Rigoletto

January 9, 2025, 6 pm | Sala Musica – Teatro Donizetti

RIGOLETTO AND LUCREZIA BORGIA: VICTOR HUGO FROM DONIZETTI TO VERDI
Counter around the performance Rigoletto

Rapporteurs:
Paolo Fabbri, Livio Aragona and Candida Mantica
from the Donizetti Study Centre of the Donizetti Theatre Foundation

Rigoletto è an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi to a libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on the play by Victor Hugo Le Roi s’amuse (“Il re si diverte”).
With Il trovatore (1853) and La traviata (1853) it forms Verdi's so-called “trilogia popolare”.

Centred on the dramatic and original figure of a court jester, Rigoletto was initially subject to Austrian censorship. The same fate had befallen the original drama Le Roi s’amuse in 1832, which was blocked by the censors and only revived 50 years after its premiere. Hugo's play, which did not please either the public or the critics, depicted in no uncertain terms the debauchery of the French court, with the libertinism of François I, King of France, at its centre. In the opera, the compromise was reached to have the action performed at the court of Mantua, which no longer existed at the time, turning the King of France into the Duke of Mantua.

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On 3 June 1850, Verdi wrote to Piave: «As for the title when it is not possible to keep Le roi s’amuse, which would be nice… the title must necessarily be La maledizione di Vallier, or to be more brief La maledizione. The whole subject è in that curse that also becomes moral. An unhappy father who mourns the honour taken away from his daughter, mocked by a court jester whom the father curses, and this curse seizes the jester in a frightening way, seems to me moral and great, to the utmost greatness. The final decision on the title fell on the name of the protagonist, changing it from Triboletto, a “literal” translation of the original Triboulet, to Rigoletto  (from the French word rigoler, meaning to joke).

Intense drama of passion, betrayal, filial love and revenge, Rigoletto not only offers a combination of melodic richness and dramatic power, but also lucidly highlights social tensions and the subordinate status of women in a reality in which 19th-century audiences could easily mirror themselves.[citation needed] From a musical point of view we have, right from the prelude, the constant repetition of the theme of the curse, through the repetition of the note C in a double dotted rhythm.

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Direction notes

Rigoletto, hunchbacked court jester, desperately tries to keep the existence of his daughter Gilda a secret from the courtiers, many of whom wish to take revenge on him for his cruel mockery. Gilda, unaware of the pitfalls of the world around her, falls in love with the frivolous and inconstant Duke of Mantua, believing him to be a poor student. The Duke, with cunning and deception, breaks into Rigoletto's house to passionately court Gilda, exploiting her innocence and naivety. Later, the Duke's courtiers kidnap Gilda, believing her to be Rigoletto's lover, and bring her to court. Gilda, seduced and betrayed by the Duke, falls into despair, while Rigoletto, consumed by rage and grief, vows to avenge the wrong he has suffered. For this, he hires a hitman, Sparafucile, to kill the Duke. However, in a tragic twist, Gilda, still in love with the Duke despite everything, sacrifices herself in his place, taking his place and dying
stabbed. Rigoletto è is a complex character, whose disabled body makes him an object of ridicule and marginalisation. His physical condition does not meet the standards of normalcy and social acceptability, forcing him to live as an outcast in a cruel world. To survive, Rigoletto exploits his disability, turning it into a macabre spectacle that amuses and disgusts the Duke's court. This compromise allows him to be included as a member of the court, but at the price of his own dignity and humanity. Trapped in this social stranglehold, Rigoletto oscillates between self-shame, over-protectionism towards his daughter Gilda, and a deep desire for revenge against the Duke, whom he considers responsible for his suffering.
The concept of RIGOLETTO is built around the theme of the Rift, which emerges strongly in every aspect of the opera, from the characters to the sets and costumes. The term Spaccatura, derived from the Longobard spahhan, means to cleave, to create cracks in something. Verdi, with this opera, casts a critical light on a deeply flawed, corrupt and divided society, where the absence of morality towards women, the lack of compassion towards different bodies, and the unbridled pursuit of personal power at the cost of corruption and favouritism, reveal a world in which human values have been irreparably compromised. The concept of the production is not intended to be a simple act of denunciation, but rather an invitation to a profound reflection on our contemporary society, on our blind spots and on the cracks that we still have to heal today.
In this interpretation, the Rift becomes not only a narrative theme, but also a visual and symbolic element that permeates the entire staging. The sets, designed by Francesca Sgariboldi, play with broken lines and transparencies, creating an atmosphere of tension and uncertainty that reflects the characters' tormented souls. Laurent Pellissier's costumes, made with recycled materials and upcycling techniques such as patchwork and Japanese boro-boro, accentuate this division, using shapes and colours that clearly separate the world of the court, opulent and decadent, from that of Rigoletto, dark and deformed. Cristian Zucaro's lighting also contributes to emphasising the emotional and moral fractures of the opera, with plays of shadow and cuts of light that amplify the sense of unease and alienation.

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