from Act I of the Italian opera Il Rè Pastore by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Libretto: Pietro Metastasio

Role: Alexander, King of Macedonia

Voice Part: tenor       Fach: tenor leggiero

Setting: the countryside of Sidon

Synopsis: Alexander is convinced that Amintas is the right man to be king of Sidon. After so much war and violence, installing Amintas as king would be the perfect way to end the whole affair in a good way. In his aria, Alexander compares the war and violence to storms and lightning saying that, while they do damage initially, the rain they provide nourishes the soil in the long run.