Vanessa, a grand middle-aged lady, has been living in isolation with her mother, and niece Erika, in a remote northern country house. She awaits the return, after twenty years’ absence, of her former lover Anatol. Living with her is her niece Erika. In this aria, Erika asks why the winter must be so long and come so soon, bringing with it a gray dreariness to the forest in which the castle lies. The melancholy character of this song foreshadows the tragedies of Erika’s young life.