"Se tu della mia morte" ("If you of my death") is an aria from act 3 of Alessandro Scarlatti's 1697 opera La caduta de' decemviri (The fall of the decemviri) to a libretto by Silvio Stampiglia.Caduta de' decemviri, La, roles and details
The da capo aria in G minor is accompanied only by a basso continuo. Its time signature is 12/8 to a tempo of andante and it is 24 bars long. The vocal range for a castrato soprano is from D4 to F5. It has been transposed to various keys for different voice types.
The aria gained popularity as a concert aria when it appeared in 1886 in the collection by Alessandro Parisotti, published by Casa Ricordi in Milan.
Lyrics Appio Claudio has just attempted suicide, but Valeria, who loves him despite his rejection, has prevented it. "If I cannot die by my own hand, may your eyes kill me." Se tu della mia morte a questa destra forte la gloria non vuoi dar, dalla a'tuoi lumi.
E il dardo del tuo sguardo sia quello che m'uccida e mi consumi. Would'st thou the boast of ending a life and love of feuding deny to this right hand, grant it to thine own eyes.
As lances keen, thy glances be swift and sure in slaying a heart they so despise.
References
External links
English translation, recmusic.org Alessandro Scarlatti: "Se tu della mia morte", details , Sonia Theodoridou