from Act II of the French opera
Guillaume Tell by Gioacchino Rossini
Libretto: Étienne de Jouy
Role: Mathilde, an Austrian Princess in the house of Hapsburg
Voice Part: soprano Fach: lyric coloratura|dramatic coloratura
Setting: the forested heights of Rütli over Waldstetten lake nera the town of Brunnen, Switzerland, thirteenth century
Synopsis: Managing to separate herself from the hunting party she is with, Mathilde knows that her beloved Arnold follows her and will arrive soon. She trembles in anticipation of seeing the man to whom she has given her heart. She decides that she prefers the lonely forest to the pleasures of the palace because it is the only place that she can reveal her secret longings and desires.