"È la solita storia del pastore", also known as "Lamento di Federico", is an aria from act 2 of the opera L'arlesiana (1897) by Francesco Cilea. It is sung by Federico (tenor), who is deeply in love with a girl from Arles, the Arlesiana of the title, but his family has arranged his marriage with Vivetta. Vivetta has always loved Federico since childhood and is disappointed to know of his love for l'Arlesiana. When he has been left alone, Federico reads the letters of l'Arlesiana and ponders them with his broken heart.
The aria is frequently performed in concert recitals and used in recordings.
Libretto
Leopoldo Marenco wrote the Italian libretto.
References
È la solita storia del pastore Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA