Santa Lucia 2280543 225888558 2008-07-15T21:40:40Z Attilios 428795 formattaed {{otheruses4|the Neapolitan song|the saint|Saint Lucy}} {{ otheruses2| Saint Lucia }} {{ distinguish2|''[[Santa Lucia Luntana]]'' by [[E. A. Mario]] }} "'''Santa Lucia''" is a traditional [[Naples|Neapolitan]] [[Music of Naples|song]]. It was transcribed by Teodoro Cottrau (1827–1879) and published by the Cottrau firm, as a "[[Barcarole|barcarolla]]", at Naples in 1849. Cottrau translated it from [[Neapolitan language|Napuletano]] into Italian during the first stage of the ''[[Risorgimento]]'', the first Neapolitan song to be given Italian lyrics. Its transcriber, who is very often credited as its composer, was the son of the French-born Italian composer and collector of songs Guillaume Louis Cottrau (1797–1847). The Neapolitan lyrics of "Santa Lucia" celebrate the picturesque waterfront district, [[Borgo Santa Lucia]], in the [[Bay of Naples]], in the invitation of a boatman to take a turn in his boat, the better to enjoy the cool of the evening. :"O dolce Napoli, :o suol beato, :Ove sorridere :Volle il Creato" :Tu sei l'impero :Di armonia! :Santa Lucia! Santa Lucia" In the United States, an early edition of the song, with an English translation by Thomas Oliphant, was published by M. McCaffrey, Baltimore. Perhaps the definitive 20th century recording of the song was that of [[Enrico Caruso]], the great Neapolitan opera singer. The song has also been recorded by [[Elvis Presley]] on the 1965 album ''[[Elvis for Everyone]]''. In [[Sweden]], [[Denmark]] and [[Norway]], "Santa Lucia" has been given various lyrics to accommodate it to the winter-light festival of [[Saint Lucy]], at the darkest time of the year. The three most famous lyrics versions in [[Swedish language|Swedish]] are ''Luciasången'', aka ''Sankta Lucia, ljusklara hägring'' (“Saint Lucy, bright illusion”), ''Natten går tunga fjät'' (“The night walks with heavy steps”) and the 1970s "[[Kindergarten]]" version ''Ute är mörkt och kallt'' (“Outside it’s dark and cold”). In the [[Czech Republic]] (or rather former [[Czechoslovakia]]) it was made famous with the words ''Krásná je Neapol'' sung by [[Waldemar Matuška]]. ==References== *{{cite book|first=A. |last=della Corte |coauthors=G. M. Gatti|title=Dizionario di Musica|location=Turin|year=1925}} ==External links== *[http://www.italiamerica.org/SantaLucia.htm "Santa Lucia"] sung by [[Enrico Caruso]] *[http://www.italymag.co.uk/2005/news-from-italy/feature-articles/santa-lucia-luntana/ Brief overview of popular Neapolitan songs] [[Category:1849 songs]] [[Category:Elvis Presley songs]] [[Category:Folk songs]] [[Category:Italian songs]] [[Category:Naples]] [[da:Santa Lucia (sang)]] [[nap:Santa Lucia]] [[no:Luciasangen]] [[pt:Santa Lucia (canção)]] [[ru:Санта Лючия]] [[sv:Luciasången]] [[zh:桑塔露琪娅]]