from Act II of the Italian opera
La Fanciulla del West by Giacomo Puccini
Libretto: Guelfo Civinini
Role: Dick Johnson aka Ramerrez, a bandit on the run disguised as Dick Johnson
Voice Part: tenor Fach: spinto tenor
Setting: Minnie's cabin outside of a mining camp at the foot of Cloudy Mountain, USA, 1849-50
Synopsis: Minnie has found out that Johnson is really a bandit named Ramerrez. Angrily, she asks why he came to her cabin. He responds that he came to rob her but was unable to do so after seeing her. He then tells her of his life. His father was a bandit but when his father died six months ago, Johnson had to support them by taking over his father's gang. After seeing Minnie, he no longer wants to be a thief.