Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix

Samson and Delilah
Gerard van Honthorst, 1615

"Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix" is a popular mezzo-soprano aria from Camille Saint-Saëns's opera Samson and Delilah, known in English as "Softly awakes my heart", or more literally "My heart opens itself to your voice". It is sung by Delilah in act 2 as she attempts to seduce Samson into revealing the secret of his strength.^[1]

Music

In the opera, Delilah is responding to Samson's words "Dalila! Dalila! Je t'aime!" (Delilah! Delilah! I love you!) which he repeats between the first and second verses of her aria; these interjections are omitted in recital performances or sometimes sung to the changed words "Samson! Samson! Je t'aime!"; Samson's part in the final 22 bars of the stage aria where he joins Delilah in a duet is also omitted in a recital, although some performers, notably Marilyn Horne and Jessye Norman, have sung Samson's final words – changed as above, rising to a high B-flat. A performance takes between 5 1/2 and 6 1/2 minutes.

The aria is notated in D-flat major with time signatures of 3/4 for the verse and common time (4/4) for the refrain ("Ah! réponds"); the tempo indication is andantino (=66) for the verses and un poco più lento (a little slower) for the refrain. The vocal range extends from B-flat₃ to G-flat₅, with a tessitura from E-flat₄ to E-flat₅.^[2]

The instrumentation calls for flute, oboe, English horn, clarinet, horns, harp and strings. All instrument lines, except the harp, make intensive use of divisi (cellos play in four divisi). The orchestral accompaniment consists mainly of reiterated notes for the first verse and of falling chromatic lines for the second verse; the refrain is accompanied by ascending broken chords.

The melismatic setting of the lyrics present a particular challenge for the performance of this aria as it requires legato singing over a wide range.

Lyrics

Original French	English translation[3]	Poetic English[4]
Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix, comme s'ouvrent les fleurs aux baisers de l'aurore! Mais, ô mon bienaimé, pour mieux sécher mes pleurs, que ta voix parle encore! Dis-moi qu'à Dalila tu reviens pour jamais. Redis à ma tendresse les serments d'autrefois, ces serments que j'aimais! |: Ah! réponds à ma tendresse! Verse-moi, verse-moi l'ivresse! : Dalila! Dalila! Je t'aime! Ainsi qu'on voit des blés les épis onduler sous la brise légère, ainsi frémit mon cœur, prêt à se consoler, à ta voix qui m'est chère! La flèche est moins rapide à porter le trépas, que ne l'est ton amante à voler dans tes bras! |: Ah! réponds à ma tendresse! Verse-moi, verse-moi l'ivresse! : Dalila! Dalila! Je t'aime!	My heart opens to your voice Like the flowers open To the kisses of the dawn! But, oh my beloved, To better dry my tears, Let your voice speak again! Tell me that you are returning To Delilah forever! Repeat to my tenderness The promises of old times, Those promises that I loved! |: Ah! respond to my tenderness! Fill me with ecstasy! :| Dalila! Dalila! I love you! Like one sees the blades Of wheat that wave In the light wind, So trembles my heart, Ready to be consoled, By your voice that is so dear to me! The arrow is less rapid In bringing death, Than your love is By flying into your arms! |: Ah! respond to my tenderness! Fill me with ecstasy! :| Dalila! Dalila! I love you!	My heart at thy dear voice Wakes with joy, like the flow'r At the sun's bright returning! But O, my dearest one, That grief may lose its pow'r, Say 'tis mine, thy heart's yearning! Oh, bide here at my side! Promise ne'er thou'lt depart! Once more those vows so loving Let me hear from thy heart! Breathe that mine still thou art! |: Ah! respond to Love's caresses, Join in all my soul expresses! :| Dalila! Dalila! I love you! As winds o'er golden grain Softly sigh roving by, Till 'tis swaying like the ocean, So sways my burning heart With rapture when thou'rt nigh! And thy voice speaks thy devotion! The dart is not so swift, Bearing fear in its flight, As I speed to be held In thine arms of delight! |: Ah! respond to Love's caresses, Join in all my soul expresses! :| Dalila! Dalila! I love you!

In modern music

The aria's melody appears in the song "Night", written by John Lehman and Ron Miller and performed in 1960 by Jackie Wilson.^[5]

Julie Andrews and Italian-American tenor Sergio Franchi sang this aria in duet on the 17 February 1973 ABC TV broadcast of The Julie Andrews Hour.^[6]

Run–D.M.C.'s Joseph Simmons' rendition of this song appears on the 1997 album The Rapsody Overture: Hip Hop Meets Classic, a collection of hip hop songs intertwined with classical vocals and music.^[7]

A montage of the last two lines of this aria has been recorded by English alternative rock band Muse, and is included in the track titled "I Belong to You (+Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix)" of their 2009 album The Resistance.

References

1. Freeman, John W. Synopsis: Samson et Dalila, Metropolitan Opera. Accessed 16 February 2009
2. "Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix" at The Aria Database
3. Oberlin College, Program Notes: Artist Recital Series – Denyce Graves, 7 May 2003. Accessed 16 February 2009
4. "My Heart at Thy Dear Voice – Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix", Piano-vocal score, English version by George Cooper
5. "Jackie Wilson". Brunswick Records. Retrieved 31 October 2011.
6. The Julie Andrews Hour, episode guide
7. "Dalilah" on YouTube

External links

• "Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix": Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
• Audio file: "Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix" sung by Louise Homer. Recorded October 11, 1909.