Misplaced love, lust and a hunchback suffering from a terrible curse: These are the themes in Giuseppe Verdi's seminal opera, "Rigoletto," first performed in 1851.
"Rigoletto" contains some of opera's most recognizable melodies, such as "Questa o Quella" and "La Donna e Mobile," and is considered the crown jewel of composer Giuseppe Verdi's "galley years," in which he said he was learning the opera trade. A popular and accessible opera, "Rigoletto" occupies an honored place in classical music repertoire and continues to be performed in opera houses around the world.
The Composer
Verdi was a prolific composer, and his works cover many subjects, from re-imaginings of Shakespearean drama to such opera repertory staples as "La Traviata" and "Aida." Many of the themes of his operas are political, which are reflective of his life experiences, because during his lifetime, he had dozens of run-ins with political censors angry at his work.
Born in 1813 to Italian parents, Verdi lived much of his childhood in Bussetto, Italy, where he took lessons in composition. At the age of 20, he moved to Milan, where he continued his musical education. By the 1880s, he was convinced that he wanted to be a theatrical composer, so he returned to Bussetto, married Margherita Barrezi and began to write opera. They had two children, both of whom died in infancy.
Verdi nearly quit writing after 1840, which he recalls in his writings as a terrible year: His wife died, and his second opera, "Un Giorno di Regno," failed. A friend, however, convinced him to continue his composition, and after the success of "Nabucco," 14 operas and a scandalous new marriage to soprano Giuseppina Strepponi followed. Composed in the stylistic footsteps of his models, Rossini and Donizetti, Verdi considered these his "galley years" in which he learned the trade. The height of these galley years was "Rigoletto."
Verdi wrote 28 operas during his lifetime; they are characterized by strong melodies with little harmony and an orchestral score that has little embellishment. He was quite picky with his subjects, only writing operas with librettos excited him and that contained passionate, dramatic scenes. Today, Verdi is one of the most well-known and well-regarded Romantic composers of opera music.
The Plot of Rigoletto
Rigoletto is a hunchbacked jester in the court of the Duke of Mantua. The Duke, an unapologetic womanizer, makes it a habit to sleep with the wives of his courtiers. As the opera begins, the audience learns that the Duke's latest flirtation is an unknown woman he met at church, and that Count Ceprano, the husband of the Duke's latest conquest, is plotting revenge on Rigoletto -- especially once he hears a rumor that the jester has a mistress and may be a hypocrite.
Soon, all attention focuses on the newly arrived Count Monterone, who enters and asks the Duke to return to him his daughter, whom the Duke has seduced. Rigoletto makes fun of him, and Monterone, angry, curses the jester.
Frightened, Rigoletto returns to his house, not knowing that Gilda has fallen in love with the Duke in the guise of the unknown man at church. The cuckolded courtiers come to Rigoletto's house to kidnap Gilda for the Duke, thinking that she is Rigoletto's mistress; they even get Rigoletto to go along with their plan, making the jester think that they are really abducting Ceprano's wife.
When Rigoletto realizes what has really happened to his daughter -- after she appears in the Duke's bedroom wearing very little clothing -- Rigoletto swears vengeance on the Duke. He hires Sparafucile, an assassin, to kill the Duke and stuff his body in a sack so Rigoletto can confirm that the Duke is dead. Unfortunately, Maddalena -- Sparafucile's sister -- loves the Duke herself, and pleads with her brother to kill Rigoletto. Sparafucile, angry, says that he will instead murder whoever shows up -- a person which happens to be Gilda. Delivered in a sack to Rigoletto, the jester beholds his dying daughter and remembers Monterone's curse.
History
First performed at the La Fenice opera house in Venice on March 11, 1851, Austrian censors nearly kept the opera from being produced.
Based on "Le roi s'amuse," a play by the French author Victor Hugo, "Rigoletto" was considered at the time to be a risky venture. Hugo's original play was meant to satirize the King of France; that kind of satire, however, was not yet acceptable. To avoid the eye of the censors, Verdi and Piave moved the action from the court of France to a small duchy, making the duke a member of a family that no longer existed and switching the action into a past century as to not offend any royals or courtiers.
The opening-night cast included Felice Varesi as Rigoletto, Teresa Brambilla as Gilda and Rafaelle Mirate as the Duke of Mantua.
Rigoletto Today
The Duke of Mantua's "La Donna e Mobile" is known to be one of the great tenor Luciano Pavarotti's most important songs.
"Rigoletto" became a popular opera at the time, and due to its high-quality melodic achievements, continues to be performed across the world. Since 2000, productions have been held at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, the San Diego Opera in California, Canada's Vancouver Opera and the Portland Opera in Oregon. Numerous films have been made as well, including Daniel Handler's 2003 revision titled "Rick," and director Jonathan Miller's 1983 filmed operatic production.
Modern Updates
Many opera companies, such as L.A. Opera, update the opera's sets and costumes so that the action takes place in a modern milieu. In the production in Los Angeles, the Duke of Mantua was turned into the head of a production company, while Rigoletto became a Hollywood agent and the assassin a stuntman.
The Opera Festival of New Jersey staged a modern production in which the Duke of Mantua was a cocaine-snorting crime boss and Rigoletto wore a leisure suit.
Handler's "Rick" also has an update: The action takes place on Wall Street between rival traders, their ladies and the women they love.
