claim'd the merry Roundelay.
AIR by Mr. DU BELLAMY.
I.
"Not for thy wings, oh God of love!
"Sighs the Youth that wou'd not rove;
"Not for thy arrow pants the heart,
"Bleſt to ſeel the mutual dart.
II.
"But that I ne'er may jealous live,
"Me thy careleſs child-hood give,
"And, to ſecure unchang'd delight,
"Share thy band, and veil my ſight."
AIR by Mrs. CARGILL.
I.
Yes, I long for the comical ſight;
Such a pair of odd Lovers to meet;
When they're wedded in Fortune's deſpigh
How I'll laugh at the pleaſant deceit!
[9]II.
O but once let the knot be faſt join'd,
Low I'll curtſey and wiſh you both joy;
She by chance, ſuch a treaſure to find,
You, by art, ſuch a prize to decoy.
QUARTETTO.
Mr. BANNISTER, Mrs. WRIGHTEN, Mr. SUETT, and Mrs. CARGILL.
LUCIO.
By example be taught, raſh Lover beware,
Look at me—look at her—then wed if you dare.
FRANCISCA.
How peviſh—ill-natur'd! I tell you ne'er ſear—
He's quarrelſome, ſcolding, contancrous, ſevere.
PIANO.
Oh! how pleaſant and lively a tender diſpute!
I like it—it's ſprightly—my temper 'twill ſuit.
I'm not to be frighten'd.
LUCIO.
Stay 'till wedlock you've try'd
FRANCISCA.
Yet he ſees its worſt daugers.
LUCIO.
[10]That can't be denied.
MARINETTA.
I've been wand'ring far and near,
Rambling, roving, all around.
PIANO.
Welcome home, my pretty Dear,
Here at laſt thy true love's found.
LUCIO.
What a Lover?
FRANCISCA.
Rich and old!
PIANO.
My heart's on fire!
MARINETTA.
Mine is cold.
FRANCISCA.
He has gold, my girl.
LUCIO.
[11]And ſilver hair.
FRANCISCA.
A handſome houſe.
LUCIO.
With a graceful air.
FRANCISCA.
You'll be his lady.
LUCIO.
You'll be his nurſe.
FRANCISCA.
Oh what a bleſſing!
LUCIO.
Oh! what a curſe!
FRANCISCA.
Take him for better.
LUCIO.
[12]Take him for worſe.
MARINETTA.
'Tis prudent advice —you are right—you are juſt,
Thy counſel I'll follow—thy wiſdom I'll truſt.
FRANCISCA.
—Right.
LUCIO.
True.
MARRINETTA.
Yes, yes.
PIANO.
Pretty ſ [...]ul, truſt to me,
Truſt to me, truſt to me, truſt to me, truſt to me.
ALL.
The heart in its choice ſhou'd for ever be free.
ACT II.
[13]AIR by Miſs PHILLIPS.
I.
Ah! think me not unfeeling Love;
If ſtill from thee I hide each pain,
'Tis but that thou may'ſt better prove
The fancied peace I ſtrive to feign.
II.
I would not have thy generous breaſt
Pierc'd with a pang beyond its own;
'Twou'd point thy griefs were mine confeſt
Ah! leave me then to weep alone.
[14]AIR by Miſs PHILLIPS.
I.
The gentle primroſe of the vale,
Whoſe tender bloom rude winds aſſail,
Droops its meek leaves, and ſcarce ſuſtains
The night's chill ſnow and beating rains.
II.
'Tis paſt—the morn returns—ſweet ſpring
Is come—and hills and valleys ſing—
But low the gentle Primroſe lies;
No more to bloom, no more to riſe!
DUET By Miſs PHILLIPS and Mr. DUBELLAMY.
MELVILLE.
"Still, ah! ſtill in accents ſweet,
"The ſoft vows of Truth repeat;
"Breathe, that gentleſt balm of care,
"Sighs that ſooth the griefs they ſhare.
EMILY.
"Let thy own fond heart reveal,
"All that equal love can ſeel:
"Let each hope, each fear it knows,
"My reſponſive cares diſcloſe.
BOTH.
[15]"O mutual Love, thy gentle ſmile
"Can Fortune's rudeſt frown beguile;
"Ev'n parting ſighs with thee delight;
"Sweet are the ſorrows that unite."
DIALOGUE SONG.
CHARLES.
Hence with dull intruding ſorrow,
Hence with Wiſdom's cold delay;
They alone ſhould dread to-morrow,
Who want Love to bleſs to-day.
MARINETTA.
Yes, too ſwiftly paſſes Pleaſure,
Not to ſeize her fleeting joy,
But, to guard ſo dear a treaſure,
Let not Doubt the bliſs deſtroy.
CHARLES.
Chide no more the jealous lover,
With fond hopes and fears poſſeſs'd;
They who tendereſt griefs diſcover,
Tendereſt pleaſure cheriſh beſt.
MARINETTA.
[16]Let not wayward fancy joining,
Strive our fondneſs to improve,
Leave to Grandeur's vain refining,
All that Nature truſts to love.
CHARLES.
Meet me thus with chearful ſmiles,
Meet me thus, we'll ne'er repine.
MARINETTA.
The frowns of Fortune, Love beguiles.
Love, that dreads no frown but thine.
AIR by Mr. PARSONS.
I.
This is a Petit-maitre's day—
Awake at noon,
Or ſcarce ſo ſoon,
See him to his ſofa creep,
Sipping his tea—half-aſleep—
Curſe the vapours!
Reach the papers—
What's the opera?—Dem the play.
[17]II.
Air my boots, I think I'll ride—
Tho' rot it, no!
It ſhakes one ſo—
Let them bring the vis-a-vis:
Lounging there, his Lordſhip ſee,
With vacant air,
And ſullen ſtare,
Born of dullneſs, rais'd by pride!
III.
Stop at Betty's!—What's the news?—
A battle they ſay—
Have you pines to-day?—
Yes, my Lord—We've beat the Dutch.
Ha—ſome ice—I thought as much:
What, and nothing more?
That's a monſtrous bore!—
Well, drive to Iſſachar the Jews.
IV.
Laſt at Brookes's—deep at play;
Iſſachar's debt,
At Faro ſet,
Win or loſe, ſerenely ſad,
Calm he ſits, nor vex'd, nor glad;
'Till half alive,
He cuts at five—
This is a Petit-maitre's day.
[18]AIR by Mrs. WRIGHTEN.
What a Lover is he that has nothing to give,
But a look, and a vow, and a ſigh!
Silly maid, take my word, you ſhould know how to live,
Before you're ſo ready to die.
How ſtupid a pair are the Bridegroom and Bride,
Who wed but for cooing and billing;
Oh, how dull will they be, as they ſit ſide by ſide,
If it happens they're not worth a ſhilling.
At firſt, by good luck, every hour of the day,
'Tis my darling, my ſoul's deareſt pleaſure;
But at laſt, ſays the wife, I want money to pay,
Come, give it, my heart's richeſt treaſure!
"But I have it not, ſweeting!"—This theme may breed ſtrife—
"Come let us be cooing and billing"—
Go, barbarous Huſband—Go, termagant Wiſe—
So it happens when not worth a ſhilling.
TRIO and CHORUS. By Miſs PHILLIPS, Mr. DUBELLAMY, Mr. WILLIAMS, &c.
VALENTIO.
Now, when baſhful day-light's gone,
And night that hides a bluſh comes on,
With tender awe that dreads thoſe eyes,
Thy ſecret lover breathes his ſighs.
MELVIL.
[19]Not for the gloom her ſhades impart,
Does Evening glad my faithful heart,
But that her ſtill and gentle air
May waft each ſigh our boſoms ſhare.
EMILY.
Welcome that well-known voice
That ſings of love and truth.
VALENTIO.
Another claims thy choice.
EMILY.
'Tis vain, miſtaken youth.
VALENTIO.
Love is ſportive, fond of wiles.
MELVIL.
Yet on faithful ardour ſmiles.
VALENTIO.
Love rewards the boldeſt ſwain.
EMILY.
[20]Not with joy that others pain.
VALENTIO.
Fly ſwiftly, ye hours—fly ſwiftly away.
'Till the tender deluſions confeſs'd.
MELVIL.
Fly ſwiftly, ye hours—fly ſwiftly away,
'Till truth with fond rapture is bleſt.
ACT III.
[21]AIR by Mrs. CARGILL.
I.
Young Lubin was a ſhepherd boy,
Fair Roſalie a ruſtic maid;
They met, they lov'd; each others joy,
Together o'er the hills they ſtray'd.
II.
Their parents ſaw, and bleſs'd their love,
Nor wou'd their happineſs delay;
To-morrow's dawn their bliſs ſhould prove,
To-morrow be their wedding-day.
[22]III.
When as at eve, beſide the brook,
Where ſtray'd their flocks, they ſat and ſmil'd,
One luckleſs lamb the current took,
'Twas Roſalie's—ſhe ſtarted wild.
IV.
Run, Lubin, run, my fav'rite ſave;
Too fatally the youth obey'd:
He ran, he plung'd into the wave,
To give the little wanderer aid.
V.
But ſcarce he guides him to the ſhore,
When faint and ſunk, poor Lubin dies:
Ah Roſalie! for ever more,
In his cold grave thy Lover lies.
VI.
On that lone bank—Oh! ſtill be ſeen,
Faithful to grief, thou hapleſs maid;
And with ſad wreaths of cypreſs green,
For ever ſooth thy Lubin's ſhade.
[23]TRIO. By Mrs. CARGILL, Mr. DODD, and Mr. BANNISTER.
CHARLES.
Merrily paſs the hours of youth,
Bleſt with joys unceaſing;
The heart is light that honours truth,
Where love is ſtill increaſing.
MARINETTA.
To diſtant ſhores tho' Love invite,
We oft' ſhall think of you,
And ſtill, to win life's true delight,
Thy chearful words renew.
Merrily, &c.
LUCIO.
Each ſweeteſt joy of love be your's,
Of faithful love, its own reward,
And all that bliſs, which moſt endures,
When moſt its generous vows you guard.
AIR by Mr. SUETT.
O! the little God of Love is a roguiſh Elf!
He makes us all as childiſh and blind as himſelf!
'Gainſt ſixty-two,
O luckleſs lot!
His bow he drew,
At me he ſhot.
[24]Twang went the ſtring,
Whizz flew the dart,
On a grey gooſe wing,
To an old man's heart.
But I'll be merry,
Hey down derry;
Dull ſorrow I'll drown,
Derry down down,
Or laugh at them all,
Tol de rol lol.
AIR by Mrs. WRIGHTEN.
O! never be one of thoſe ſad ſilly fellows,
Who always are ſnappiſh, ſuſpicious, and jealous,
Who live but to doubt,
To pine and to pout,
To take one to taſk,
Examine, and aſk
A hundred croſs queſtions, to pick ſomething out.
O! never, &c.
If by chance he ſhou'd come,
And not find her at home,
'Tis, "Madam, why ſo late?
"Where the Devil cou'd you wait?
"What's been done? what's been ſaid?
"Zounds! I feel it on my head."
O! never, &c.
[25]AIR by Miſs PHILLIPS.
Loſt in the brightneſs of returning joys,
Each grief recedes, each ſorrow fades away,
As open into ſmiles the darken'd ſkies
Before the roſy promiſe of the day.
(CARNIVAL MUSIC.)
TRIO of PEASANTS.
What joy, from ruſtic toils at reſt,
Thus the Peaſant's heart to chear!
What joy, with varying pleaſures bleſt,
Thus to crown the circling year!
AIR.
Lords and ladies, lads and laſſes,
Gayly now each moment paſſes.
'Tis Carnival!
'Tis Carnival!
The merry hours are glad and gay,
Laugh and frolic, ſport and play.
DIALOGUE.
[26]Firſt Shewman.
My maſters—here's the lion great,
The pride of all creation;
Second.
And here the dwarf and giant wait,
The wonder of the nation.
Mountebank.
But here's the doctor, lord of fate,
Stands firſt in reputation.
Firſt Shewman.
He's a quack.
Second.
Drive him back.
Mountebank.
Envious rogues, you fear me.
Firſt Shewman.
Beſt be civil.
Second.
[27]Why? the Devil!
All.
Let the people hear me.
CHORUS.
Now with ſong and dance rejoice,
All be mirth and gay delight;
Every heart and every voice
Join to greet the feſtive night.
FINIS.
- Zitationsvorschlag für dieses Objekt
- TextGrid Repository (2020). TEI. 3798 Songs duos trios chorusses c in the comic opera of The carnival of Venice as it is performed at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. University of Oxford Text Archive. . https://hdl.handle.net/21.T11991/0000-001A-5A6E-5