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Text
Recitative 'Oh Gods of wrath'
English source:
Jean Racine trans. Robert Lowell
Oh Gods of wrath,
how far I’ve travelled on my dangerous path!
I go to meet my husband; at his side
will stand Hippolytus. How shall I hide
my thick adulterous passion for this youth,
who has rejected me, and knows the truth?
Will he not draw his sword and strike me dead?
Suppose he spares me? What if nothing’s said?
Can I kiss Theseus with dissembled poise?
The very dust rises to disabuse
my husband – to defame me and accuse!
Oenone, I want to die. Death will give
me freedom; oh it’s nothing not to live;
death to the unhappy’s no catastrophe!
how far I’ve travelled on my dangerous path!
I go to meet my husband; at his side
will stand Hippolytus. How shall I hide
my thick adulterous passion for this youth,
who has rejected me, and knows the truth?
Will he not draw his sword and strike me dead?
Suppose he spares me? What if nothing’s said?
Can I kiss Theseus with dissembled poise?
The very dust rises to disabuse
my husband – to defame me and accuse!
Oenone, I want to die. Death will give
me freedom; oh it’s nothing not to live;
death to the unhappy’s no catastrophe!
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,…
