Giuseppe Verdi’s
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RIGOLETTO IS SET IN MANTUA, ITALY, IN THE 1500S. Prelude The opera begins with the orchestra playing the foreboding theme of the curse to come.
ct I The Duke of Mantua’s palace. As the curtain rises, we hear the voices of celebrating guests
Scenery design of the Duke’s
as the DUKE OF MANTUA [MAN-too-ah] boasts about the power he has to easily win a lady’s love. The Duke mentions one girl he is pursuing and how he meets her every Sunday at church. Soon, however, he is distracted by the other women of the court. He declares COUNTESS CEPRANO [cheh-PRAH-no] the loveliest and begins to flirt with her. Rejecting him at first, the Countess leaves the party on the Duke’s arm which greatly upsets her husband, COUNT CEPRANO, who is also a party guest. The court jester, RIGOLETTO [ree-goh-LET-toh], has witnessed the Duke win over the Countess and in order to amuse the crowd, begins to taunt and ridicule the Count, making him storm off after his wife. Rigoletto leaves the room. In his absence, a courtier spreads a rumor that Rigoletto has a love of his own at home. The group is very surprised at the idea of this unfortunate man having a sweetheart. Soon, the Duke, with
Rigoletto at his heels, re-enters and wants to know what to do with the Countess’ husband so that the Duke might be her new love. The jester suggests stealing her and begins to mock the Count again. Even though the Count threatens him with a sword, Rigoletto is certain that, as long as he is in the Duke’s favor, no harm can come to him. Just then, the elderly COUNT MONTERONE [mon-te-ROH-neh] enters with revenge in mind and tells the court how the Duke has disrespected his daughter. As usual, the jester mocks the Count by imitating him and the Duke immediately orders Monterone’s arrest. As the guards pull Count Monterone off the stage, he places a curse on the jester.
ct II Scene 1 A dark street in Mantua outside Rigoletto’s house. Feeling the seriousness of the curse, Rigoletto heads home. On his way, he encounters an assassin named SPARAFUCILE [spah-rahfoo-CHEE-leh] who offers his services. Rigoletto seems interested, but asks him to leave. Alone, he compares the sharpness of his tongue to that of a dagger. As he enters his home, Rigoletto’s lovely young daughter, GILDA [JEEL-dah], comes to greet him. She is a sheltered girl who is only allowed to go out to church on Sundays.