"Ombra mai Fu" is from Handel's opera "Serse," known in English as
"Xerxes." This aria is the one that is frequently referred to as "Largo
from 'Xerxes'" even though it's marked Larghetto. It provides one of
opera's supreme examples of situation irony, a heartfelt hymn of admiration
to the title character's "dear and beloved vegetable" (tree).
Aaro J. Rabushka
[log in to unmask]