[1] The opera is based on the play L'Arlésienne (1872) by Alphonse Daudet, which was itself inspired by a short story from his collection Letters From My Windmill (Lettres de mon moulin) and is best known for the incidental music composed by Georges Bizet.

In 2007, research at the Università degli Studi di Pavia placed the aria "Alba novella" ("Una mattina") in the first version of L'arlesiana.

The Italian tenor Giuseppe Filianoti brought this aria to the attention of Casa Sonzogno and urged them to reinstate it.

They commissioned the Italian composer Mario Guido Scappucci to re-orchestrate the aria, and it was performed for the first time since the opera's premiere in concerts and recordings with the Philharmonisches Orchester Freiburg in July 2012.

The original Act III, scene 4 aria was included in its first staged performance with the Wexford Festival Opera in October 2012.

[3][4] An old shepherd Baldassarre, tells a story to l'Innocente (a younger son of Rosa Mamai) about a little goat fighting with a hungry wolf all night long ("Come due tizzi accesi").

Metifio tells Rosa that he is l'Arlesiana's lover and the girl's parents are aware of their relationship but rejected him when the prospect of marriage with Federico arose.

Baldassarre urges Federico to forget his sorrow by helping him with work ("Vieni con me sui monti").

L'Innocente falls asleep while repeating a line from the old shepherd's story about the goat, and that leads into Federico's lament ("È la solita storia del pastore").

When the situation has calmed down, Rosa remains alone and laments the trials of motherhood ("Esser madre è un inferno").

Federico is half-delirious, repeating the last lines of the shepherd's story about the goat fighting with the wolf all night and falling dead at the break of dawn.

He believes he hears l'Arlesiana's cries and, as his mother tries to stop him, he climbs up to the hayloft and jumps out of the window.