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ENCORE OPERA FOUNDED BY STEVE SCHWARTZ For January 17, 2020 RIGOLETTO NOTES by STEVE This Week’s Program SCHWARTZ This 1851 work by Giuseppe Verdi is one of the most popular of all operas and is Rigoletto widely seen as having been a ground- with English Subtitles breaking opera that paved the way for Verdi’s later works and every composer ————- after him. Based on Victor Hugo’s play Runtime: 128 minutes • Live Recording “Le Roi S’Amuse” (The king amuses from Opernhaus Zürich • Blu-ray released in 2008 by ARTHAUS MUSIK • MPAA not himself) it is about a king who is harsh rated • ASIN: B001HBX8NC and a total lecher. The play had premiered just a few years as Verdi could have overcome the after Napoleon III had been installed as numerous roadblocks posed by the France’s ruler, hence it was banned by authorities to have his opera performed, the French and Austrian censors after its even when Hugo’s play was not. first performance and remained so for the An important element of the plot is that next half-century. But Verdi was bent on he is not a nice man, being full of anger writing an opera based on it, so he fought at the way life had treated him. (This is against all but the most reasonable why the Duke chose him to be his court objections. For starters, the ruler’s realm jester. The Duke’s nasty nature reveled was down-sized to a dukedom, which in the fact that his jester was always changed nothing in the plot. The censors ready to taunt and hurl insults at his objected to Rigoletto as a hunchback. courtiers.) More importantly, this trait They felt a protagonist so deeply flawed had created the foundation for Rigoletto’s and internally conflicted was disreputable. destructive actions that end up driving But that is precisely what Verdi wanted the plot. He thought he was immune and here he held firm, insisting that the from his victims’ retribution by having deformity had helped to form the jester’s the Duke’s protection. character. Only someone as strong-willed Rigoletto’s one redeeming quality is his intense love for a daughter of sixteen ————— whom he wishes to protect above all PRIMARY CAST FOR RIGOLETTO else. Since the story is intended to show Il Duca di Mantova…… Piotr Beczala the folly of revenge, the plot has him Rigoletto…… Leo Nucci Gilda…… Elena Mosuc Sparafucile…… László Polgár NEXT WEEK: LA CENERENTOLA Maddalena…… Katharina Peetz Rossini called this opera, "a Dramma Giovanna…… Kismara Pessatti giocoso” meaning ”A serious comedy.” Il Conte di Monterone…… Rolf That same designation was also used Haunstein for Mozart’s Don Giovanni, so we are Nello Santi conducts the Chorus and billing our Jan. 31st program as a Orchestra of the Zürich Opera House “Cinderella for Grown-ups.” Page 1 of 4 failing to protect her while actually curse is the central theme of the opera; helping to create their tragedy. hearing it gets to Rigoletto and cuts Verdi rewrote the overture several times, deeply into his psyche. He refer to it finally settling on a short prelude that several times during the opera saying “la accurately creates the aura of events maledizione” (the curse). At one time, leading to the daughter’s death. At that that was to be the title of the opera. time, it was conventional for operas to Scene Two have much longer overtures; this was We find ourselves in a dark, deserted one of many Verdi innovations alleyway in another part of town. ACT ONE Rigoletto is on his way home when he Scene One encounters a wonderful character who Verdi immediately introduces the we will meet again in Act Three. He is decadent nature of both the Duke and Sparafucile, a professional assassin who his entire court. In the Duke’s first aria, approaches Rigoletto to offer his services “Questa o quella” (this one or that one) to one he suspects may need them. he makes clear his attitude toward Rigoletto is not interested at the women and, indeed, anyone who cares moment, but asks about the price for about others’ feelings. He doesn’t give a killing a nobleman. Once alone, Rigoletto damn about others; he takes pleasure observes“Pari siamo” (we’re the same). where and when he pleases. He is the ‘He kills with a knife; I kill with words.’ Duke. Before the aria ends, listen to how subtly At this moment he has his eye on the but effectively Verdi alters the mood with wife of a member of his court, the a flute like a bird singing. Thus, Verdi Countess Ceprano, and when warned signals that the dark topic of murder will that her husband is right there, he morph into a lighter topic of fatherly replies that he doesn’t care. Now, love. Verdi uses the flute to indicate the Rigoletto appears, and with his first presence of Rigoletto’s pure daughter words, Verdi lets us know just how nasty Gilda. (In Act Two, he uses the oboe to he can be, and how he routinely treats set a far sadder ambience when Gilda will the other courtiers. He cruelly teases the confirm that the Duke seduced and had poor husband, who must keep silent. sex with her.) The jester ‘drives in the knife’ and twists Rigoletto enters the garden of his gated it repeatedly, until even the normally home, where we meet Giavanna, a u n f e e l i n g D u k e c o m m e n t s t h a t woman whom Rigoletto had hired to sometimes Rigoletto goes too far. watch over his daughter. We hear the voice of Monterone before Gilda enters to begin a half-hour of two- we see him. He is here to rail against person interactions, all of them filled with the Duke for having defiled his daughter. the sort of marvelous melodies for which Rigoletto seizes the opportunity to be Verdi was renowned. First there is a even nastier to this suffering father than long, loving duet between Rigoletto and he had been to the aggrieved husband, Gilda. That is followed by an even longer Count Ceprano, and proceeds to surpass scena between Gilda and the Duke, who his previous cruelty. had bribed Giavanna to let him enter the g r o u n d s t o w o o a n d s e d u c e t h e Monterone curses both Duke and jester inexperienced and naïve girl. before being hauled off. A father’s Page 2 of 4 Then we hear one of opera’s most had done the deed. famous and most beloved soprano arias, The Duke’s nastiness comes out as he “cara nome” (dearest name), in which laughs at their story. And his mood Gilda sings of how the (false) name the morphs into joy, as he learns that she is Duke has given her will always live in her now in the palace and immediately heart. As she approaches the end of her available for him. He leaves to satisfy his aria, the courtiers appear outside the lustful desires. walls of the house, intending to kidnap the beautiful young lady they believe to Rigoletto enters and we are treated to a be the hated jester’s mistress. Among long and complex scena that conveys his them is the Count Ceprano, who has not innermost emotions. In a non-stop forgotten the treatment he’d received series of interactions with the courtiers, from Rigoletto at court. His house is just we see him go through several moods in across the alley, so when Rigoletto sequence: returns home unexpectedly, instead of When he enters, he is desperately messing up their plans, his appearance looking for any signs of his daughter allows the courtiers to add another twist but tries to hide his grief by laughing a to their dark game. false laugh as though nothing is wrong; They tell Rigoletto they intend to kidnap when they all ignore him and Ceprano’s wife, and, rotten person that deliberately turn their backs on him, he he is, he readily agrees to help. They drops all pretense of gaiety and is put a mask on his face and add a clearly enraged; blindfold. It’s dark and he’s always ready to inflict pain on others, so he does not he tries to force his way past them to object. They have him hold the ladder. search for Gilda but they repel him; Only after they leave and he hears finally, realizing he is beaten, he gets Gilda’s cries for help does he remove the down on his knees and begs for mercy blindfold and realize the truth. from the same men whom he had so The superstitious Rigoletto concludes mercilessly treated in the past. that the father’s curse Monterone had Gilda appears and her father chases hurled at him has come to pass, and this everyone out and asks her to tell him epiphany allows Verdi the opportunity to what had happened. In a hauntingly have the jester utter a great curtain line beautiful aria, accompanied by the sad to this act, which he’ll repeat at the final tones of the oboe I mentioned, she sings curtain: “La Maledizione”. “tutte la fiesta” (every Sunday) ACT TWO describing how she and the Duke had We are in the Duke’s palace. He had met at church and fallen in love. Since gone to Rigoletto’s house to find Gilda, she still believes that, she adds that she only to discover that she was gone.

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