'Twas Rank and Fame that tempted thee (The Rose of Castille) Jerry Hadley 1995

The Rose of Castille is an opera in three acts, with music by Michael William Balfe to an English-language libretto by Augustus Glossop Harris and Edmund Falconer, after the libretto by Adolphe d'Ennery and Clairville (alias of Louis-François Nicolaïe (1811–1879)) for Adolphe Adam's Le muletier de Tolède (1854). It was premiered on 29 October 1857, at the Lyceum Theatre, London.

It was the first opera performed at the Wexford Festival in 1951
See my You Tube
Rose of Castille (Part 1)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hk71pCWveG

Rose of Castille (Part 2)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQRPOB7AT3E

The line "'Twas Rank and Fame that tempted thee" suggests a person was lured or swayed by the desire for social standing and reputation. This is a common theme in literature, where characters are often shown to prioritize ambition and public image over other values. The phrase implies a sense of criticism or judgment, suggesting that the temptation to pursue rank and fame was a negative influence

Lyrics

‘Twas rank and fame that tempted thee,
‘Twas empire charmed thy heart:
But love was wealth-the world to me-
Then, false one, let us part,
The prize I fondly deemed my own,
Another’s now may be;
Oh! Yes! with Love life’s gladness flows
Leaves grief alone to me.

Though lowly bred and humbly born,
No loftier heart than mine:
Unlov’d by thee, my pride would scorn
To share the crown that’s thine.
I sought no empire, save the heart,
Which mine can never be;
Yet false one, we had better part
Since love lives not in thee.