'O sole mio What a beautiful thing is a sunny day
The air is serene after a storm
The air's so fresh that it already feels like a celebration
What a beautiful thing is a sunny day
But another sun,
that's brighter still
It's my own sun
that's upon your face!
I do like a sunny day and standing in the sun reading a book in my favourite pink t-shirt is about as good as it gets (standing because I needed the breeze around my knees). And I am still on an Icaran theme, for is this song (lyrics above) not an Icaran moment of flying. Not only is he facing the sun but is also hovering over his lover - "It's my own sun that's upon your face!" Such a joyful image of jouissance and carefree flying. And I have stolen this music clip too - I think this was the very first operatic song I ever got and understood. I was sitting in the front seat of a car with a dear friend and he introduced me to it. Just blew me away, especially knowing we both fancied the same girl (no I am not saying how it turned out). In Bizet' song, the duet comes at a point, early in the story, when the two characters, Zurga and Nadir, acknowledge that they're both in love with the same woman, Leïla, but they decide to give her up. Surely, the men declare with deep emotion, no woman is worth jeopardising their lifelong bond for (hell, yeah). When she reappears in their lives the result is a life and death struggle, and as the final curtain falls, their whole village is burning to the ground! So much for eternal friendship - what a beautiful thing is a sunny day: