from Part IV : The Holy Sepulchre, Scene I of the Italian opera I Lombardi alla Prima Crociata by Giuseppe Verdi

Libretto: Temistocle Solera

Role: Giselda, daughter of Arvino and Viclinda

Voice Part: soprano       Fach: spinto

Setting: a cave near Jerusalem

Synopsis: After Oronte has come to her as an angel and told her the location where water can be found to relieve the Crusaders' thirst, Giselda sings this aria to express her news both at knowing where water is to be found and at hearing her beloved once again.

from Part I : The Vendetta, Scene 2 of the Italian opera I Lombardi alla Prima Crociata by Giuseppe Verdi

Libretto: Temistocle Solera

Role: Giselda, daughter of Arvino and Viclinda

Voice Part: soprano       Fach: spinto

Setting: a gallery in Arvino's palace lit by only a torch

Synopsis: Viclinda tells Giselda that she has an evil premonition about this night. She suggests that they should pray to God that,if they both make it through the night alive, they will journey to Jerusalem bare-footed. Arvino enters and adds that he has heard some strange noises in the palace and that he is going to investigate. Giselda then sings this prayer to God as her mother wants.

from Part II : The Man of the Cave, Scene III of the Italian opera I Lombardi alla Prima Crociata by Giuseppe Verdi

Libretto: Temistocle Solera

Role: Giselda, daughter of Arvino and Viclinda

Voice Part: soprano       Fach: spinto

Setting: the Harem of Antioch

Synopsis: Giselda is in captivity and she has fallen in love with Oronte, a man who is not only her abductor's son but also is not even Christian. Thus, in the first part of the aria, she prays to her mother's spirit to help her since she should not be loving this non-Christian. After this prayer, screams are heard from outside and the harem runs by her. Sofia is with them and stops just long enough to say that her husband and son have been killed by the Crusaders who have invaded the palace. As she runs out, Arvino and Pagano walk in. Giselda then begins her cabaletta, singing furiously that the crusade will never succeed. She foretells disaster and destruction for the crusaders and finishes by singing "Dio non lo vuole" or "God does not want it (the crusade)".

from Part IV : The Holy Sepulchre, Scene I of the Italian opera I Lombardi alla Prima Crociata by Giuseppe Verdi

Libretto: Temistocle Solera

Role: Oronte, son of Acciano

Voice Part: tenor       Fach: spinto

Setting: a cave near Jerusalem

Synopsis: Oronte has been killed by Arvino's men in Part III. He returns, though, in Part IV as an angel sitting on a cloud and sings to Giselda who has fallen unconscious and needs water. He describes to her where the Crusaders can find water in Siloim.

from Part II : The Man of the Cave, Scene I of the Italian opera I Lombardi alla Prima Crociata by Giuseppe Verdi

Libretto: Temistocle Solera

Role: Oronte, son of Acciano

Voice Part: tenor       Fach: spinto

Setting: a hall in Acciano's palace

Synopsis: Giselda, Arvino's daughter, has fallen into the hands of her father's enemy, Acciano. Oronte sees her and they fall in love with each other. He proceeds to lay out all his feelings for her in the first part of his aria. After he is warned by his mother that he will only be able to have her if he becomes a Christian, he states that he will become Christian for, as he sings in the cabaletta, if she believes in this god, he must be the true one. To him, she seems like an angel of purity and virtue.

from Part II : The Man of the Cave, Scene II of the Italian opera I Lombardi alla Prima Crociata by Giuseppe Verdi

Libretto: Temistocle Solera

Role: Pagano, son of Folco, Lord of Rò, brother of Arvino

Voice Part: bass       Fach: lyric bass

Setting: the entrance to a cave

Synopsis: Pagano has become a hermit after mistakenly killing his father. In this aria, he sings of God's grace and forgiveness his own redemption.

from Part I : The Vendetta, Scene 1 of the Italian opera I Lombardi alla Prima Crociata by Giuseppe Verdi

Libretto: Temistocle Solera

Role: Pagano, son of Folco, Lord of Rò, brother of Arvino

Voice Part: bass       Fach: lyric bass

Setting: the square of San Ambrogio

Synopsis: After returning from his exile for killing two of his brother Arvino's men, Pagano tells his squire Pirro that it was not his own evilness that led him to kill the two men. It was only his grief that Viclinda had chosen his brother instead of him that drove him to these crimes. He then proceeds to talk to Viclinda as if she were there, saying that it was all because his love for her was refused. Between the two parts of the aria, men who are going to set fire to Arvino's house come along. Pagano warns them of the dangers that lie in burning his brother's house, but the men respond firmly that they still desire to do it. Pagano then launches into his cabaletta which revels in the joy of the revenge that he will finally have.