Recitativo accompagnato]
Lo, from the vault of starless skies I call,
where silence weaveth chains about my throne.
The moon herself doth pale before my wrath,
and angels flee, their wings in shadow sown.
[Aria – Allegro furioso]
O flame unborn, awaken me!
Let ruin bloom where false hearts be!
By crown of dusk, by serpent’s vow,
the sinner’s soul I claim thee now!
(Coloratura passage – bright and cruel, swirling like fire over ice)
Ha—ha-ha-ha! Hear the orbs in anguish cry!
Ha—ha-ha-ha! Night’s queen shall never die!
[Andante – as if speaking to her own reflection]
Once didst I cradle light within mine eyes,
yet love betrayed the dawn with lies.
My mercy fell as ash to sea,
my heart a forge of enmity.
[Finale – Allegro assai, tempestuous and glorious]
Break, O heavens, thy silver dome!
Let thunder crown my rightful home!
The sun shall bow, the stars shall flee,
and time itself shall kneel to me!
(Final cadenza — ascending chromatic blaze to high D, trilled and released into silence)
“O flame unborn—consume eternity!”