EDUARDO DE FILIPPO *

DINT' 'A BUTTEGLIA

Dint' 'a butteglia

N'atu rito 'e vino

è rimasto...

Embè

Che fa m' 'o guardo?

M' 'otengo a mente

e dico:

"me l'astipo

e dimane m' 'o bevo?"

Dimane nun esiste.

E 'o juorno prima

Siccome se n'è gghiuto,

manco esiste.

Esiste sulamente

stu momento

'e chisto rito 'e vino int' 'a butteglia.

E che faccio,

m' 'opperdo?

Che ne parlammo a ffa!

Si m' 'o perdesse

Manc' 'a butteglia me perdunnarrìa.

E allora bevo....

E chistu surz' 'e vino

Vence 'a partita cu l'eternità!

TRANSLATION

INSIDE THE BOTTLE

Inside my bottle there's but a drop of wine.

What shall I do?

Just guard it?

Then I think: Shall I keep it for tomorrow?

Tomorrow doesn't exist

and even yesterday is gone.

Only this moment does exist

and the drop of wine inside my bottle.

What shall I do?

Just loose it?

Useless to say!

If I loose it,

even the bottle will regret it.

And so I drink it...

And this sip of wine

wins the match against eternity!

(traslation by M.Ramponi)

* Eduardo De Filippo was born in Naples on 24 May 1900, the son of actor Eduardo Scarpetta and Luisa De Filippo.
In 1914 he joined the regular staff of his step-brother's theatre company, where he stayed until 1920 when he was called up for military service. In 1922, on completing his military service, he resumed his acting career in the theatre.
In 1931, together with his brother Peppino and his sister Titina, he founded the theatre company "Teatro Umoristico I De Filippo", an enterprise that was to continue until 1944. During this period he penned works such as Natale in casa Cupiello (1931) and Chi è cchiù felice 'e me? (1932). He also embarked upon an intense film career, appearing in "Tre uomini in frack" (1932), followed by "Il cappello a tre punte" (Three Cornered Hat, 1934), and "Quei due" (1935).
In 1945 he wrote Napoli milionaria (Naples Millionaire) and finally parted ways with Peppino, due to artistic disagreements. He then founded the "Compagnia di Eduardo", which in 1946 staged Questi fantasmi (Ghosts - Italian Style), followed shortly afterwards by the hugely successful Filumena Marturano, which was to become the most famous role of his sister, great actress Titina.
Several other works followed: Le bugie con le gambe lunghe (1947), La grande magia (1948), Le voci di dentro (1948) and La paura numero uno (1951), were further additions to an increasingly extraordinary repertoire. Works for the cinema included "Assunta Spina" (Scarred, 1948), "Napoli milionaria" (1950), "Filumena Marturano" (1951), "L'oro di Napoli" (Every Day's a Holiday, 1954, directed by V. De Sica) and "Fantasmi a Roma" (Phantom Lovers, 1960).
In 1958 "Filumena Marturano" was staged in Moscow under the direction of R. Simonov. In 1964, he wrote "L'arte della commedia", which was likened to Molière's "L'impromptu". In 1973 he staged Gli esami non finiscono mai. The same year Sabato, domenica e lunedì (Saturday, Sunday, Monday), directed by Franco Zeffirelli and starring Laurence Olivier, was put on at the Old Vic Theatre of London.
In November 1980 he received an honorary degree in Letters from the University of Rome and in 1981 was appointed a life senator.

He died in Rome in 1984.