Libretto
| Description/Analysis | French Lyrics | English Lyrics |
| TROISIÈME ACTE SCÈNE 1 |
ACT THREE SCENE 1 |
|
| (Le palais de Thésée sur le rivage de la mer) | (Thésée’s palace on the seashore) | |
| Phèdre monologue [da capo aria] (in B minor; the great intensity of her conflicted feelings over her unnatural love for her son is conveyed through striking chromatics and dissonance, but without undermining the prevailing key of B minor, firmly established through the da capo structure. The aria’s key has an important tonal anchoring role for the ensuing recitative scenes of conflict, which are highly unstable. Over the even longer range, the aria’s key of B minor becomes an architectural pillar, matched in symmetrical fashion by Thésée’s aria in that key towards the end of the act, as he invokes Neptune to help punish a son he erroneously believes to be guilty of an unnatural love.) | ||
| PHÈDRE | PHÈDRE | |
| (Section A) | (Section A) | |
| Cruelle mère des amours, | Cruel mother of our loves, | |
| Ta vengeance a perdu ma trop coupable race. | Your vengeance has defeated my very | |
| N'en suspendras-tu point le cours? | Will you not suspend this course? | |
| Ah! du moins, à tes yeux que Phèdre trouve grâce! | Ah! At least, in your eyes, let Phèdre find forgiveness! | |
| (Section B) | (Section B) | |
| Je ne te reproche plus rien, | I would no longer reproach you for anything | |
| Si tu rends à mes vœux Hippolyte sensible. | If you would make Hippolyte receptive to my wishes. | |
| Mes feux me font horreur, mais mon crime et le tien. | My passion fills me with horror, but my crime is yours. | |
| Tu dois cesser d'être inflexible. | You must cease to be so unyielding. | |
| (da capo) | (da capo) | |
Audio
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