The most beautiful opera is La Traviata by Verdi- and these are excerpts are the love poems that come out of
Violetta and Alfredo’s relationship demise. These are just beautiful! I went to a production at Seattle Opera last week, and if you are looking for an introductory opera to go to – I recommend it! Nothing like beautiful music and tragedy to make you cry.
Violetta is asked by Alfredo’s father to breakup with Alfredo – to save his family’s name (as she is a wanton woman). She replies:
You cannot know the kind of passion
- Living, overwhelming -
That burns in my heart!
I have no friends, no family still living.
Alfredo swore,
That I should find them all in him.
How should you know that my life
Is threatened by a fell disease?
That already I see the end is near?
If I parted from Alfredo,
My suffering would be so unbearable
That I would rather die,
Why yes, much rather die!
After they have broken up, Violetta sees Alfredo at a party and says to herself:
Ah! I feel like death!
Great heaven,
Have pity on me!
Later at the party Alfredo in a fit of jealousy throws money at Violetta to pay her for the time they had together. He says to himself:
What have I done? Yes, I despise myself!
Jealous madness, love deceived,
Ravaged my soul, destroyed my reason.
How can I ever gain her pardon?
I would have left her, but I couldn’t;
I came here to vent my anger,
But now I’ve done so, wretch that I am,
I feel nothing but a deep remorse!
Alfredo visits Violetta on her deathbed – he now knows the sacrifice she made for his family breaking up with him:
Alfredo, how should you understand
All the love that’s in my heart?
How should you know that I have proved it,
Even at the price of your contempt?
But the time will come when you will know,
When you’ll admit how much I loved you.
God save you then from all remorse!
Even after death I shall still love you.
Read other beautiful sad breakup poems:
Sad Poems about Breakups – Classics
Poem about the End of a Relationship
Japanese Poems about Breaking Up
Sad Poem about Missing Your Lover
