Friday, September 19, 2014

"Don Giovanni" Gets Decoded In ABC's "Scandal"

Musical Scandal: Harrison (Columbus Short), Olivia 
(Kerry Washington),and Huck (Guillermo Díaz), 
decode the operatic message.
Season 2 - Episode 6: "A man rushes down the sidewalk to hand over a package to his neighborhood postal carrier. The mail truck turns the corner leaving the man standing on a peaceful suburban street. BANG! The man shoots himself in the head. The package he was so anxious to send off before committing suicide is addressed to Olivia Pope. There’s sheet music inside. Huck quickly determines this is actually a coded message asking for protection for a group of covert operatives. He knows the people on the list are spies because his name is amongst them." [Source] The sheet music that's inside the envelope is the tenor aria "Il mio tesoro" sung by the character Don Ottavio from Mozart's Don Giovanni. Listen to the full aria and see a full translation after the jump.


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.

Meantime go and
console my dearest one,
and seek to dry the tears
from her lovely eyes.
Tell her that I have gone
to avenge her wrongs,
and will return only as the messenger
of punishment and death.