In addition to singing my processional, my fabulous opera-diva sister, Alison, sang the achingly gorgeous "Song to the Moon" from the opera Rusalka by Antonín Dvorák in the original Czech to honor our heritage (yes, there are Dvoráks in our family; the composer was Alison's and my great-great-uncle or cousin or something--I'll have to check the genealogy).

The story behind the song: Like the little mermaid, the water nymph Rusalka has fallen in love with a human and wants to become human herself. In this 1901 opera based on a Czech fairytale, Rusalka asks the Moon to find the man she loves. Here is the English translation of the lyrics:

Silver moon upon the deep dark sky,
Through the vast night pierce your rays.
This sleeping world you wander by,
Smiling on men's homes and ways.
Oh moon ere past you glide, tell me,
Tell me, oh where does my loved one bide?

Oh moon ere past you glide, tell me
Tell me, oh where does my loved one bide?
Tell him, oh tell him, my silver moon,
Mine are the arms that shall hold him,
That between waking and sleeping he may
Think of the love that enfolds him,
May between waking and sleeping
Think of the love that enfolds him.

Light his path far away, light his path,
Tell him, oh tell him who does for him stay!
Human soul, should it dream of me,
Let my memory wakened be.
Moon, moon, oh do not wane, do not wane,
Moon, oh moon, do not wane....

Follow this link for the original Czech lyrics and more information:
http://www.xs4all.nl/~josvg/cits/sb/sb912.html