Armida was written to be performed at the Teatro di San Carlo, Naples, on 11 November 1817 to celebrate the opening of the rebuilt opera house, which had been destroyed by fire the previous year.

Isabella Colbran sang the title role, which is one of the longest and most demanding that Rossini wrote, with difficult coloratura passages of every kind during the entire opera.

The first modern staging took place at the Teatro Comunale of Florence on 26 April 1952, during the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, with Maria Callas and Francesco Albanese in the leading roles and Tullio Serafin conducting.

The United States premiere was given in Tulsa, Oklahoma on 29 February 1992 in celebration of the 200th anniversary of Rossini's birth with a cast the included Christine Weidinger in the title role, Thomas Young as Rinaldo, and Ronald Naldi as Ubaldo.

[2] Armida was performed at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro in August 2014 in a new production by Luca Ronconi.

[3] Goffredo, commander of the Christian forces, comforts and rallies the Frankish soldiers, who are mourning the recent death of their leader.

Armida muses on the power of love ("D'Amore al dolce impero") and offers for Rinaldo's entertainment a pantomime about a warrior being seduced by nymphs.

With the help of a magical golden staff, they ward off the nymphs that try to seduce them, then hide when Rinaldo and Armida appear.

When they show him his reflection in a shield, he's horrified to realize that he no longer recognizes himself as the honorable warrior he once was (Trio: "In quale aspetto imbelle").