Rigoletto Study Guide

Transcription

1 STUDY GUIDE 1 Rigoletto Study Guide

2 Table of Contents Welcome 3 Introduction to Opera 4 A Night at the Opera 6 Opera Terms and Voice Categories 7 About Our Director: Michael Cavanagh 8 About the Conductor: Robert Tweten 9 About the Composer: Giuseppe Verdi 10 About the Librettist: Francesco Maria Piave 12 A Brief History of Rigoletto 13 Rigoletto Opera Synopsis 14 Cast of Characters Rigoletto 15 The Libretto and Music: 5 Listening Lessons 16 #1 Questa o Quella 16 #2 Pari siamo! 17 #3 Caro nome 18 #4 La Donna è mobile 19 #5 Bella figlia dell amore 20 For Teachers 21 References 22 2 Rigoletto Study Guide

3 WELCOME! Opera is about life and everything that entails love, hate and passion. Dear teachers and students, - Lesley Garrett Welcome teachers and students to our final production in Calgary Opera s 2018/19 Season, Rigoletto by Giuseppe Verdi. My name is Patricia Kesler, and I am the Education and Outreach Coordinator at Calgary Opera. I m very excited to be here and look forward to sharing my love of opera with all of you. Something happens in the theatre when the lights go down, the orchestra s music begins to swell and the curtains open. We catch a first glimpse of the set and immediately begin to rise into an imagined world, one with no borders save for the edge of the stage and the depth of one s capacity to believe. Some say that the best part of the opera is the anticipation. House lights. Orchestra. Curtain up into a world of wonder. - Pam Brown, b Miraculous events occur in opera: an ice-hearted princess opens to love, two centuries-old feuding families decide to put aside their differences, lovers find each other across immeasurable distance and hardship and misunderstanding. Yet these are the miracles of every day life, the miracle of being human. In entering into someone else s story, we learn to understand others, to understand that stories exist beyond our own, and we begin to feel that most noble of human emotions, compassion. Opera can remind us of feelings we have long since laid down: yearning, hope, loss, but it is in feeling these emotions that we connect to the story, to the characters on stage, to each other. Sitting in the dark theatre with hundreds of others we have the chance to remember, to start again, to feel, to love. This is my hope for you, the wish that I have for your students, to find this beauty and this reminder of our common humanity on the opera stage, and to return to it, again and again. Patricia Kesler Education and Outreach Coordinator Calgary Opera 3 Rigoletto Study Guide

4 INTRODUCTION TO OPERA The word opera comes from the Italian opera in musica, which means works or plays in music. Simply put, opera is a play in which the characters sing their lines rather than speak them, with music as its driving force. It is a mixture of many different types of art, combining music, drama, dance, elaborate costumes and scenery. Traditional view holds that the first completely sung musical drama (or opera) developed as a result of discussions held in Florence in the 1570s by a group of intellectuals, poets, artist, scientists and humanists such as composers Giulio Caccini, Peri and Vincenzo Galilei (father of astronomer and scientist Galileo Galilei, particularly known for his improvements to the telescope). The Florentine Camerata, as they called themselves, explored trends in the arts, focusing on music and drama. One particular point of focus was their joint belief that music, in particular vocal works, had become over-embellished, and that returning to a more pure form would be a powerful way to tell stories and express emotions. Gathering inspiration from Classical Greece, its dramas, and the idea of the Greek chorus, which acts as a commentator reporting on the actions, they evolved the idea of recitativo a single vocal line, sung in a free, declamatory style, with simple instrumental support. At the time, it was argued that recitativo was far superior to spoken verse, since the musical inflections intensified the implied emotions. Thus, it is no wonder that many of the first operas were based on Greek tragedies with mythological themes. The first opera, Dafne, composed by Jacopo Peri in Dafne tells the story of the nymph who fled from Apollo and was turned into a laurel tree as a way to save her virtue. The opera was a through-composed musical work comprised of recitative sections (to reveal the plot of the drama) and arias, which develop the emotions of the character. Sadly, most of the music for the opera has been lost. However, Claudio Monteverdi s L Orfeo, composed in 1607 and based on the Orpheus myth, was very successful. To this day we can hear the music in performance and recordings: skd1quvjjbu Opera has flourished throughout the world as a vehicle for the expression of the full range of human emotions. Italians claim the art form as their own, retaining dominance in the field through the death of Giacomo Puccini in Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, Verdi and Leoncavallo developed the art form through clearly defined periods that produced opera buffa, opera seria, bel canto and verismo. Mozart ( ) wrote operas in Italian as well as German and championed the singspiel (sing play), which combined the spoken word with music (The Magic Flute 1791, Abduction from the Seraglio 1782), a form also used by Beethoven in his opera Fidelio. Bizet (Carmen), Offenbach (Les Contes D Hoffmann), Gounod (Faust) and Meyerbeer (Les Huguenots) led the adaptation by the French which ranged from the opera comique to the grand full-scale tragedie lyrique. German composers von Weber (Der Fresichutz), Richard Strauss (Ariadne auf Naxos) and Wagner (Der Ring des Nibelungen) developed diverse forms such as singspiel to through-composed spectacles unified through the uses of leitmotif. The English ballad opera, Spanish zarzuela and Viennese operetta helped to establish opera as a form of entertainment which continues to enjoy great popularity throughout the world. 4 Rigoletto Study Guide

5 With the beginning of the 20th century, composers in North America diverged from European traditions in order to focus on their own roots while exploring and developing the vast body of the country s folk music and legends. Composers such as George Gershwin with Porgy and Bess, Douglas Moore with The Ballad of Baby Doe, Carlisle Floyd with Suzanna, John Adams with Nixon in China and Gian Carlo Menotti with The Medium have all crafted operas that have been presented throughout the world to great success. In Canada, composer John Estacio and librettist John Murrell were commissioned by Calgary Opera to create Filumena, based on a true Canadian story of the last woman to be hanged in Alberta, which premiered in 2003 in Calgary to great success, and is one of the most produced Canadian grand operas in the world. John Adams Nixon in China, Vancouver Opera George Gershwin s Porgy and Bess at Teatro la Scala Laura Whalen as the title character in Calgary Opera s Filumena (2003) Gian Carlo Menotti s The Medium, Pensacola Opera 5 Rigoletto Study Guide

6 A NIGHT AT THE OPERA: Your Guide to a Night to Remember There are many preconceived notions propagated by popular media about opera, so a first visit to an operatic performance may bring up a number of questions. Here are some tips on how to make your night at the opera most enjoyable. By far, the most popular question and concern is: What do I wear to the opera? In the past, opera audiences have been known to wear lavish gowns as well as top hats and bow ties, giving the rest of the public a feeling that opera isn t for everyone, which is definitely not the case! In today s opera lovers world, audiences come dressed in whatever makes them feel most comfortable! Your pajamas might attract stares, but to each his own! oct/18/what-should-you-wear-at-theatre Where are the performances held? All Calgary Opera mainstage productions are held at the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium. If you are driving, it is recommended that you arrive approximately 45 minutes prior to the start of the show to avoid traffic. Another great reason to ensure that you arrive on time is that if you are late, you may have to wait in the lobby for the late arrival entries and watch the opera from the monitors in the lobby for a period of time rather than from your seat. Your Experience at the Opera Starting at 6:30 pm in the first floor lobby on performance night, Calgary Opera presents our Opera Talks where some of Calgary s most learned musicians and historians give an interesting and entertaining talk about the opera that is about to be performed on stage. Ice cream, coffee, tea and other treats are available in the lobby as well as different exhibits which will make your early arrival much more enjoyable. You will be advised by an announcement when the doors to the main hall are open. Don t forget to get your program from an usher prior to taking your seats, as it will give you additional information on the opera and the artists. You will notice a number of individuals gathered at the very front of the auditorium: these are the patrons that like to look into the orchestra pit and all its splendors. Don t be shy, and if you have time, do wander down yourself during intermission to have a look! Food and drink are not allowed inside the hall and, since sound carries due to the acoustics of the hall, please open any candies you might have prior to the start of the show. Also remember that many hours have gone into bringing this particular production to you, so please be considerate of the performers and your fellow audience members and turn off and put away your cell phones. Please remember that photography is not permitted once the performance starts. The design and direction of the show is protected under intellectual property laws and only the official Calgary Opera photographers can take pictures. Another big concern that the public has about opera is the fact that it is in a different language. This, of course, is true for most operas. However, like any foreign film that is accessible to the public, opera always has easy to read supertitles which are projected above the stage. Please, do feel free to show your appreciation to the performers by laughing at the humorous parts and applauding after a well performed aria. If you were particularly impressed by a performer s vocal acrobatics, feel free to express your enthusiasm vocally as well as by applause; if you hear fellow audience members shout bravo for a man, brava for a woman or bravi for a group of performers, chime in if the spirit moves you! It s all part of your unique opera experience! And remember, for a performer, audience response is one of the most rewarding parts of their work positive audience response, that is! Some may argue that opera is an acquired taste. However, to acquire the taste we must first expose ourselves to it, and there is no better way than doing it live! Below are some helpful Calgary Opera links that may answer any additional questions you may have: Rigoletto Study Guide

7 OPERA TERMS AND VOICE CATEGORIES The word opera is Italian, derived from the plural of the Latin opus, meaning work. Opera, in Italian, is called opera lirica, or lyric work. Lyric is defined as appropriate song, so opera lirica is a work of theatre that is set to song. Opera combines the best of all worlds with strong singing, full orchestra, riveting drama, exceptional dance, spectacular sets, lavish costumes, dramatic lighting and special effects. All of these characteristics combine to make opera one of the most powerful art forms. Opera is fun and it is just as entertaining now as it was when it was first created. If you like a good story, you ll like opera. Here are a few terms to help you figure it all out. Opera Terms Libretto: Italian for "little book": the words of an opera written by a librettist. Aria: Italian for an air or song; the big number where the singer expresses feelings and shows off the voice. Recitative: Speech-singing where the singer chants the words in rhythm of free speech, used to further the plot or set up an aria. Forerunner of rap. Duet: An aria built for two. Singers express feelings to each other or the audience. Three singers at once are a trio, and four, a quartet. Ensemble: Principal singers singing mostly together, expressing different opinions and emotions. Example: Quintette in Cenerentola (Cinderella). Fach or Voice Category German for "compartment," a voice category or range of notes and voice quality in individual singers. Coloratura Soprano: The highest female voice. The coloratura soprano is the tweety bird of opera, singing the highest range of notes with great flexibilty. Example: the Queen of the Night s aria in Magic Flute. Soprano: The voice has a high range of notes. Voice quality can be dramatic or lyric. Example: Clorinda in La Cenerentola (Cinderella). Mezzo-Soprano: Mezzo-sopranos have the middle range of the female voice. Example: the role of Carmen in Carmen. Tenor: The highest range in the male voice. Example: Don Jose in Carmen. Baritone: The middle range of the male voice. Example: the Toreador in Carmen. Bass: The lowest of the male voices. Example: Frère Laurent, Capulet, Duke of Verona in Roméo et Juliette. Chorus : A group of community-based singers who provide support to the principal singers, set the scene and create the mood for an opera. The chorus includes all voice categories. The Bel Canto Tradition During the 19th century, there flourished a style of singing called Bel Canto, or beautiful singing. Certainly one would expect all musical styles, including singing, to be beautiful. The term refers to a specific style of singing that was regarded as the most expressive and elegant. It requires a seamless legato (notes smoothly joined together) and utmost vocal control. It also demands the skillful negotiation of the 'break' in the voice; where a singer goes from the lower register of the voice to the middle and the middle to the high. Another important feature was the coloratura, or fioratura, the flowering aspect of the music. This consisted of embellishments and hair-raising vocal pyrotechnics, either written down by the composer or improvised by the singer, of which the human voice was capable, and which drove the audience into an enthusiastic frenzy. The bel canto singer must be virtually half-singer, half-acrobat! The style reigned for 3/4 of a century. 7 Rigoletto Study Guide

8 ABOUT OUR DIRECTOR: MICHAEL CAVANAGH Michael Cavanagh has been one of Canada s busiest and most successful opera stage directors for more than 20 years. He has directed well over 150 productions at companies all over North America and Europe. Recent career highlights include new productions at Royal Swedish Opera (Aida), San Francisco Opera (Susannah, Lucia di Lammermoor, Svadba- Wedding), and Vancouver Opera (Otello). His hugely successful production of Nixon in China by John Adams was first produced in Vancouver to coincide with the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. He has remounted it several times, notably in San Francisco, Dublin, Ireland, and the Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm. Former artistic director of Edmonton Opera, he has directed multiple productions there and throughout Canada, including Manitoba Opera, Vancouver Opera, L Opéra de Montréal, and Calgary Opera. He debuted at L Opéra de Québec with Suor Angelica/Gianni Schicchi in In the United States, he has directed productions at Opera Philadelphia, Boston Lyric Opera, Hawaii Opera Theatre, Austin Opera, Kansas City Opera, Minnesota Opera, and many others. Mr. Cavanagh made his Covent Garden debut in 2006, directing a new chamber opera, The Midnight Court, by Ana Sokolovic. He has developed and staged many new pieces and is in high demand as a dramaturge and teacher. As a librettist, he has enjoyed critical and popular success with seven chamber operas with three different composers. Beginning in the fall of 2019, he will embark on a major project, directing new productions of all three Mozart-DaPonte operas in San Francisco. Originally from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Mr. Cavanagh now lives in London, Ontario where he is on faculty at Western University. Pacific Opera Victoria: Set Design by Ken MacDonald 8 Rigoletto Study Guide

9 ABOUT OUR CONDUCTOR: ROBERT TWETEN Canadian Robert Tweten returns for his seventh production with Calgary Opera. He recently led Roméo et Juliette for Utah Opera, Turandot for Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Le nozze di Figaro for the New England Conservatory where he is in his second season as Music Director of Opera Studies. Maestro Tweten recently conducted performances of the Grammy Award winning The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs with The Santa Fe Opera where he is long time Head of Music Staff. Other companies Tweten has conducted with include Edmonton Opera, Vancouver Opera, Sarasota Opera and Austin Lyric Opera. Also an active collaborative pianist, Maestro Tweten has performed internationally with many of today s foremost singers and instrumentalists in venues including Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall and the Salzburg Festival. He began his career as a piano soloist after receiving his Associate of Arts Degree from the Victoria Conservatory of Music and winning competitions such as the Du Maurier Search for Stars and the Canadian National Piano Champioinship. Equally at home as a recitalist, collaborator, and chamber musician, he had performed with many of the industry s most prominent singers and instrumentalists. ABOUT OUR PRODUCTION Many people are required to create an opera. Here are a few more of the people that are making Rigoletto come to life at Calgary Opera: Assistant to the Director: Elizabeth Stepkowski-Tarhan Costumes and set are rented from Chorusmaster: Sandra Atkinson Opera de Montreal Repetiteur: Kimberley-Ann Bartczak Scenery & Props Designer: Robert Dahlstrom Lighting Designer: Harry Frehner Costumes Designed by: Opéra de Montréal Stage Manager: Donna Sharpe Assistant Stage Manager: Kennedy Greene Assistant Stage Manager: Kelley Cheetham Wardrobe Manager: Heather Moore Make Up Artist: Gail Kennedy Wig and Hair Artist: Brenda Boutet Head of Props: Laura Anderson Director of Production: Bonni Baynton Technical Director: Eugenio Sáenz Flores Production Assistant: Lyall Miller 9 Rigoletto Study Guide

10 ABOUT THE COMPOSER: GIUSEPPE VERDI Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was born October 9 or 10, 1813 in Roncole, near Busseto, duchy of Parma, Italy, and was the leading Italian opera composer in the 19th century. Verdi was born into a poor farming family. When he was young his father wanted to give him the best possible education he could and so arranged music lessons from the age of 4, bought him a spinet (a type of small upright piano) and by the age of 9 he was filling in for the organist at the local church. At the age of 10 he moved to the nearby city of Busseto to attend further studies. There he began composing music for the church and was noticed by a local businessman and merchant, Antonio Barezzi. Barezzi was passionate about music and took Verdi under his wing, bringing him into his home and encouraging his further musical education in Milan. Milan in the early-to mid-1800s was the intellectual and operatic centre of Italy and Verdi was exposed to literature, politics and lots of opera. After working hard to develop his first compositions, Verdi succeeded in having one of his early operas, Oberto, conte di San Bonifacio, produced at the famous La Scala opera house (Teatro alla Scala) in March of As simple as the piece was, it garnered enough success to tour within Italy and gain him notoriety and commissions for further works. Earlier, he had married the daughter of his early benefactor Mr. Barezzi, Margherita, who died in They had two children together, both of whom died within a few years of their mother. Grief-stricken and alone, Verdi saw his following opera, Un giorno di regno, booed off of the stage at La Scala, an injury he would never forget. The outcome was that Verdi fell into a deep depression that affected his personality and outlook to the end of his days. Fortunately, he was still creating work from the depths of despair and released Nabucco in 1842 to wild success. This catapulted him into the forefront of Italian Image courtesy of Encyclopaedia Britannica, giuseppe-verdi/media/625922/ music, making him famous not only in Italy, but all around the world. Within a decade Nabucco had been performed as far away as Buenos Aires, Argentina. The success of the opera lives on today. Following Nabucco, Verdi set himself a standard of creating two new operas a year. He was attempting to earn enough money to retire early to the peaceful farming life in Sant Agata, a village close to Roncole, where he was born. This was an incredibly difficult pace to keep, considering that the work of creating an opera in those times included finding the funding for the piece, hiring the singers, attending the early rehearsals and conducting the first 3 performances. An impressive task that he maintained although almost none of the operas composed at that time are still performed today, with the exception of Ernani, produced in He mined all of the great authors of the day to come up with subject matter for his operas, including Victor Hugo, Lord Byron, Friedrich von Schiller, Voltaire and, later, even Shakespeare. In 1847 he met again the prima donna Giuseppina Strepponi who had played Abigaille in his Nabucco. In time she became his second wife, but it was known that he treated her poorly at times, refusing to allow her to travel with him and leaving her in Sant Agata where their relationship was looked upon scandalously. It is widely believed that the rich drama and character that he gave to the heroines in his opera of this time were influenced by Strepponi. In fact, his most endearing operas came out of this time of his life: Rigoletto (1851), Il trovatore (1853), and La Traviata (1853). He was becoming a true master of his craft and it showed in these pieces. Photograph 1865 Through the years he became more bitter, battled with anyone and everyone, and fought to deny any editing or substitutions in his operas. When he happened upon the idea of adapting Victor Hugo s Le roi s amuse into an opera, Rigoletto, he came up against the most vociferous and unrelenting censors 10 Rigoletto Study Guide

11 ABOUT THE COMPOSER: GIUSEPPE VERDI, continued yet. Hugo s piece had been banned in Paris after opening night because of its unsavoury depiction of royalty. Verdi s determination knew no bounds, however, and he and the librettist Francesco Maria Piave finally had their opera shown to great success and to the frustration of Hugo. Verdi had become an international celebrity, and from 1855 to 1870, he turned his sights towards mastering pieces for the Parisian public. The appetite in France was for long, spectacular dramas with heavy subject matter that included a section of ballet. He was attempting to rival Giacomo Meyerbeer, the one composer who was better known than he at the time. Verdi honed his craft, and while many operas from this time are forgotten, his Simon Boccanegra (1857) and Un ballo in Maschera (1859) are still favourites, and incidentally, were written for the Italian stage, not the French. In 1862 Verdi represented all Italian musicians at the London Exhibition. This was a sure sign of his fame, and of how he was the face of Italy and its music for the rest of the world. In the same year he was commissioned to create an opera in St. Petersburg, and he used the opportunity to put some ideas he had been working on for some time into the piece. He had wanted to create a sweeping saga that spanned many years and many different locations, a story that explored both the highs and the lows in society and life. He succeeded in doing this with La forza del destino, and the piece has stood the test of time. Finally, in 1867, for the Paris Opera, he wrote Don Carlos, which was so successful that the public opinion held that he had finally surpassed Giacomo Meyerbeer as the greatest opera writer of the time. One more famous commission, this time by the khedive of Egypt to celebrate the opening of Cairo s new opera house in 1869, led him to create Aida. The piece was finally shown there in 1871 and went on to international success. With Aida, Verdi had achieved his most emotionally compelling and mature piece to date. When another famous opera writer of the time, Gioachino Rossini, died in 1868, Verdi suggested that he and a group of his contemporary musicians and composers create a requiem mass in his honour. Verdi s increasingly cynical and unforgiving personality fuelled the collapse of the project and caused the deterioration of his relationship with one of his closest friends, Angelo Mariani. Indeed there was a rumour going around that Verdi was in love with Mariani s fiancee, the soprano Teresa Stolz. Verdi s wife Giuseppina did all she could to convince Teresa to leave Verdi alone, prompting Teresa to leave Italy. She returned two years later and the lovers resumed their relationship. They remained in contact until his death and Stolz was among those at his deathbed. Later in 1873, the poet Alessandro Manzoni died. This moved Verdi to revisit the idea of the requiem and this time he completed it. The Manzoni Requiem exists to this day as one of the masterpieces in the oratorio tradition, a form of vocal music written as a concert piece, not for the theatre as opera is. After 1873 Verdi took retirement, as he had been planning to do, on a farm in Sant Agata. He focused his extreme energy and diligence on farming, and over the course of a 20-year period of acquiring and improving land, he became a very wealthy landowner. He became a donor of many charities that were dear to his heart, most notable was the Casa di Riposo per Musicisti, a home in Milan for aged musicians that still operates today as Casa Verdi and is where he and his wife are buried. Determined not to allow his most profitable composer to rest in Sant Agata for the rest of his days, Verdi s agent, Giulio Ricordi, convinced the prominent poet Arrigo Boito and Giuseppe Verdi, Photograph by Achille Ferrario. Courtesy of 11 Rigoletto Study Guide

12 ABOUT THE COMPOSER: GIUSEPPE VERDI, continued Arrigo Boito to write a libretto based on Shakespeare s Othello. Verdi couldn t resist the libretto which was far superior to any he had worked from before, in his opinion. Otello, the opera, was born while Verdi was 74 years old. Here again, the old master drastically improved the dramatic style and emotionality of the characters of any piece he had written before. Otello toured across Europe to great acclaim. cruel dismissal of his Un giorno di regno 50 years before. In his final years, he continued to compose some sacred pieces with varying success. His wife, Giuseppina, died in 1897 after a long illness and he, weakening slowly, died four years later on January 27, 1901 in Milan, Italy. Verdi returned to his home in Sant Agata, stating that he would compose no more. Ricordi and Boito, however, had other plans for him. They had become close to Verdi during the creation of Otello and convinced him, one last time, to compose the music to a libretto Boito had pulled together based on a character named Falstaff in Shakespeare s the Merry Wives of Windsor and Henry IV plays. Falstaff was a comedy and the final opera of Verdi s career. It opened at La Scala in 1893 to roaring success, finally avenging the ABOUT THE LIBRETTIST: FRANCESCO MARIA PIAVE Francesco Maria Piave photo courtesy of Italian librettist Francesco Maria Piave was born in Murano, Italy on May 18, He is best known for his multiple librettos written for Verdi operas. Piave was the son of a glassmaker. In his youth he studied for the church, eventually finding work as a proof reader. As a young man he moved to Rome where he found his place in artistic and literary circles. There he met the librettist Jacopo Ferretti. Ferretti had a great influence on him, and when he returned to Venice he began writing librettos himself. His first libretto Don Marzio, completed in 1842 for Levi, was never performed. He completed the libretto of Giovanni Peruzzini, Il duca d Alba for Pacini as well. He began working with Verdi in 1844 on Ernani, and, finding each other satisfactory, the pair continued on working together over the next 18 years with I due Foscari, Macbeth, Il Corsaro, Stiffelio, Rigoletto, La Traviata, Simon Boccanegra, Aroldo and finally La forze del destino in Throughout his career, Piavo wrote librettos for several composers, but none had the same longevity and popularity as those that he wrote with Verdi. As well as being a librettist, he worked as a poet and a stage director for La Fenice theatre in Venice. In 1859 he moved to Milan to work as a stage director at La Scala. In 1867 he suffered a massive stroke that left him unable to move or speak for 9 years until his death in Milan on March 5, At the time of the stroke he was writing a libretto for Ponchielli that remained unfinished. During those final years, Verdi and his wife Giuseppina Strepponi often cared for the bedridden Piave. He is credited with having written 28 librettos over the course of his life. 12 Rigoletto Study Guide

13 A BRIEF HISTORY OF RIGOLETTO James Westman as Rigoletto in the Opera de Montreal production of Rigoletto. Photograph by Yves Renaud. In the mid-1800s opera was at its zenith and composers were under pressure to produce box-office hits, but could no longer rely upon royal patronage. This was the time of the grand opera where stirring music using the bel canto style was paired with the spectacle of amazing sets and exciting crowd scenes. This led to opera becaming as popular with ordinary people as it was with the aristocracy. Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi ( ) wrote some of the grandest operas of all: Il trovatore (1853), La traviata (1853) and Aida (1871) which was commissioned by the ruler of Egypt to play at the opening of the Cairo Opera House. Aida even had a ballet with camels and elephants onstage! Verdi s operas were spectacular. All of his work, with the exception of Falstaff (1893), was very serious and, at the time, even controversial. Rigoletto (1851) is one of the most famous grand operas of all time and considered to be one of Verdi s best, despite the fact he reportedly wrote it in only 40 days. The libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave, based on the play Le roi s amuse by French author Victor Hugo. Hugo s piece had been banned after only one performance in Paris because of its negative portrayal of royalty. The French monarchy had no tolerance for criticism. Likewise, when Piave and Verdi adapted the story into an opera, the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, who at the time ruled Venice, where they were attempting to stage the piece, were vehemently against the portrayal of royalty as lecherous or immoral. Verdi changed the character of the king to the Duke and addressed all of the many other objections, as well, until the opera was approved. Rigoletto premiered in Venice at Teatro La Fenice on March 11, 1851 to huge success and it was performed over 100 times in Paris. Hugo was irritated, but when he finally heard the opera, he agreed it was better than his play. He particularly admired the famous quartet scene in which four characters are singing each about their own quandries, while still being a part of a unified whole (Bella figlia dell amore). Verdi knew he had a hit before it even premiered. He withheld the music for La Donna e Mobile until two days before the opening in order to prevent the cast from humming it around town. He was right. On opening night it stopped the show and can still be heard today in everything from movies to commercials to cartoons. Rigoletto to this day remains one of the top 20 operas performed in the world. 13 Rigoletto Study Guide

14 RIGOLETTO OPERA SYNOPSIS At a ball at the Duke s court of Mantua, the hunchbacked jester Rigoletto mocks the courtiers whose wives have been romantically linked with the Duke, stirring them to plans of vengeance. Count Monterone appeals to the Duke for the return of his dishonoured daughter, but is mocked by Rigoletto. Enraged, Monterone calls down a father's curse on the jester. Outside his house, Rigoletto encounters Sparafucile, a professional assassin, but has no need of his services. Rigoletto warns his daughter Gilda to remain concealed in their home. She does not reveal to him that she has fallen in love with a handsome young man she has encountered on her way to church. The object of her affections is the Duke, who appears as soon as Rigoletto has left, bribing Gilda's nurse to admit him and to speak well of him to Gilda. He tells her he is a poor student. After he leaves, the courtiers come to abduct Gilda, believing her to be Rigoletto's mistress. They trick Rigoletto into assisting them, assuring him that it is the Countess Ceprano they are abducting from the neighboring house. When he realizes what has happened, he is distraught. He remembers the curse. The courtiers describe their abduction of Gilda to the Duke. He is delighted to discover that she has been brought to his palace and awaits him in his bedroom. Rigoletto now enters, feigning indifference but desperately seeking signs of the whereabouts of his daughter. When he realizes what has happened he first curses, then pleads with the courtiers for her return, but to no avail. Gilda appears partly clothed, and Rigoletto swears vengeance on the Duke. The Duke has been lured to a remote inn by Sparafucile's sister Maddalena. Rigoletto has paid Sparafucile to kill the Duke and to deliver his body in a sack so that he may himself throw it into the Mincio River. Rigoletto brings Gilda with him to spy on the inn, hoping to reinforce the notion that the Duke is not a man of honour in affairs of the heart. Gilda is unimpressed. Rigoletto sends her home to change into men's clothing for their trip to Verona. Infatuated with the Duke herself, Maddalena begs her brother to spare him and to murder the jester instead. His sense of professional responsibility offended, Sparafucile refuses, but does go so far as to agree that if anyone else should happen to show up at the inn on this wild and stormy night, he will murder them instead. Gilda, returning and hearing all this, sees her chance to help the man she loves. She boldly walks up to the door of the inn, knocks, is admitted and promptly stabbed and stuffed into the sack for Rigoletto. Rigoletto is just about to throw the sack in the river when he hears the Duke still singing in the inn. Wildly he opens the sack to find his dying daughter, who with her last breath assures him that she will pray for him with her mother in heaven. Again, Rigoletto recalls Monterone's curse. Cast of Rigoletto in Opera de Montreal s production of Rigoletto. Photograph by Yves Renaud. 14 Rigoletto Study Guide

15 CAST OF CHARACTERS CAST OF CHARACTERS RIGOLETTO Character Name & Description Artist Name Voice Type English Pronunciation Rigoletto, the hunchbacked court jester of the Duke Gilda, Rigoletto s innocent teenaged daughter Gregory Dahl Baritone ree-go-le H-toe Nikki Einfeld Soprano DJEEL-dah The Duke, a young playboy with few morals Leonardo Capalbo Tenor Maddalena, Sparafucile s unkind sister Lauren Segal Mezzo-Soprano mah-dah-leh-nah Monterone, a distraught father who accuses the Duke of seducing his daughter Valerian Ruminski Bass-Baritone mon-teh-ro-neh Sparafucile, a professional assassin Valerian Ruminski Bass-Baritone spah-rah-foo- CHEE-leh Marullo, a nobleman Jonah Spungin* Baritone ma-rool-oh Borsa Andrew Derynck* Tenor BOR-sa Giovanna, Gilda s maid Sarah Bissonnette* Mezzo-Soprano joe-vah-nah Countess Ceprano, an aristocrat Marie Civitarese* Soprano chay-prah-no Count Ceprano, an aristocrat Adam Harris* Baritone chay-prah-no Page Yujene Oh* Mezzo-Soprano * Members of Calgary Opera s 2018/19 Emerging Artist ensemble. 15 Rigoletto Study Guide

16 THE LIBRETTO AND MUSIC: FIVE LISTENING LESSONS The following five excerpts serve to highlight the pivotal moments of the opera, these are also the most famous arias and musical pieces that have entertained audiences since the premiere in 1851 in Venice, Italy. You may watch each one and discuss the libretto with your students, listening to how the words and the music portray emotion and character. Module One It is sixteenth century Mantua. During a ball in the Ducal Palace, the philandering Duke tells of one of his courtiers, Borsa, that he wants to consummate his flirtation with an unknown girl he has seen in church. He knows where she lives and has seen a mysterious man enter there every night. The Dukes attention is diverted by female guests, most notably Countess Ceprano. He declares he finds one woman as charming as the next and he hates the thought of constancy. Questa o quella: (YouTube video here) The Duke: Questa o quella per me para sono This woman or that, to me they re just the same A quant altre d intorono mi vedo: As all the others I see around me. Del mio core I impero non cedo I don t surrender command of my heart Meglio ad un ache as altra belta To one beauty more than another La costoro avvenenza e qual dono Their charm is the gift Di che il fat one infiora la vita: With which fate gladdens life: S oggi questa mi torna gradita If today one finds favour with me, Forse un altra doman lo sara. Tomorrow it may be another s turn. La constanza, tiranna del core. Constancy that tyrant of the heart Detestiamo qual morbo crudele We detest as a bitter ill. Sol chi vuole si serbi fedele: Let him be faithful who will: Non v ha amor se non v e liberta. There is no love without freedom. De mariti il geloso furore, At husband s jealous fury, Degli amanti le smanie derido At lover s rage, I mock: Anco d Argo I cent occhi disfido I challenge even Argus s hundred eyes Se mi punge una qualche belta. Once any beauty has aroused me. 16 Rigoletto Study Guide

17 THE LIBRETTO AND MUSIC: FIVE LISTENING LESSONS Module Two Rigoletto, the court jester and a sarcastic hunchback, enters and taunts Count Ceprano about his wife s infidelities. Meanwhile it is revealed by Marullo to other courtiers that Rigoletto has a mistress, too. Attention is diverted when Count Monterone storms into court demanding vengeance for the Duke s seduction of his daughter. After the Duke orders him arrested and Rigoletto mocks him, Monterone thunders a father s curse on the jester. Later that evening, in a dark alley outside his house, the superstitious Rigoletto is disturbed by Monterone s curse. He is accosted by Sparafucile, a professional assassin, who offers his services to get rid of the swine he has seen spying on the lady in Rigoletto s house. Sending him off, the jester reflects that he and the assassin have much in common; one kills with words, the other with a sword. Pari siamo! : (YouTube video here) Pari siamo!... io la lingua, egli ha il pugnale; We are alike!... I with my tongue, he with the dagger L uomo son io che ride, ei quell che spegne! I am the man who mocks Quel vecchio maledivami He is the one who slays! The old man cursed me! O uomini!... O natura!... O men!... O nature!... Vil scellerato mi faceste voi!.. You have made me a villan!... O rabbia!...esser difforme!...esser buffone! O fury!...to be misshapen!... to be a jester!... Non dover, non poter altro che ridere! To have, to be able, to do naught but mock! Il retaggio d' ogni uom m'è tolto...il pianto Tears, the consolation of all men. Questo padrone mio, giovin, giocondo, si possente, bello, Are denied me! My master: young, gay, powerful, handsome! Sonnecchiando mi dice: Idly says to me: fa ch' io rida, buffone!... Make me laugh, fool! Forzarmi deggio, e farlo!... Oh dannazione!... And I must force myself to obey! O, torture! Odio a voi, cortigiani schernitori! I loathe you, you sneering courtiers! Quanta in mordervi ho gioia! How I love to sting you! If I am evil you alone are the cause! Se iniquo son, per cagion vostra è solo I am transformed into another man! Ma in altr'uom qui mi cangio!... The old man cursed me Quel vecchio maledivami! Tal pensiero Why does that thought Perchè conturba ognor la mente mia?... Still haunt my mind?.. Mi coglierà sventura?... Ah, no, è follia! Will it come for ill? Ah, no, that is madness! 17 Rigoletto Study Guide

18 THE LIBRETTO AND MUSIC: FIVE LISTENING LESSONS Module Three Inside, Rigoletto greets his lovely daughter Gilda and expresses his love for her. Since his wife has died she is his only family. Secretly he fears that the Duke s courtiers might kidnap Gilda, but Giovanna the housekeeper assures him he can trust her to keep Gilda safe. When Rigoletto goes to meet with the courtiers, the Duke, in disguise as a poor student, sneaks into the garden and bribes Giovanna to allow him to stay. Gilda is attracted to Gaultier Malde and does not suspect he is actually the Duke, but muses on his name and how much it means to her. Caro nome : (YouTube video Here) Gilda: Gualtier Maldè...nome di lui sì amatoscolpisciti nel core innamorato! Gualtier Malde The name of him I adore is engraved on my enamoured heart! Caro nome che il mio cor Dearest name which first festi primo palpitar, Made my heart beat fast le delizie dell'amor You fill my mind mi dêi sempre rammentar! With visions of love s delight Col pensiero il mio desir My thoughts and desires a te ognora volerà, Now fly to you for ever, e pur l' ultimo sospir, And with my last breath caro nome, tuo sarà. I ll utter that sweet name. 18 Rigoletto Study Guide

19 THE LIBRETTO AND MUSIC: FIVE LISTENING LESSONS Module Four When Rigoletto returns, he discovers that his daughter is gone! After determining that she is with the Duke, he rushes to the palace and demands her return. There he is reunited with the apologetic Gilda who explains she trusted the Duke, whom she met at church, and old Monterone, who is being led to prison. After these events, Rigoletto vows to seek vengenance. At the beginning of Act 3, Rigoletto brings Gilda to a run-down inn on the outskirts of town to spy on the Duke, disguised this time as a soldier, through the chink in the wall. There, the Duke sings of the fickleness of women and is diverted by Sparafucile s attractive sister Maddalena. La Donna è mobile is reprised in the closing of the opera, and there the song takes on a darker and more disturbing twist. La Donna è mobile: (YouTube video here) The Duke: La donna è mobile Woman is flighty Qual piuma al vento, Like a feather in the wind, Muta d'accento e di pensiero. She changes her voice and her mind. Sempre un amabile, Always sweet, Leggiadro viso, Pretty face, In pianto o in riso, è menzognero. In tears or in laughter, she is always lying. È sempre misero Always miserable Chi a lei s'affida, Is he who trusts her, Chi le confida mal cauto il cuore! He who confides in her his unwary heart! Pur mai non sentesi Yet one never feels Felice appieno Fully happy Chi su quel seno non liba amore! Who on that bosom does not drink love! 19 Rigoletto Study Guide

20 THE LIBRETTO AND MUSIC: FIVE LISTENING LESSONS Module Five Sparafucile steps outside and asks Rigoletto whether he wants this man killed. Rigoletto says he will come back later and close the deal. Alone with Maddelena inside the inn, the Duke tries to make advances on her as the unseen Gilda looks on in anguish. It is then Rigoletto sets the plans in motion for his revenge on the Duke, unaware that these will lead to his and Gilda s ultimate downfall. Verdi s Bella figlia dell amore is considered to be one of the most famous and skillfully constructed quartets in opera history. Bella figlia dell amore : (YouTube video here) English DUKE Fairest daughter of love, I am a slave to your charms; with but a single word you could relieve my every pain. Come, touch my breast and feel how my heart is racing. MADDALENA Ah! Ah! That really makes me laugh; talk like that is cheap enough. Believe me, I know exactly what such play?acting is worth! I, my fine sir, am quite accustomed to foolish jokes like this. GILDA Ah, these are the loving words the scoundrel spoke once to me! O wretched heart betrayed do not break for sorrow. RIGOLETTO to Gilda Hush weeping can do no good... You are now convinced he was lying. Hush, and leave it up to me to hasten our revenge. It will be quick, it will be deadly, I know how to deal with him. Listen to me, go home. Take some money and a horse, Put on the men's clothes I provided, then leave at once for Verona. I shall meet you there tomorrow. GILDA Come with me now. RIGOLETTO It's impossible. GILDA I'm afraid. RIGOLETTO Go! Italian DUCA Bella figlia dell'amore, Schiavo son dei vezzi tuoi; Con un detto sol tu puoi Le mie pene consolar. Vieni e senti del mio core Il frequente palpitar. MADDALENA Ah! ah! rido ben di core, Che tai baie costan poco Quanto valga il vostro gioco, Mel credete, so apprezzar. Son avvezza, bel signore, Ad un simile scherzar. GILDA Ah, così parlar d'amore A me pur intame ho udito! Infelice cor tradito, Per angoscia non scoppiar. RIGOLETTO a Gilda Taci, il piangere non vale... Ch'ei mentiva sei sicura. Taci, e mia sarà la cura La vendetta d'affrettar. Sì, pronta fia, sarà fatale, Io saprollo fulminar. M'odi! ritorna a casa. Oro prendi, un destriero Una veste viril che t'apprestai, E per Verona parti. Sarovvi io pur doman. GILDA Or venite... RIGOLETTO Impossibil. GILDA Tremo. RIGOLETTO Va'. 20 Rigoletto Study Guide

21 FOR TEACHERS Dear Teachers and parents, Rigoletto is an opera rich in content, both entertaining and educational. In addition to the information found in this study guide, I am including an activity to help you bring this content to your classroom according to your students needs. One of the best ways to encourage critical thinking in the arts is to encourage students honesty and draw out the detail of their opinions. After you have seen the opera with your students: Write or record a newspaper, radio or television review. Begin with researching reviews on notable opera websites. Some good places to look are: and Have the students consider some of these questions: -Did you find the opera entertaining? Moving? Funny? When? Why? -Was there an outstanding performance for you? Describe. -What parts of the opera engaged you? What parts did not? Why? Be specific. -Did you notice a particular element of the opera? (costumes, scenery, orchestra etc.) -Present your review with a partner in the form of Ebert and Roeper show and give it thumbs up or down, or write a newspaper review for your school or community newspaper. Record a radio review or podcast about the opera. 21 Rigoletto Study Guide

22 REFERENCES Batta, Andras. Opera. Composers, Works, Performers. Cologne: Konemann Verlagsgesellschaft, 2000 Cantoni, Linda and Schwarm, Betsy, Rigoletto: Opera by Verdi. [accessed March 6, 2019]. Hopkins, Kate, Opera Essential: Verdi s Rigoletto. [accessed March 6, 2019]. Hussey, Dyneley and Kerman, Joseph, Giuseppe Verdi: Italian Composer. [accessed March 6, 2019]. Ganeri, Anita and Barber, Nicola. The Young Person s Guide to the Opera. London: Pavilion Books Ltd., 2001 Grout, Donald Jay. A Short History of Opera. Columbia University Press, Martin, George. The Opera Companion. London: John Murray Publishers, 1984 New England Conservatory, Robert Tweten: Music Director, Opera Studies. [accessed March 8, 2019]. Opera Quotations. Edited by Claire Lipscomb. Watford: Exley Publications Ltd, 1998 Orrey, Leslie. A Concise History Of Opera. London: Thames and Hudson Ltd, 1972 Parker, Stephen L., Francesco Maria Piave. [accessed March 6, 2019]. opera.stanford.edu/librettists/piave.html ROH Convent Garden. [accessed March 6, 2019]. Walsh, Michael. Who s Afraid of Opera? Simon & Schuster, Rigoletto Study Guide