From: Lily, Act II, Scene II
Category: Opera Aria
Instrumentation: voice, piano
Original Scoring: Voice and orchestra
Arrangement: Piano version available

I Shall Forever Love You is a bitter but deeply romantic aria sung by Selden to Lily after he learns that she is engaged to Gus, a man she does not love. The aria gives Selden a moment of emotional anguish, devotion, and wounded recognition.

The music reflects the tension between enduring love and irreversible loss. As part of the final scene of Lily, it intensifies the tragic conflict between genuine feeling and the social realities that have driven Lily toward Gus.

This aria calls for passionate lyricism and emotional restraint. The singer should convey both heartbreak and nobility, allowing the bitterness of the situation to coexist with sincere romantic feeling.