from Act I, Scene 1 of the Italian opera Alzira by Giuseppe Verdi

Libretto: Salvatore Cammarano

Role: Gusmano, Governor of Peru

Voice Part: baritone       Fach: dramatic baritone

Setting: The main square of Lima, Peru, mid-16th century

Synopsis: After ordering Ataliba, a tribal head and his prisoner, to offer up his allegiance to Spain, Gusmano also implies that it might be nice if he could have Alzira, Ataliba's daughter. Ataliba tells him that it might not be a good idea because Alzira loves another, but Gusmano does not care. He orders Ataliba to make her love him and then sings that if he cannot have Alzira, his great success in war will have no value in his life.