Rigoletto is an opera with three acts written by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian text was written by Francesco Maria Piave, based on Victor Hugo's 1832 play Le roi s'amuse. Despite problems with Austrian censors who controlled northern Italian theaters, the opera had a successful first performance at La Fenice in Venice on March 11, 1851.
The work, Verdi's sixteenth opera, is widely considered one of the first major masterpieces of Verdi's middle-to-late career. Its tragic story follows the Duke of Mantua, who behaves immorally, his hunch-backed court jester Rigoletto, and Rigoletto's daughter Gilda. The original title, La maledizione (The Curse), comes from a curse placed on the Duke and Rigoletto by Count Monterone. The Duke had seduced Count Monterone's daughter with Rigoletto's help. The curse happens when Gilda falls in love with the Duke and sacrifices her life to save him from the assassin that her father hired.
Composition history
In 1850, La Fenice in Venice asked Giuseppe Verdi to write a new opera. By this time, Verdi was well-known enough to choose which stories to turn into music. He first asked Francesco Maria Piave, a writer he had worked with before on several operas, to look at a play called Kean by Alexandre Dumas, père. However, Verdi later thought they needed a more exciting story.
They chose Victor Hugo’s five-act play Le roi s’amuse ("The King Amuses Himself"). Verdi said the story was grand and featured a powerful character. However, the play’s portrayal of a corrupt and immoral king, Francis I of France, was considered too shocking. The play had been banned in France nearly 20 years earlier and was not allowed to be performed again until 1882. Now, it had to be reviewed by the Austrian Board of Censors, as Austria controlled much of northern Italy at the time.
Verdi and Piave knew this would be difficult. Verdi wrote to Piave, asking him to find someone who could help them get permission to stage Le Roi s’amuse. Guglielmo Brenna, a secretary at La Fenice, promised they would not face problems with the censors. He was wrong, and by early summer, rumors spread that the opera might be banned. In August, Verdi and Piave went to Busseto, Verdi’s hometown, to plan how to address the issue while continuing work on the opera. Despite their efforts, the Austrian censor, De Gorzkowski, refused to allow the opera, called La Maledizione at the time, to be performed in a December 1850 letter. He described it as "immoral and obscene."
Piave revised the story, removing parts of it and borrowing elements from another opera, Il Duca di Vendôme, where the ruler was a duke instead of a king. Verdi disagreed with this plan and wanted to negotiate directly with the censors. Brenna, La Fenice’s secretary, helped by showing the Austrians letters and articles that highlighted the artist’s importance. By January 1851, a compromise was reached: the setting of the opera would change, and some characters would be renamed. The Duke would now rule Mantua, part of the Gonzaga family, which had long been extinct. A scene where the Duke enters Gilda’s bedroom was removed, and his visit to a tavern would be accidental, not intentional. The hunchbacked jester, originally named Triboulet, was renamed Rigoletto, after a French comedy. By January 14, the opera’s final title became Rigoletto.
Verdi finished composing the opera on February 5, 1851, just over a month before the premiere. Piave had already arranged for set designs while Verdi worked on the final act. Singers began learning parts of the music on February 7. However, Verdi kept a third of the score in Busseto. He brought it to Venice for rehearsals on February 19 and continued refining the orchestration during rehearsals. For the premiere, La Fenice cast Felice Varesi as Rigoletto, Raffaele Mirate as the Duke, and Teresa Brambilla as Gilda (though Verdi preferred Teresa De Giuli Borsi). To prevent unauthorized copying, Verdi required strict secrecy from all performers, especially Mirate. The Duke was allowed to use his score only for a few evenings before the premiere and was made to promise he would not sing or even whistle the melody of "La donna è mobile" outside rehearsals.
Performance history
Rigoletto first performed on March 11, 1851, at La Fenice, which was full of people. It was part of a two-part performance that included a ballet called Faust by Giacomo Panizza. Gaetano Mares conducted the music, and Giuseppe Bertoja and Francesco Bagnara designed and built the stage sets. The opening night was very successful, especially the dramatic scene and the Duke’s cynical song, “La donna è mobile,” which people sang in the streets the next day. Verdi wanted to make the song a surprise. He only told the singers and musicians about it a few hours before the show and told them not to talk about it outside the theater. Many years later, Giulia Cora Varesi, the daughter of Felice Varesi (who played Rigoletto), described her father’s performance. Felice Varesi felt very uncomfortable wearing a fake hump. He was so nervous that he had a panic attack when it was time for him to go on stage. Verdi noticed and gently pushed him onto the stage, so he appeared with a clumsy fall. The audience thought it was a planned joke and laughed.
Rigoletto was very popular and a big success for La Fenice. It was Verdi’s first major success in Italy since his opera Macbeth premiered in Florence in 1847. It first had 13 performances and was performed again in Venice the next year and in 1854. Although there was a poor production in Bergamo shortly after, the opera soon became part of the list of plays and operas performed in Italian theaters. By 1852, Rigoletto had premiered in all major Italian cities, though sometimes under different names because of rules about what could be performed (such as Viscardello, Lionello, and Clara de Perth). From 1852, it was also performed in major cities around the world, including Alexandria and Constantinople in 1854 and Montevideo and Havana in 1855. The first performance in the United Kingdom took place on May 14, 1853, at what is now the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in London. Giovanni Matteo Mario played the Duke of Mantua, Giorgio Ronconi played Rigoletto, and Michael Costa conducted the orchestra. In the United States, the opera was first performed on February 19, 1855, at New York’s Academy of Music by the Max Maretzek Italian Opera Company.
Several modern versions of Rigoletto have changed the original setting. For example, in 1982, Jonathan Miller created a version for the English National Opera set in New York City’s Little Italy during the 1950s, showing the Mafia. In 2005, Doris Dörrie made a version for the Bavarian State Opera where the Court of Mantua became The Planet of the Apes. In 2004, Linda Brovsky placed the story in Mussolini’s fascist Italy (repeated in 2014). In 2013, Michael Mayer set the opera in a casino in 1960s Las Vegas. In this version, the Duke became a character like Frank Sinatra, and Rigoletto became Don Rickles. In March 2014, Lindy Hume, artistic director of Australia’s Opera Queensland, staged the opera in the party world of disgraced former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi.
Synopsis
The opera lasts 2 hours and 45 minutes, with two breaks in between.
Scene 1: The setting is Mantua, inside a grand hall of the ducal palace. Doors at the back open to other rooms that are brightly lit. Lords and ladies in fancy costumes move through the rear rooms, and young servants pass by. The celebration is in full swing. Music is heard from offstage. The Duke and Borsa enter from a door at the back.
At a palace ball, the Duke sings about a life filled with pleasure and many women. He mentions that he enjoys tricking the husbands of the women he pursues, saying, "This woman or that." He tells Borsa he saw an unknown beauty in a church and wants to possess her, but he also wants to seduce the Countess of Ceprano. Rigoletto, the Duke’s hunchbacked jester, mocks the husbands of the women the Duke is interested in, including Count Ceprano. He jokingly suggests that the Duke should get rid of Count Ceprano by sending him to prison, exile, or death. The Duke laughs, but Ceprano is upset. A guest named Marullo tells the others that Rigoletto has a "lover," surprising them (Marullo does not know the "lover" is actually Rigoletto’s daughter). At Ceprano’s suggestion, the courtiers decide to take revenge on Rigoletto for mocking them. The celebration is interrupted when the elderly Count Monterone arrives. His daughter was seduced by the Duke, and Rigoletto teases Monterone for being powerless to avenge her. Monterone confronts the Duke and is arrested by the Duke’s guards. Before being taken away, Monterone curses the Duke and Rigoletto, saying the curse has real power, which frightens Rigoletto.
Scene 2: The setting is the end of a dead-end street. On the left is a modest house with a small courtyard surrounded by walls. A tall tree and a marble seat are in the yard. A door in the wall leads to the street, and above the wall is a terrace supported by arches. A second-floor door opens onto the terrace, which can also be reached by a staircase. To the right is a high wall of a garden and part of the Ceprano palace. It is night.
Worried about Monterone’s curse, Rigoletto approaches the house where he hides his daughter. He is approached by an assassin named Sparafucile, who offers his services. Rigoletto refuses for now but leaves the possibility open. Sparafucile repeats his name and walks away. Rigoletto reflects on how he and Sparafucile are alike: Sparafucile kills with a sword, while Rigoletto harms others with words. Rigoletto opens a door in the wall and embraces his daughter, Gilda. They greet each other warmly: "Daughter!" "My father!" Rigoletto has kept Gilda hidden from the Duke and the city, and she does not know his job. She has only gone to church and does not even know his name.
After Rigoletto leaves, the Duke arrives and overhears Gilda tell her nurse, Giovanna, that she feels guilty for not telling her father about a young man she met in church. She says she loves him but would love him more if he were a poor student. When the Duke enters, Gilda is startled and calls for Giovanna, not knowing the Duke gave Giovanna money to leave. Pretending to be a student, the Duke convinces Gilda of his love: "Love is the sunshine of the soul." When she asks for his name, he hesitates and says "Gualtier Maldè." Hearing noises, Gilda sends the Duke away after they exchange vows of love: "Farewell, farewell." Alone, Gilda thinks about her love for the Duke, believing he is a student: "Dearest name."
Later, Rigoletto returns: "I’ve returned!… why?" Meanwhile, the courtiers outside the garden (thinking Gilda is Rigoletto’s mistress, not knowing she is his daughter) prepare to abduct her. They tell Rigoletto they are capturing the Countess Ceprano. He sees they are masked and asks for a mask. While they tie the mask to his face, they also blindfold him. Blindfolded and deceived, Rigoletto holds a ladder steady as the courtiers climb to Gilda’s room. They carry her away with the help of Rigoletto, who does not know what is happening. When Rigoletto removes his mask and blindfold, he realizes Gilda was taken. He collapses in despair, remembering Monterone’s curse.
Scene 3: A room in the ducal palace has doors on both sides and a large door at the far end. Full-length portraits of the Duke and his wife hang on the sides. A high-backed chair sits at a table covered with velvet and other furnishings.
The Duke is worried about Gilda’s disappearance: "She was stolen from me!" and "I seem to see tears." The courtiers enter and tell him they captured Rigoletto’s mistress. By their description, the Duke recognizes her as Gilda and rushes to the room where she is held: "Mighty love beckons me." Rigoletto enters, pretending to be calm but searching for Gilda, fearing she may be with the Duke. The courtiers pretend not to notice his worry but laugh at him. A page brings a message from the Duke’s wife, but the courtiers say the Duke cannot be disturbed. Rigoletto realizes Gilda must be with the Duke. To the courtiers’ surprise, he reveals Gilda is his daughter. He demands and pleads with them to return her: "Accursed race of courtiers." Rigoletto tries to run to the room where Gilda is held, but the courtiers stop him. Later, Gilda enters, and Rigoletto orders the courtiers to leave him alone with her. The courtiers leave, thinking Rigoletto is mad. Gilda tells her father what happened in the palace: "On all the holy days." Rigoletto tries to comfort her. Monterone is led past the room on his way to prison and pauses in front of the Duke’s portrait, regretting his curse had no effect. As the guards take Monterone away, Rigoletto mutters that Monterone is wrong; he, Rigoletto, will bring thunder and lightning down on the Duke. He repeats this vow as Gilda begs for mercy for the Duke: "Yes! Revenge, terrible revenge!"
Scene 4: The right bank of the river Mincio. On the left is a two-story house that is partly ruined. A large arch on the ground floor shows a rustic tavern and a rough stone staircase leading to an attic room with a small bed. The wall facing the street has a door that opens inside. The wall has many holes and cracks, making it easy to see what happens inside from the outside.
Instrumentation
The orchestra includes 2 flutes (the second flute also plays the piccolo), 2 oboes (the second oboe also plays the English horn), 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns in the keys of E flat, D, C, A flat, G, and F, 2 trumpets in the keys of C, D, and E flat, 3 trombones, a cimbasso, timpani, a bass drum, and cymbals, as well as string instruments.
Offstage instruments include a banda, a bass drum, 2 bells, and a thunder machine. Onstage instruments include first and second violins, violas, and contrabasses.
Music
The short musical introduction, called a preludio, begins with a quiet melody about a curse played softly on brass instruments. The music grows louder and more intense until the full orchestra joins in with a powerful and emotional sound. It then becomes quieter again, ending with repeated drum beats and brass notes that gradually grow louder to create a serious and sad ending. When the curtain rises, the music changes to something very different: cheerful dance music played by a band offstage while the Duke and his courtiers have a friendly conversation. The Duke sings a sarcastic song called "Questa o quella" to a light and playful tune. Later, he tries to flirt with the Countess Ceprano while a small group of string instruments on stage plays an elegant dance. The offstage dance music returns as a group of characters, including Rigoletto, the angry courtiers, and the Duke, interact. This is interrupted by the sudden arrival of Monterone, who is very angry. As Rigoletto mocks Monterone, the strings create a slithery, uneasy sound. Monterone responds with his curse, leading to a final dramatic scene with many characters singing together.
This opening scene is unique in Italian opera because of its wide range of musical styles, the use of different musical groups (an orchestra in the pit, a band offstage, and a small string group on stage), the way the music flows continuously without clear breaks, and its dramatic pacing.
The duet between Rigoletto and Sparafucile that starts the second scene of the first act is also unique. Instead of traditional melodies in the voices, the music comes from the orchestra, using a solo cello, a solo bass, and low woodwinds to create a dark and unsettling mood.
The famous quartet in act three is actually two separate duets. The Duke's passionate music is the main melody, while Maddalena playfully ignores him. At the same time, Gilda sings with sad, crying tones, and her father insists on revenge.
Victor Hugo, the author of the play that inspired the opera, was upset when his work was turned into an Italian opera and called it plagiarism. However, when he saw the opera performed in Paris, he was impressed by how Verdi's music in the quartet allowed each of the four characters to express their emotions clearly at the same time. He wished he could achieve such an effect in a spoken play.
The section after the quartet, called "Scena e Terzetto Tempesta" (scene and storm trio), is also unique, as Julian Budden wrote. Unlike storm music in other operas, such as Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia or La Cenerentola, the storm in Rigoletto is not a break between scenes but is fully connected to the story. The music uses low string instruments, oboe, and piccolo, and a male chorus hums offstage to mimic the sound of wind, creating an original effect.
Musicologist Julian Budden calls the opera "revolutionary," comparing it to Beethoven's Eroica Symphony. He notes that the opera breaks traditional rules by blending formal melodies with spoken-like singing and avoids typical operatic arias and grand finales. Verdi himself described Rigoletto as "revolutionary" in a letter to Piave, saying he created it with few arias and no traditional finales but instead used many duets. Budden also mentions a 1852 letter in which Verdi wrote that he imagined Rigoletto with little use of arias or finales, focusing instead on continuous duets.
Critical reception
Although very successful with audiences from the start, many critics in different countries criticized the work for its sad and tragic story along with simple, popular songs, which they believed were not suitable for the music. After the first performance in Venice in 1851, the Gazzetta ufficiale di Venezia expressed disappointment, stating that the libretto was influenced by "the Satanic school" and that Verdi and Piave had searched for beauty in "deformed and repulsive" themes.
In Britain, Austria, and Germany, typical reactions included a review from the Frankfurter Nachrichten on 24 July 1859, which said, "This poor-quality work shows all the flaws and strengths of Verdi's music: light music and enjoyable dance rhythms for terrible scenes. Death and decay are shown through galops and party decorations, as seen in all of this composer's works."
From the late 20th century into the 21st century, Rigoletto has been highly praised, even by avant-garde and experimental composers such as Luigi Dallapiccola, Luciano Berio, and Ernst Krenek. Igor Stravinsky wrote, "I believe that in the aria 'La donna è mobile,' for example, which some people think is only brilliant and superficial, there is more depth and emotion than in the entire Ring cycle by Wagner."
Recordings and adaptations
Many commercial recordings of Rigoletto exist. Early recordings include a 1912 performance in French conducted by François Ruhlmann with the Opéra Comique orchestra and chorus (Pathé) and a 1916 performance in Italian conducted by Lorenzo Molajoli with La Scala orchestra and chorus (Columbia Records). The first LP record of Rigoletto (and the first opera on LP) was released in 1950 by RCA Victor, conducted by Renato Cellini, with Leonard Warren in the title role. The opera has also been recorded in German by Wilhelm Schüchter with the Berlin State Opera orchestra and chorus (EMI Records, 1953) and in English by Mark Elder with the English National Opera orchestra and chorus (EMI, 1983).
In the 21st century, live performances of Rigoletto have been released on DVD. These include a 2001 performance from London’s Royal Opera House with Paolo Gavanelli as Rigoletto and Marcelo Álvarez as the Duke (BBC/Opus Arte) and a 2006 performance at the Opernhaus Zürich with Leo Nucci as Rigoletto and Piotr Beczała as the Duke (ArtHaus Musik). The Duke of Mantua’s arias, especially "La donna è mobile" and "Questa o quella," are often performed by tenors and appear on many recital discs. Enrico Caruso recorded both arias with piano accompaniment in 1902 and again with an orchestra in 1908. Luciano Pavarotti performed the arias on several recital discs and sang the Duke in three complete studio recordings of the opera: Decca (1971, conducted by Richard Bonynge), Decca (1989, conducted by Riccardo Chailly), and Deutsche Grammophon (1993, conducted by James Levine).
Rigoletto has inspired many films since the silent film era. On April 15, 1923, Lee de Forest’s Phonofilm process included an excerpt from act 2 of Rigoletto with Eva Leoni and Company. A famous film adaptation is the 1987 version by Jean-Pierre Ponnelle, featuring Pavarotti as the Duke and Ingvar Wixell as Rigoletto. Jonathan Miller adapted Rigoletto to reflect 1950s Little Italy, a setting linked to the Mafia. His version was well-received.
Some films use the opera’s plot but not its music. For example, Curtiss Clayton’s 2003 film Rick, set in modern-day New York, follows Rigoletto’s story but only includes "La donna è mobile" in the background. In the 21st century, a film titled Rigoletto Story was directed by Vittorio Sgarbi, with costumes by Vivienne Westwood. It premiered at the Venice Biennale in 2004 and received two Grammy nominations. In September 2010, RAI Television filmed Rigoletto in Mantua, with scenes set in the Palazzo Te. The film followed Verdi’s original plan for the action to take place over two days, with each act performed at the time of day shown in the libretto. It was broadcast live to 148 countries, starring Plácido Domingo as Rigoletto and Vittorio Grigolo as the Duke. The film Quartet is based on the opera’s quartet "Bella figlia dell’amore," which it uses as its closing scene.
Adaptations of Rigoletto’s music include Liszt’s Rigoletto Paraphrase (a piano version of "Bella figlia dell’amore"), Sigismond Thalberg’s Fantasia on Rigoletto (Op. 82, published in Paris in the 1860s), Josef Strauss’s Neue Melodien – Quadrille (Op. 254, based on themes from Rigoletto, Il Trovatore, La Traviata, and other operas), and Mats Lidström’s Rigoletto Fantasy (2009).