A year after Verdi's first major success, Nabucco, his next opera I Lombardi alla prima Crociata had its premiere in 1843 at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan. Temistocle Solera adapted the libretto from a poem by Tomasso Grossi, one of the most admired writers of his day. The story involves sibling rivalry, murder, and kidnapping, set against the backdrop of the Crusades. Any libretto which depicted a united Italy against an enemy was subject to censorship, but this time it was the Catholic Church which objeced to the libretto. A few minor alterations to the text were all that was needed to gain approval (for example, changing the open of Giselda's aria from "Ave Maria" to "Salve Maria," a minor change, but one of great importance to the church at that time). The premiere was a great success with the public, but the critics were less impressed. They did not even try to compare it to Nabucco as they were so dissimilar. Part of the problem is the characterization of several of the leading roles. In the first act, Viclinda appears to be the heroine since she is the one over whom the two brothers fight, but in the end the heroine is Griselda. Likewise Arvino appears to be the leading tenor in the first act, but Oronte proves to be the more important. However Oronte dies at the end of act three, but comes back to sing as vision in act four. The bass role of Pagano begins as the embodiment of evil who kills his father by mistake, but by the conclusion is a good Christian.

The music of I Lombardi is a study in contrasts, between the pious nuns and the chorus of murderers, the marches of the crusaders and the prayers of the pilgrims, and the venomous hatred of Pagano and the solemn aria of the hermit. This is the first opera by Verdi that has a prelude rather than a full overture. The orchestration is traditional for the period with the marches being dominated by the winds and brass. The arias are in the traditional formal style favored by Verdi at this time. Oronte's first aria "La mia letizia" is the first of Verdi's great tenor arias. There is a sweep, a grandeur which is well beyond any of his contemporaries and the following cabaletta (a fast, rhythmic aria following a slower, contemplative aria) has a drive and excitement not to be found in earlier writing. The "Salve Maria" for Giselda is the first of many prayers for Verdi's sopranos which culminated in the "Ave Maria" in Otello. The finest music in the opera is the trio which closes the third act. It opens with a violin solo which sets the stage for Oronte's death. Then the voices of Giselda, Oronte, and finally Pagano enter. Perhaps lacking the inspiration of the final trio of La Forza del Destino, this ensemble is one of Verdi's greatest achievements.

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