Garrett has performed across the whole world and has also sung opera and pop classics with Bryan Ferry, The Eurythmics and Mick Hucknall to celebrate the arrival of the new century on Millennium Eve, in the grounds at the Royal Observatory and National Maritime Museum.
She played the lead role of Hanna Glawari, in the Welsh National Opera's production of The Merry Widow, which toured the United Kingdom in 2005. As of November 2006, Garrett was performing as Mother Abbess for six months, in Andrew Lloyd Webber's revival of The Sound of Music.
As a recording artist, Garrett has released eleven solo albums. Many of her albums have received gold and silver status. Soprano in Red received the Gramophone Award for "Best-selling Classical Artist of the Year". Garrett was also a featured artist on the platinum selling Perfect Day single released by the BBC in aid of Children in Need.
Garrett is a member of the board of the English National Opera. In 2002, she was awarded the CBE for services to music.
She is also a presenter on the UK commercial radio station "Classic FM".
Lascia ch'io pianga
Lesley Garrett Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ch′io pianga
Mia cruda sorte
E che sospiri
La liberta
E che sospiri
E che sospiri
Laschia
Ch'io pianga
Mia cruda sorte
E che sospiri
La liberta
Il duolionfranga
Queste ritorte
De′ miei martiri
Sol per pietàzi
De' miei martiri
Sol per pietà
Lascia
Ch'io pianga
Mia cruda sorte
E che sospiri
La liberta
E che sospiri
E che sospiri
La liberta
Laschia
Ch′io pianga
Mia cruda sorte
E che sospiri
La liberta
The lyrics of Lesley Garrett's song "Lascia ch'io pianga" portray a sense of sorrow and longing for freedom. The singer is asking to be allowed to weep for their cruel fate and for the freedom they desire to sigh for. They continue to ask for permission to weep for their pain and for pity towards their sufferings.
The repetition of "e che sospiri la liberta" emphasizes the theme of longing for freedom throughout the song. The mention of "ritorte de' miei martiri" expresses the idea of being tormented by one's own pain. The final repetition of the chorus brings the song back to its central theme, with the singer asking again to be allowed to weep for their fate and longing for freedom.
The song's lyrics come from a 1710 opera called "Rinaldo" by George Frideric Handel. The aria is sung by a character called Almirena, who has been captured and enslaved in a foreign land. Handel's music and Lesley Garrett's performance capture the sadness and desperation of Almirena's situation.
Line by Line Meaning
Lascia
Please allow
Ch'io pianga
That I may weep
Mia cruda sorte
At my cruel fate
E che sospiri
And that freedom itself might sigh
La liberta
For freedom
E che sospiri
And that freedom itself might sigh
E che sospiri
And that freedom itself might sigh
La liberta
For freedom
Laschia
Please allow
Ch'io pianga
That I may weep
Mia cruda sorte
At my cruel fate
E che sospiri
And that freedom itself might sigh
La liberta
For freedom
Il duolionfranga
Grief breaks
Queste ritorte
These chains
De' miei martiri
Of my torments
Sol per pietàzi
Only through pity
De' miei martiri
Of my torments
Sol per pietà
Only through pity
Lascia
Please allow
Ch'io pianga
That I may weep
Mia cruda sorte
At my cruel fate
E che sospiri
And that freedom itself might sigh
La liberta
For freedom
E che sospiri
And that freedom itself might sigh
E che sospiri
And that freedom itself might sigh
La liberta
For freedom
Laschia
Please allow
Ch′io pianga
That I may weep
Mia cruda sorte
At my cruel fate
E che sospiri
And that freedom itself might sigh
La liberta
For freedom
Writer(s): George Frideric Handel, Robert Dahm
Contributed by Brody R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.