I Hate Opera for Rigoletto

THE I-HATE-OPERA GUIDE

The I-hate-opera-guide to Rigoletto There’s plenty to hate about Rigoletto. It is an immensely sad and tragic story, despite its title which is a court jester’s ostensibly comical name. As so often, big tragedy makes great opera; that is why there is so much to love about this masterpiece

by Giuseppe Verdi from 1851: The title character is a baritone, which is quite rare for Italian opera (and Opera Hong Kong has recruited Roberto Frontali, one of the finest Italian baritones for this role!)

The opera has one of the most famous arias of all times: “la donna è mobile.” Everyone knows that!

It boasts some of Verdi’s best music from his middle period (which encompasses Rigoletto, La Traviata and Il Trovatore) and was key to catapulting Verdi to fame And best of all, it’s not very long: just a little over two hours. Three short-ish acts and you’re done!

And with this great guide, you can learn everything you need to know about Rigoletto in less than 20 minutes!

Characters and Plot Rigoletto has very sharply drawn characters; so clear they are nearly caricatures: Rigoletto is a hunchbacked court jester, who has the dreadful job of entertaining a horrid Duke The Duke of Mantua is a Lothario, a ruthless letch who is only interested in chasing and seducing women – young, old, whoever

Rigoletto has a daughter, Gilda, who is so pretty and pure he keeps her hidden away from the world, which makes her scarily naïve and gullible. She will - this is opera - fall in love with the Duke Rigoletto will hire Sparafucile, a gruesome assassin, to kill the Duke. The thug works in tandem with his seductive sister Maddalena. Of course, their murder goes terribly wrong.

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Highlights First act The opera starts in the palace of the Duke of Mantua, who is once again boasting of his skills in seducing women. He sings “questa o quella” (this one or that one; to me they’re all the same).

Watch the immortal Luciano Pavarotti sing this tiny arietta (it starts at 0.40) in a very traditional production: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lGOZhnIngE

The Duke’s buddies egg him on while a Count Monterone is furious as his daughter was recently seduced by the Duke. Rigoletto mocks Monterone, suggesting that the Duke just arrest him. As Monterone is dragged away he lays a curse on the Duke and on Rigoletto. This curse – la maledizione – will return as a term and musically throughout the opera.

The second scene takes place in Rigoletto’s home, where he tries to make sure Gilda is protected. But too late: at church she has already met an attractive and impoverished – or so she believes – student.

She sings her famous aria “Caro nome” (Oh wonderful name); unfortunately, she is singing about the Duke of Mantua’s pseudonym Gualtier Maldé and has not the faintest clue who he really is.

Watch Slovak diva Edita Gruberova nail this. Take note of the extremely difficult piani, shockingly challenging coloraturas and dizzying heights. This is not for an inexperienced soprano, which is why they usually don’t look the part.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnabxcCq088

In an unusually cruel twist, the courtiers conspire to kidnap Gilda. They rope in Rigoletto who thinks he is participating in a prank on another courtier and accepts to be blindfolded. When he realises he has been duped, he recalls the dreadful curse – la maledizione.

Second act In the Duke’s palace Rigoletto realises that the courtiers who had abducted Gilda have brought her to the very place he most feared. He reveals to the court that Gilda is his daughter and pleads for mercy.

Watch the sensational Russian baritone Dimitri Hvorostovsky explain a father’s love as he accuses the courtiers of heartless greed and venality in his show-stopping aria: “Cortigiani vil razza”. Notice the orchestration: the voice and the instruments are sometimes totally different, with the strings expressing his anger and desperation. This is a good illustration how Verdi creates an atmosphere rather than just a melody line. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0ZFk3J4wXs

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Rigoletto gets ever angrier and sings a wonderful duet with his daughter who admits her love for the Duke. Rigoletto vows revenge on the Duke and promises to take her away.

Third act The final act is where things get complicated. It is set by the river where the killerfor-hire Sparafucile stays. He has been paid by Rigoletto to kill the Duke and plans to do so by having his sexy sister Maddalena lure his victim into the tavern.

The Duke shows up and sings the most famous aria of all times about how fickle women are: “la donna è mobile”. Watch Pavarotti nail this short audience favourite: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCFEk6Y8TmM

The tavern features the wonderful quartet “bella figlia dell’amore”: Inside: The Duke sings his usual pick-up lines to Maddalena Maddalena sings how she doesn’t fall for cheap talk (but she thinks the Duke is too cute to simply kill) Outside peering in: Rigoletto tries to open his daughter’s eyes to the Duke’s tired tricks, and tells her to leave to Verona disguised as a man Gilda sings how she heard those same lines before but forgives the Duke (the foolish girl is still in love!)

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This amazing recording from the Met features a younger Placido Domingo and the Romanian star soprano Ileana Cotrubas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grKmzR05B8

Sparafucile and Maddalena decide to kill someone else and dupe the hunchback jester. They choose the strange looking man loitering in front of the tavern. Yes, you guessed it.

Rigoletto drags the closed bag with the body to the river, joyfully expecting to see the dead Duke, but of course discovers the terrible truth. The dying Gilda and her father deliver a duet that is guaranteed to pull your heartstrings.

But opera lovers focus on just one phrase that closes the opera: Rigoletto’s finale: “la maledizione”. Watch Leo Nucci in this snippet https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=S-MJrPXZnFA.

This short moment proves the true dramatic and vocal mettle of a baritone, after two hours of heavy singing. Some daring singers throw in a vocal embellishment 6

just to show off. Crazy opera lovers will put together a Cage Match to compare their favourites: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMj-3MmywQc

So, you’re already done. Rigoletto isn’t a happy opera. It’s a dramatically shocking one. But opera is supposed to move you. If Rigoletto doesn’t move you, it’s time to go back to Justin Bieber!

© Philip Eisenbeiss for Opera Hong Kong 2019

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