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"Il mio tesoro" (or "Il mio tesoro intanto") is an aria for lyric tenor voice from scene 2 in act 2 of Mozart's opera Don Giovanni. It is often performed in recitals and featured in anthologies of music for tenor. In the aria, Don Ottavio, a young nobleman, urges the listener to assure his (the nobleman's) beloved fiancée, Donna Anna, that he intends to secure vengeance for her against the man who murdered her father.

Libretto

Il mio tesoro intanto
andate a consolar,
E del bel ciglio il pianto
cercate di asciugar.

Ditele che i suoi torti
a vendicar io vado;
Che sol di stragi e morti
nunzio vogl'io tornar.

My treasure, meanwhile,
Go and console.
And from her beautiful eyes, the tears,
Try to wipe away.

Tell her that the wrongs against her,
I'm going to avenge,
That only of killing and death
As announcer will I return.

Music

The aria is set in B-flat major and in cut common time (), with tempo indication of Andante grazioso. It is 101 bars long and takes about four minutes to perform. Its vocal range covers D3 to A4, while its tessitura is roughly F3 to G4. For most of the piece, the violins and violas play con sordino (with mutes) for a mellow effect. In addition to the strings, the aria uses clarinets in B-flat, bassoons and B♭ alto horns.

In other media

A concert performance of "Il mio tesoro" is mentioned in the opening paragraphs of Tolstoy's novel Anna Karenina Excerpts from it are sung by the protagonist's father in the 1949 black comedy film Kind Hearts and Coronets.

References

1. ^ "Il mio tesoro" Archived 2022-02-08 at the Wayback Machine, Aria Database
2. Leo Tolstoy (1901). "Chapter 1" . Anna Karenina. translated by Constance Garnett. London: Heinemann – via Wikisource.

External links

• Mozart's autograph manuscript, Bibliothèque nationale de France
• "Il mio tesoro" on YouTube, sung by Luigi Alva, Aix-en-Provence Festival 1960

• Opera

• Arias from Don Giovanni
• Tenor arias
• Opera excerpts
• 1787 compositions
• Compositions in B-flat major
• Songs about revenge