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Text
Adagio 'My time's too short'
English source:
Jean Racine trans. Robert Lowell
My time’s too short, your highness. It was I,
who lusted for your son with my hot eye.
The flames of Aphrodite maddened me.
Then Oenone’s tears,
troubled my mind; she played upon my fears,
until her pleading forced me to declare
I loved your son.
Theseus, I stand before you to absolve
your noble son. Sire, only this resolve
upheld me, and made me throw down my knife.
I’ve chosen a slower way to end my life –
Medea’s poison; chills already dart
along my boiling veins and squeeze my heart.
A cold composure I have never known
gives me a moment’s poise. I stand alone
and seem to see my outraged husband fade
and waver into death’s dissolving shade.
My eyes at last give up their light, and see
the day they’ve soiled resume its purity.
who lusted for your son with my hot eye.
The flames of Aphrodite maddened me.
Then Oenone’s tears,
troubled my mind; she played upon my fears,
until her pleading forced me to declare
I loved your son.
Theseus, I stand before you to absolve
your noble son. Sire, only this resolve
upheld me, and made me throw down my knife.
I’ve chosen a slower way to end my life –
Medea’s poison; chills already dart
along my boiling veins and squeeze my heart.
A cold composure I have never known
gives me a moment’s poise. I stand alone
and seem to see my outraged husband fade
and waver into death’s dissolving shade.
My eyes at last give up their light, and see
the day they’ve soiled resume its purity.
Composer
Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976) was an English composer, conductor and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British classical music, with a range of works including opera, other vocal music,…
