Un dì, felice, eterea

"Un dì, felice, eterea" ("One day, happy and ethereal") is a duet from the first act of Giuseppe Verdi's opera La Traviata. It is sung by the male and female protagonists of the opera, Alfredo (a tenor) and Violetta (a soprano). The main melody of the duet, which is very famous in its own right, is also an important musical theme throughout the opera. It is also notable for being one of the songs heard in the film Pretty Woman and also at the end of The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant.

Libretto

Original Italian

English Translation

Alfredo: Un dì, felice, eterea, Mi balenaste innante, E da quel dì tremante Vissi d'ignoto amor. Di quell'amor, quell'amor ch'è palpito Dell'universo, Dell'universo intero, Misterioso, Misterioso altero, Croce, croce e delizia, . Croce e delizia, delizia al cor. Violetta: Ah, se ciò è ver, fuggitemi, Solo amistade io v'offro: Amar non so, nè soffro Un così eroico amor. Io sono franca, ingenua; Altra cercar dovete; Non arduo troverete Dimenticarmi allor.

Alfredo: One day, you, happy, ethereal, appeared in front of me, and ever since, trembling, I lived from unknown love. That love that's the pulse of the universe, the whole universe, Mysterious, mysterious and proud, torture, torture and delight torture and delight, delight to the heart. Violetta: If that is true, forget me. Friendship is all I can offer. I don't know how to love. I couldn't feel so great an emotion.. I'm being honest with you, sincere. You should find somebody else. Then you wouldn't find it hard to forget me.