Victor Orchestra - Don't Be Cross (1908)

Описание: Don't Be Cross - Waltz
Music composed by Carl Zeller
Victor Orchestra
August 13, 1908
Victor 16396

This waltz is based on the aria "Sei nicht bös" from Carl Zeller's operetta "Der Obersteiger."

Don't be Cross (Sei nicht bös) is an aria sung by the tenor, Martin, in the second act of the operetta "Der Obersteiger." It was first performed in 1894 at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna. The music was composed by Carl Zeller (1842-1898). English lyrics were added by Clifton Bingham. The aria (in the original language, “Sei nicht bös”) is said to have been responsible for the opera’s long popularity. The premier performance in New York City (May,1895) was at the Terrace Garden.

Although originally intended for the tenor voice, "Sei nicht bös" is now commonly performed by the soprano also.

Joining the Vienna Boys Choir at the age of eleven, the Austrian composer Carl Zeller went on to a brief career as a composer of operetta, winning his first great success in 1891 with Der Vogelhandler (The Bird Seller), followed in 1894 by Der Obersteiger (The Foreman), before nervous illness cut short his musical career.

English lyrics:

1. She was the miller's daughter fair.
Oft to the old mill window there,
Came a fisher lad to woo,
Vowing his heart was fond and true.
But the maid was cold and proud,
Mocked at him and all he vowed.
When he begged her, "Be my bride!"
Scornfully she replied:

CHORUS: Don't be cross; it cannot be.
Don't be cross, dear one, with me.
I can never share thy lot,
But still, but still, forget me not!
… don't be cross,
… cannot be,
… don't be cross,
But still, but still, forget me not!

2. She is the miller's daughter still.
Wooers have somehow passed the mill.
Not so youthful as of yore,
She is cold and proud no more.
Now when she sees her old love pass,
From her window smiles the lass;
But to her glances and her sighs
Merrily he replies: CHORUS