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Rigoletto

Cultural Reference - Opera Comprehensive Aktualizováno: 2025-11-23

Research Status: Comprehensive Last Updated: 2025-11-23 Diary Coverage: Book 14 (1880) Type: Cultural Reference - Opera

Overview

Rigoletto is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi, first performed in 1851. The opera, with a libretto by Francesco Maria Piave based on Victor Hugo's play Le roi s'amuse, is one of Verdi's most celebrated works.

Plot Summary

Set in 16th century Mantua, the opera tells the tragic story of Rigoletto, a hunchbacked court jester to the Duke of Mantua. The Duke is a notorious womanizer who, with Rigoletto's help, seduces the wives and daughters of courtiers. When Rigoletto mocks Count Monterone, whose daughter the Duke has dishonored, Monterone places a curse on both the Duke and Rigoletto.

Rigoletto has secretly kept his own daughter Gilda hidden from the court, but the Duke discovers and seduces her. When Rigoletto hires an assassin to kill the Duke, Gilda sacrifices herself to save her seducer, dying in her father's arms as the curse is fulfilled.

Famous Arias

  • "La donna è mobile" (The Duke) - one of the most famous tenor arias in all opera
  • "Caro nome" (Gilda) - coloratura soprano showcase
  • "Cortigiani, vil razza dannata" (Rigoletto) - powerful baritone aria
  • "Bella figlia dell'amore" (Quartet) - famous ensemble piece

References in Marie's Diary

October 3, 1880: Saint-Amand arrives and sings "all of Rigoletto with accompaniment." Marie notes that "when he begins, the entire opera passes," suggesting a complete performance lasting several hours.

This indicates Marie's circle included serious opera enthusiasts capable of performing entire works from memory with piano accompaniment - a common form of home entertainment among the cultured classes in 19th century Paris.

Cultural Context

Rigoletto was considered somewhat scandalous when first performed due to its portrayal of aristocratic corruption and libertinism. The opera's combination of tragedy, dark humor, and beautiful melodies made it immensely popular throughout the 19th century.

For Marie's generation in the 1880s, Verdi's operas represented the height of Italian operatic achievement, and knowledge of complete works was a mark of cultural sophistication.

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