from Prologue, Scene 1 of the Italian opera Giovanna d'Arco by Giuseppe Verdi

Libretto: Temistocle Solera

Role: Carlo VII, the King of France

Voice Part: tenor       Fach: lyric tenor

Setting: A large hall in Dom-Rémy, France, 1429

Synopsis: Carlo declares that the fighting in Orleans should stop and that an emissary will be sent to the English opposition to end it. He does not care if he dies and, in fact, wishes God would take out his vengeance against him alone instead of his people. Then he proceeds to tell the assembled court about his dream. He dreamed that he was lying underneath an oak that had a image of the Virgin Mary painted on it. Suddenly, the painting spoke and told him to take a sword and a helmet and place them before it. He ends by praying again that France be saved.