from Act IV of the French opera
Roméo et Juliette by Charles-François Gounod
Libretto: Jules Barbier
Role: Juliet, daughter of Capulet
Voice Part: soprano Fach: lyric coloratura
Setting: Juliet's room, Verona, Italy, 14th century
Synopsis: Juliet has taken a potion to render her in a near-death state so she will not have to marry Paris and will wake in time for Romeo to take her away. After taking the drug, though, she becomes afraid that the potion may either not work or work too well and kill her. She eventually decides, though, that she will be strong and never yield to either her family or to her fear.