The libretto is here (.pdf file, zipped).

Here's the aria:

Addio del passato
bei sogni ridenti,
Le rose del volto già sono pallenti;
L'amore d'Alfredo perfino mi manca,
Conforto, sostegno dell'anima stanca.
Conforto! Sostegno!

Ah! della Traviata sorridi al desio!
A lei deh perdona, tu accoglila,
o Dio!

Or, tutto, tutto finì ...

Le gioie, i dolori fra poco avran fine;
La tomba ai mortali
di tutto è confine;
Non lagrima o fiore
avrà la mia fossa,
Non croce, col nome,
che copra quest'ossa!

Ah! Della Traviata sorridi al desio!
A lei deh perdona, tu accoglila, o Dio!
Or tutto finì.

My (goofy, sorry maestro) humble translation:

Farewell, happy dreams of the past gone by
The roses in my cheeks have already faded
Alfredo's love is missing
Nothing comforts my weary spirit

Ah, dear God, give a lost woman Your smile,
Forgive her, and take her in your arms
All is finished
The joys, the sorrows, will soon come to an end
The grave confines all mortals!
Neither tears nor flowers upon my grave
No cross with a name to cover these bones.

Ah, dear God, give a lost woman Your smile,
Forgive her, and take her in your arms
All is finished

memo to the classical music lovers on MeCha:
I was there


I still cannot listen to signora Fabbricini sing "Non lagrima o fiore / avrà la mia fossa, / Non croce, col nome, / che copra quest'ossa!" without tearing up.

and as always with Verdi, if you have a half-decent sound system, listen to this file at full blast

"non lagrima o fiore" comes at 5:35 into the file

Netrebko vs Gheorghiu

Thank you!

This is awesome matteo... thanks!

Yes yes yes!

sadly, the only Traviata remaining here to listen to is the Levine 1992 MET with Studer, Pavarotti, Pons, etc...and of course, this recording is a bitter reminder of ailing Pavarotti and ailing Levine, so thanks for the dropped file of fabbricini with muti.

so, to soothe violetta's lament (and mine ;__;), i raise you an endearing and optimistic 'parigi, o cara':

Parigi, o cara, noi lasceremo,
La vita uniti trascorreremo.
De' corsi affanni compenso avrai,
La tua salute rifiorira'.
Sospiro e luce tu mi sarai,
Tutto il futuro ne arridera'.

(...and btw, netrebko kicks gheorghiu's tuberculosis-infested ass in addio del passato. although both are highly worthy of task, they don't compare to one of my favorites, delunsch's violetta, with her stark, 12th-hour epiphonies wrapped in bondy's Aix-en-Provence, 2003.