RIGOLETTO Onciseness
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Some people think that one of the highest compli- its c ments that can be paid to an opera is that "there is not an extra note in it." This means that every word and every note have meaning in 4. the opera and that the work would be less than perfect without them. An opera does not have to be short to merit this accolade. The RIGOLETTO same has been said of Wagner's five-and-a-half-hour Götterdäm- merung, and, with only the slightest hesitation, I would agree. But LEARNING YOUR FIRST OPERA the fact that Verdi can pack an equal musical and dramatic punch in half that time is in itself quite an achievement. Verdi wrote the music for Rigoletto in forty days. Though other composers, such as Rossini and Donizetti, took as little as two weeks to write the music for fine operas, when you realize what a towering achievement Rigoletto is, you will know how remarkable it is that this music could be written in less than six weeks. Other composers, such as Wagner and Beethoven, often spent years com- As far as dramatic effectiveness is concerned, it seems to me that pleting a work. Verdi himself devoted more time to the composition the best material I have yet put to music (I'm not speaking of of most of his operas than he did to Rigoletto. literary or poetic worth) is Rigoletto. It has the most powerful This, then, is a prime example of what artists call inspiration. dramatic situations, it has variety, vitality, pathos; all the dramatic This phenomenon, which is probably inexplicable in practical developments result from the frivolous, licentious character of the terms, occurs in creative people in all fields at one time or another. Duke. Hence Rigoletto's fears, Gilda's passion, etc., which give rise Inspiration is an artistic imperative in which the need to express and to the many dramatic situations, including the scene of the quartet create, when combined with talent, results in a singular work of art. which, so far as effect is concerned, will always be one of the finest our theaters can boast. Most great artists experience several periods of inspiration in their lives, but they may also endure periods of creative infertility, which hese words were written by Giuseppe Verdi in 1853, two can be a source of great torment for them. When we think of the suffering artist, we usually imagine a person who is creatively fal- years after the premiere of his Rigoletto. He may sound a Tlittle immodest, but I think he was simply acknowledging a low. This factor makes the achievements of the greatest artists that much more impressive. Looking at the canon of work of a Mi- fact that many observers had recognized before him. This opera has chelangelo, a Mozart, or a Dickens, one realizes the degree to which often been considered as nearly perfect as can be imagined. While they were blessed with inspiration. other operas, such as Le Nozze di Figaro, have also been given this By the time Verdi wrote Rigoletto, he was the leading operatic distinction, Rigoletto seems to be a textbook example of everything composer in Italy. Bellini and Donizetti were dead; Rossini was long an opera should contain: instantly memorable, highly dramatic retired and living the life of a bon vivant in Paris. Yet even if these music, characters and situations we care about, and action that other composers had still been active, Verdi probably would have lunges forward, taking us on an emotional ride that is heightened by been the one on top. He had already had notable successes, such as the music's power. Nabucco (1842), Ernani (1844), and Macbeth (1847), among the With a playing time, including intermissions, of approximately sixteen operas he wrote before Rigoletto. two hours and forty-five minutes, Rigoletto is also remarkable for After Ernani, Verdi entered what he called his anni di galera, or 190 • OPERA 101 RIGOLETTO • 191 galley years—a period of intensive work in which he struggled Wagner and Strauss are produced with to popular works of Donizetti, forge his personal vision and style of musical drama in order to relative frequency. Other composers, such as Rossini, Bellini, Mus- achieve primacy among Italy's opera composers (Donizetti died in sorgsky, Offenbach, Tchaikovsky, and Bizet, have one or two 1848). Part of his effort was devoted to finding expressivity in his orks that are part of the standard repertory. But for many new w orchestrations to give more dramatic punch to his story and his operagoers and some experienced ones, opera is first and foremost characters. His advances in this area are notable, starting with Attila Giuseppe Verdi. Some ob- (1846) and continuing with greater sophistication with most of the Rigoletto was the first work after the anni di galera. succeeding operas of the anni di galera: Macbeth, Il Corsaro (1848), servers say that this work is so accomplished because he devoted La Battaglia di Legnano and Luisa Miller (1849), and Stiffelio more time to it than he had given to his previous works. But as we (1850). know, although he had time to think about the ideas in the story, he - During these years Verdi was attracted to characters who were actually produced the music in forty days. What I think is more individuals who stood in contrast to the morals and standards of likely is that the anni di galera allowed Verdi to achieve a total mas- their societies. As we have discussed earlier, Verdi was a great pa- tery of his abilities and that Rigoletto is the first product of this triot who was one of the leaders of the movement called the risor- struggle. From this opera on, his expressive means seldom failed gimento, the resurgence of the Italian city-states that struggled to him. throw out foreign powers in the middle of the nineteenth century Because Rigoletto is our first opera, we will devote more pains- and form the Republic of Italy. Therefore, Verdi's characters often taking coverage and detail to this work than to those that follow. challenged authority or were tyrannical heroes with tragic flaws This is simply because this will be your first encounter with many of (such as the Macbeths) who are ultimately brought down. the basic operatic components, which you will rediscover in the next It was through his work depicting these various individuals and operas you learn. Rigoletto contains almost every element that one their passions that Verdi became so adept at character delineation. can find in an opera: arias, duets, trios, a quartet (perhaps the most This skill first showed its fullest range in Rigoletto, but it would famous in all of opera), orchestral and choral passages, dance, a reappear and often deepen with most of the operas that came later: compelling story, and brilliant music. All that is missing is an over- Il Trovatore (1853), La Traviata (1853), I Vespri Siciliani (1855), ture, which is not essential to an opera's success. Verdi chose instead Simon Boccanegra (1857), Un Ballo in Maschera (1859), La Forza a concise and dramatically effective prelude that is less than two and -) del Destino (1862), Don Carlo (1867), Aida (1871), Otello (1887), a half minutes long. and Falstaff (1893). The recording of Rigoletto we will use is the London/Decca ver- So the opera we have chosen as our first, Rigoletto, stands at an sion led by Richard Bonynge and starring his wife, Joan Sutherland, important nexus in the art of Giuseppe Verdi, arguably the most as Gilda, Luciano Pavarotti as the Duke of Mantua, and Sherrill important opera composer of all. While Wagner exerted a greater Milnes as Rigoletto. The recording was made in 1971, when all of influence on other composers and in intellectual circles, Verdi's the artists were at the peak of their vocal splendor, yet were also work has claimed the favor of larger audiences around the world. experienced enough in their roles to bring great meaning to their Rigoletto, Il Trovatore, La Traviata, Un Ballo in Maschera, and characterizations. In the small role of the Countess Ceprano is a Aida are staples at every major opera house, and most of Verdi's very young Kiri Te Kanawa. By this time, Bonynge and Sutherland other works probably appear onstage somewhere in the world al- had worked closely for about seventeen years, so each was attuned most every night of the year. Mozart and Puccini probably have to the other's style and instincts. However, as you will hear, this four operas each that are part of the standard repertory, and the does not compromise the performances by the other artists.