April Millo: Verdi - Aida, 'Ritorna vincitor'

Aprile Millo (born April 14, 1958) is an American operatic soprano of Italian and Irish ancestry who is particularly admired for her interpretations of the works of Giuseppe Verdi. Possessing a spinto voice of power, warmth and temperament, Millo became one of the most celebrated opera singers of the late twentieth century. Although she has performed at many of the world's leading opera houses and with many orchestras and ensembles internationally, Millo has spent much of her career appearing in productions at the Metropolitan Opera. Aprile Millo was born in New York City, the daughter of two opera singers, tenor Giovanni Millo (John Hamill) and soprano Margherita Girosi. Millo became interested in music at an early age and received her musical education primarily from her parents. Millo is noted for the beauty of her voice and her nuanced interpretation. On April 4, 1986, Donal Henahan wrote in the New York times of Millo's performance in Don Carlo: "Miss Millo sounds more and more like the Verdi soprano we've been waiting for." Later in 1986 (June 18), reviewing a Metropolitan Opera production of Aida in Central Park, Mr. Rockwell wrote, "Miss Millo has a real Verdi sound...her darkly yet delicately colored lower voice, full of urgency in the phrasing, and her overall mastery of this role from a technical and interpretive standpoint, are already very moving. Her performance reached its high point just where it must, in the third act, when Aida grows from a supplicating ingenue into a woman torn by her conflicts. With singing like this, nothing could dull the intensity of Verdi's drama. The concert formality, the populist setting, the amplification, all fell away in the face of real operatic drama embodied in song. If Mr. Domingo and Mr. Pavarotti can match that in the next two parks openers, the Met and its fans will be fortunate indeed."... en.wikipedia.or...
Lyrics & English Translation
Return a conqueror!... And from my lips
came the impious word! Conqueror
of my father... of him who takes up arms
for me... to give me back
a country, a kingdom, and the illustrious name
which here I am forced to hide. Conqueror
of my brothers... whence I might see him, stained
with cherished blood, triumph in the acclamation
of the Egyptian cohorts! And behind his chariot,
a king... my father... bound in chains!
Oh Heavens, wipe out
the insane word!
To a father's breast
restore his daughter;
destroy the squadrons
of our oppressor! Ah! -
Wretched one! What did I say... And my love?
Can I then forget
this ardent love which, like a shaft of sunlight,
made my lot here happy although I am captive and a slave?
Shall I call down death
upon Radamès ... upon him whom I love so much!
Ah! never on earth did
anguish more cruel rend a heart!
The sacred names of father, of lover,
I cannot utter, nor yet recall.
For the one... for the other... confused, trembling,
I would weep, I would pray.
But my prayer changes to a curse...
For me tears are a crime, sighs a fault...
In dark night my soul is lost,
and in this cruel anguish I would die.
Oh Heavens, have pity on my suffering!
There is no hope for my sorrow.
Fatal love, terrible love,
break my heart, make me die!
Oh Heavens, have pity on my suffering!
A link to this wonderful artist's personal website: operavision.org/
Please Enjoy!
I send my kind and warm regards,