Ah! lève-toi, soleil! Fait pâlir les étoiles Qui, dans l'azur sans voiles, Brillent au firmament. Just 4 lines of Romeo's famous aria, L'amour, l'amour!... Ah! lève-toi, soleil! I've been a fan of Gounod's opera interpretation of Shakespeare's tragic lovers RnJ, but yesterday something brought it to my attention, again. Somebody (on a TV program) describes the aria as "Romeo waiting for the sun to rise so he can see his beloved again." How huge the difference is between what Shakespeare expressed in his play and this tenor understands through the libretto I rushed to the Aria Database website and checked the lyric of the aria again. Today, I'd like to discuss it with you guys here. The scene opens with Romeo, under Juliet's balcony, trying to express his feelings, the love that he experiences after much heart break in his previous unrequited love story, while hiding himself in the dark, avoiding any contact with both his fri