GIUSEPPE
VERDI
Plot PLOT
Setting: Place – Mantua, a city and province in Italy (also mentioned in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet as the place where Romeo was exiled after he killed Tybalt) Time – Mid-1500s (Approximately 100 years before the Mayflower arrived at Plymouth Rock)
Rigoletto aspect of the Duke and his relationship with Rigoletto – absolute power. The Duke has it and Rigoletto is protected by it. You also discover in the beginning that the Duke uses this power to satisfy his lust for women. Rigoletto mocks those at the party who are the boyfriends, husbands, and fathers of women of whom the Duke has taken advantage.
As the performance begins, the action revolves around the two dominant characters of this story. One is the ruler of the entire region, the Duke (in the 1500s, a duke was one step below a king), and the other is Rigoletto, the Duke’s hired full-time jester. The term “jester” refers to someone who performs for a patron’s amusement. In this case, the Duke enjoys Rigoletto’s biting comments and insults delivered to the Duke’s subjects.
The men at court are called “courtiers,” similar to today’s lobbyists who sell access and information by seeking favors from people in power. Royal courts were centers of political activity and courtiers were often powerful people of influence. It is not a very wise idea to make them angry, but Rigoletto feels he can get away with it because he is one of the Duke’s favorites. One of the courtiers, Count Monterone, crashes the party to confront the Duke and condemn him for violating his daughter. Monterone is cruelly mocked by Rigoletto. Blinded by rage, humiliation, and disgust, Monterone calls down a curse (“maledetto” in Italian) upon Rigoletto.
During the party, what is played out on stage underscores a very important
Keep in mind, 500 years ago people believed that such a curse would be fulfilled.
ACT I, scene 1: The Duke of Mantua’s palace, during a formal party.
Nowadays, people just get offended. This curse is a critical element in the plot. In fact the original title Verdi wanted for his opera was “La Maledizione,” or, “The Curse.” ACT I, scene 2: An alleyway next to a house. Earlier at the party, several men heard gossip that Rigoletto was secretly seeing a young woman. Now, they plan to kidnap her. On his way home after the party (remember, after dark is a dangerous time in Medieval Europe), Rigoletto meets Sparafucile, a hired killer, who offers his services. (The name “Sparafucile” happens to mean, “to fire a gun.”) Rigoletto declines the offer, but remembers Sparafucile’s name. In the house, the woman who everyone else believes Rigoletto has been secretly visiting is neither his lover nor his wife, but rather his daughter, Gilda. Unfortunately, the Duke has also met Gilda earlier that day in church and returns to seduce her posing as Gualtier Malde, a poor student. He does not know that Gilda is Rigoletto’s