Poetry about breaking up in Tosca

Sarah Horth — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:31:26 +0000

This is a beautiful part of the Opera Tosca that translates into very sad love poetry.

E Lucevan le Stelle
(And the Stars were Shining)
from the Opera Tosca

And the stars were shining…
And the earth smelt sweet…
And the gate creaked…
And a footstep brushed the sand.
She entered, fragrant,
And fell into my arms.
o soft kisses, tender caresses,
While I, all a-quiver,
Unveiled her lovely features!
Vanished forever is my dream of love.
That time has fled
And I die in despair.
Never have I loved life so dearly!

Puccini

Read other beautiful sad breakup poems:

Painful Breakup Poems

Sad Poems about Breakups – Classics

Poems about Breaking Up

Poems about Despair

Poem about the End of a Relationship

Japanese Poems about Breaking Up

Violetta’s Sad Breakup

Famous Love Poems

Poems about Missing Someone

Lonely Poems

Breakup poems – Violetta’s relationship

Sarah Horth — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 20:47:47 +0000

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.