Rigoletto (pronounced [riɡoˈletto]) is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the play Le roi s'amuse by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had control over northern Italian theatres at the time, the opera had a triumphant premiere at La Fenice in Venice on 11 March 1851.
| Librettist | Francesco Maria Piave (Based on the play "Le roi s'amuse" by Victor Hugo.) |
| Date of composition | 1851 |
| Premiered | 1851, March 11th in Venice, Italy |
| First published | 1851 |
| Type | Opera |
| Approx. duration | 120 minutes |
| Spoken language | Italian |
| Instruments |
Orchestra
Chorus/Choir - Cavalieri, dame, paggi, alabardieri (towns people) Voice (Tenor) - l Duca di Mantova (Duke of Mantua) Voice (Soprano) - Gilda, figlia di Rigoletto (Rigoletto's daughter) Voice (Tenor) - Matteo Borsa, cortigiano (a courtier) Voice (Contralto) - Maddalena, sorella di Sparafucile (Sparafucile's sister) Voice (Bass) - Sparafucile, sicario (an assassin) Voice (Mezzo-Soprano) - Giovanna, custode di Gilda (Gilda's Nurse) Voice (Mezzo-Soprano) - La contessa di Ceprano Voice (Bass) - Il conte di Ceprano (Count Ceprano) Voice (Baritone) - Rigoletto, buffone di Duca (the Duke's jester) Voice (Baritone) - Il Conte di Monterone (Count Monterone) Voice (Baritone) - Marullo, cavaliere Voice (Tenor) - Un usciere di corte (A Court Usher) Voice (Mezzo-Soprano) - Un paggio della Duchessa (A Page) |
| Arrangements |
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Franz Liszt: Paraphrase de concert sur Rigoletto, S. 434
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| In listings |
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Famous Works
● Famous Works 100 |
| Autotranslations beta |
Giuseppe Verdi: Rigoletto Giuseppe Verdi: Rigoletto Giuseppe Verdi: Rigoletto |
The "king" Luciano Pavarotti as Il Duca di Mantova in the screen movie "Rigoletto" (1983) based on Giuseppe Verdi's opera with the same name (1851). La Donna È Mobile - Giuseppe Verdi La donna è mobile Qual piuma al vento Muta d'accento E di pensiero Sempre un'amabile Leggiadro viso In pianto o in riso È menzognero La donna è mobil Qual piuma al vento Muta d'accento E di pensier E di pensier E di pensier È sempre misero Chi a lei s'affida Chi le confida Mal cauto il core Pur mai non sentesi Felice appieno Chi su quel seno Non liba amore La donna è mobil Qual piuma al vento Muta d'accento E di pensier E di pensier E di pensier...
Vittorio Grigòlo sings the famous aria 'La donna è mobile' from Verdi's opera Rigoletto. Find out more at http://www.roh.org.uk/rigoletto Giuseppe Verdi wrote in 1855 that Rigoletto, based on Victor Hugo’s play Le Roi s’amuse, was his ‘best opera’. He had had to overcome state censorship to stage it – the censors objected to its depiction of an immoral ruler – but he was vindicated by the premiere’s huge success in 1851. Rigoletto was performed 250 times in the next 10 years and has remained one of the most popular of all operas. David McVicar’s production highlights the cruelty at the heart of the court of Mantua. Richly dressed courtiers engage in orgies and revelries to Verdi’s heady, spirited dances. The opera’s many musical highlights include the ebullient ‘La donna è mobile’, in which the Duke boasts of his disregard for women; Gilda’s exquisite, plangent duets with Rigoletto and the Duke; and the gorgeous Act III quartet that beautifully weaves the voices together as the story quickens to its shattering conclusion.
Music video by Andrea Bocelli performing La donna e' mobile (Live).© 2015 Sugar s.r.l., under exclusive license to Universal International Music B.V., a Universal Music Group company
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Recorded late 1950s Mattiwilda Dobbs, soprano London Philharmonic Alceo Galliera, conductor
live performance by the Spanish baritone of this aria from Verdi's opera.