Il segreto per esser felice

"Il segreto per esser felice" (The secret to always being happy), from Act II of the Italian opera Lucrezia Borgia (1833) by Gaetano Donizetti, libretto by Felice Romani. Backstory: Gennaro, Lucrezia's son (a fact he doesn't know) hates the cruel Borgia family and ignores Lucrezia's advice to flee the court. At a party, Maffio Orsini, Gennaro's closet friend, offers up a brindisi' a drinking song - about the secret to always being happy. But there's a stinger: the wine they are drinking has been poisoned and within minutes, they'll all be dead! Such is opera This pants role aria originally scored for contralto, is serviceable by either a mezzo, or countertenor. This arrangement features the original Italian lyrics, as well as a new English contemporary text making it adaptable for many different performance conditions: recital, community engagement and out-reach, dinner parties or auditions. Because this ballata' is strophic in composition, suggestions for embellishments are offered. Performance time: 2:30+-