Una donna a quindici anni     --      Despina's aria from "Cosi fan tutte"

Una donna a quindici anni 		A woman of 15 years
De'e saper ogni gran moda		Must know all the good methods,
Dove il diavolo ha la coda		Where the devil keeps his tail,
Cosa e bene, e mal cos'e.		What's good and what's bad.
De'e saper le maliziette		She must know the little malices
Che innamorano gli amanti		That enamour lovers:
Finger riso, finger pianti		To feign laughter, to feign tears,
Inventar i bei perche.		        And invent good reasons.

De'e in un momento dar retta a cento	She must pay attention to a hundred at a time
Colle pupille parlar con mille		Speak through her eyes with a thousand
Dar speme a tutti, sien belli o brutti,	Give hope to all, be they handsome or ugly,
Saper nascondersi senza confondersi,	Know how to obfuscate without getting confused
Senz'arrossire saper mentire.		And know how to lie without blushing.
E qual regina dall'alto soglio		And this queen from her high throne
Col posso e voglio farsi ubbidir.	Can make them obey with, "I can," and "I want."
(Par ch'abbian gusto di tal dottrina,	(It seems they like this doctrine,
Viva Despina che sa servir!)		Long live Despina, who knows how to serve!)
					["Serve" is meant with a double meaning:
          				Literally, Despina is a servant; plus, she is 				
                                     	dishing up some salty advice.]

Text by Lorenzo da Ponte
Translation by Naomi Gurt Lind