from Act II of the French opera
La Fille du Régiment by Gaetano Donizetti
Libretto: Jean Francois Bayard
Role: Marie, a young woman raised by a regiment of French Grenadiers
Voice Part: soprano Fach: lyric coloratura
Setting: A room in Chateau Birkenfeld, the Swiss Tyrolese Mountains, 1815
Synopsis: Although she lives in wealth and opulence, Marie is very sad because she cannot be with her regiment and with her love Tonio. She declares that she would give her entire life away if Tonio was only at her side.