from Act I, Scene 2 of the Italian opera
Luisa Miller by Giuseppe Verdi
Libretto: Salvatore Cammarano
Role: Count Walter, father of Rodolfo
Voice Part: bass Fach: lyric bass
Setting: a hall in the castle of Count Walter in the Tyrol, early 17th century
Synopsis: Count Walter has found out that his son Rodolfo has fallen in love with a peasant girl (Luisa). This discovery comes at a particularly bad time, as the Count has invited the Duchess of Ostheim to his castle in the hopes that the two will fall in love. He sings that, although he has had good luck in all else, the only thing he cares about, his son, is not following the plan he has chosen for him. He hopes his son never guesses how far he has gone to make him happy.