Organization

Conductor

Diego Matheuz

Stage director

Daniele Abbado

Set designer

Alison Chitty

Costume designer

Chorus master

Claudio Marino Moretti

Choreographer

Simona Bucci

Lighting designer

Valerio Alfieri

Collaborating director

Boris Stetka

Singer

Tenor

Eric Cutler

The Duke of Mantua

Baritone

Roberto Frontali

Rigoletto

Soprano

Ekaterina Sadovnikova

Gilda

Bass

Gianluca Buratto

Sparafucile

Contralto

Daniela Innamorati

Maddalena

Mezzo-soprano

Rebeka Lokar

Giovanna

Alberto Rota

The Count of Monterone

Armando Gabba

Marullo

Iorio Zennaro

Matteo Borsa

Luca Dall'Amico

The Count of Ceprano

Elena Traversi

The Countess of Ceprano

Salvatore Giacalone

A court usher

Gionata Marton

Anna Malvasio

A page

Emanuela Conti

I Teatri di Reggio Emilia

Teatro La Fenice

Orchestra

Orchestra Del Teatro La Fenice

Reggio Emilia

Italy

Teatro Municipale Valli

Private

Public

Approved

In the history of Italian opera Rigoletto has curious precedents, certainly unknown to Verdi, since the studies on seventeenth-century melodrama are recent. For example, the figure of the court jester appears in various works, at times enjoying a certain freedom of language in a satirical sense, such as Antonio Cesti's Momo (bass) of the Golden Apple (Vienna 1668). More singular is that in Francesco Cavalli's Jason (Venice 1649) a character, Oreste, sings a song about the fickleness of women ("Fiero amor dell'Alma tormenta") in which the second verse begins "It's reading the feather in the wind", thus anticipating "The woman is mobile / like a feather in the wind" of the Duke of Mantua.
It should now be remembered that between 11 March 1851 and 6 March 1853, that is, in two years, Verdi gave the scenes Rigoletto, Trovatore and Traviata, which are, in all probability, his most popular operas. What is striking about Rigoletto, compared to previous works, is first of all the speed with which events take place, without however affecting the characterization of the environment and of the characters. He will look bitterly at Rigoletto in the second act, after having comforted Gilda 'dishonored' by the duke: «And everything could change in one day». The rhythm of the first act is particularly striking. After the prelude, there is the ballad "This or that" and the duet with the Countess of Ceprano, which are already a complete scenic-musical representation of the duke. Similarly, the first sentence of Rigoletto, "In your head, Signor di Ceprano", expresses the provocative attitudes that the court jester allows himself at the expense of the courtiers. In turn, with the arrival of Marullo, the courtiers learn that a woman lives in Rigoletto's house and, mistaking her for her lover, they prepare revenge. All this has a pressing melodic representation, the rhythm of which is held back only by the entrance of Monterone and by his fatal curse.
An evident sign of Verdi's evolution compared to previous operas, in terms of setting and, at the same time, of hatching of the characters, is the Rigoletto-Sparafucile encounter in the following scene. The melody of a cello and a double bass - subdued, muted - emerges on the 'detached' of the winds and on the 'pizzicati' of the strings; and it is dark, sinister, like the phrases that the two characters exchange. As for Rigoletto's "Pari Siamo", which develops over continuous changes of tempo, the play of an equally iridescent kind of melodic declamation is evident. Here, however, a contrast arises between what was mythical for the public and what the 'toscanisation' of conductors has sanctioned. Until recently the baritones used to emit a high sol on "madness", instead of the natural low I predicted by Verdi. The scenic effect was remarkable, but it detracted from another particular effect foreseen by the composer, since the applause that rewarded the high note of the baritone overlapped the spectacular burst of the Allegro vivo in full orchestra, which coincides precisely with the 'a' of « madness »and with the enthusiasm with which Gilda, on her first appearance on the scene, throws herself into her father's arms. The duet that follows alternates moments of breathless excitement, such as the initial Allegro vivo introduced by the full orchestra ("Figlia!", "Mio padre"), with others of relaxed and affectionate singing: thus the Andante "Deh, do not speak to the misero ", a nostalgic melody by Rigoletto to which Gilda responds with anxious phrases, in unison with the first oboe and first violin. This duet proceeds with transitions in tone, such as the vehement "Cult, family, homeland / my universe is in you", whose hyperbolic emphasis horrified the lovers of Rossini's courtly composure. But Verdi aimed at scenic eloquence, which, moreover, did not preclude broad melodies of warm affection like the "Vigil, o donna, questo fiore" addressed to Giovanna, the 'keeper' of Gilda. At this point the duke reappears, overturning the romantic principle of the tenor victim of the baritone (that is to say of the young hero, rich in virtue, bent by the shrewd virulence of a mature man), rising moreover, given the breadth of his part, almost as a co-star. Monterone first, then Gilda and Rigoletto are his victims; consciously, it should be added. When the duke, having entered the house of Rigoletto with Giovanna's complicity, listens to the last part of the baritone-soprano duet and learns that Gilda is the daughter of his court jester, he limits himself to a single laconic comment, "Your daughter!" . Despite this, the public has always favored the cynical Gallicism of the Duke of Mantua, who among other things, unlike Mozart's Don Giovanni, always comes out satisfied with his adventures. But the duke seems, at first, genuinely in love with Gilda. Indeed it is, so much Gilda differs from his usual conquests. Hence the passionate "It is the sun of the soul, life is love" and the candid answer of Gilda ("Ah, these are my virgin dreams"). The emphatic final squeeze ("Farewell, farewell, hope and soul") poses the problem that invests so much of Verdi's opera. Apparent musical carelessness, but nevertheless adherence to the scenic effect; since Gilda's candor is as though overwhelmed by the duke's dialectic. Gilda's famous "Caro Nome" follows. Here Verdi refers, conceptually, but with greater sagacity, to another Allegro moderato, that of the aria "Lo vidi e il primo palpito" by the protagonist of Luisa Miller (Naples 1849). Here too the words broken by pauses evoke the tumultuous beating of the heart. But in "Caro Nome", apart from the most attractive melodic invention, there are also very short trills, a joyful expression of a teenager's first love. Nonetheless, the warbling and ornamentation of "Caro Nome" go towards the so-called light or 'coloratura' sopranos, while other moments would require more vocal expansion. It is a question that has been debated for some time and that calls into question, among other things, the most methodical technical preparation of the sopranos of the middle of the last century, in whose ranks, on a pure vocal level, versatility was usual. Verdi composed the part of Gilda for Teresina Brambilla, who alternated Sonnambula and Puritani with Ernani, Nabucco, Attila, and who in 1851, at the Fenice in Venice, performed Lucia di Lammermoor and Luisa Miller before Rigoletto.
Rigoletto also boasts a prominent choral part. The "Zitti, zitti, let's move a revenge" of the courtiers who kidnap Gilda is a strongly rhythmic Allegro, while immediately after, at the end of the first act, it is the orchestra that outlines Rigoletto's desperation. The scene and aria of the duke who opens the second act, unlike the other 'solos' of this character, adheres to the ritual structure: recitative ("Ella mi era rapita"), Adagio ("I see my tears") and cabaletta ( Allegro "Possente amor calls me"), postponed from the chorus "Scorrendo united remote via" of the courtiers. Even if the recitative and the Adagio are noteworthy and dear to the public (not so the cabaletta, which is more often than not suppressed in normal performances), it is evident that it is a tribute to tenorism, however followed by fundamental scenes. The initial, simulated vehemence of "Courtiers, vil damned race", which then changes into an appeal ("My lords, forgiveness, pietade") iterated by the English horn accompanied only by strings; the sudden entry of Gilda, while winds and strings break out in an Allegro; the pathetic tale "All Feasts in the Temple"; the excited "Only for me infamy" by Rigoletto, followed by the heartfelt "Cry, cry, girl" follow one another with extraordinary continuity of inspiration, and then break out in Allegro vivo "Yes, revenge, tremendous revenge": sensational, blatant, primordial in some respects, but theatrically overwhelming.
The third act is marked by a melodic inventiveness thanks to which setting and events proceed simultaneously, albeit with marked contrasts of tone. The disconsolate initial conversation between Rigoletto and Gilda is followed by the electrifying cynicism of the duke's song "La donna è mobile", which Verdi kept secret even after rehearsals had begun and which on the evening of the first performance was 'trissata'. Then a brief, gloomy Rigoletto-Gilda dialogue, but immediately after the amazing quartet Gilda-Maddalena-Duke-Rigoletto, which harmonizes and merges four different moods. Then the storm, with the singular gimmick of the wind mimed shut-mouthed by the male voices of the choir, the Sparafucile-Maddalena dialogue and the extreme sacrifice, while the storm intensifies. Then, as the hurricane dies down, the proud soliloquy of Rigoletto, who believes he has annihilated a powerful man, but is recalled to reality by the Duke's song, who once again intones "La donna è mobile". Finally, the last melody of the agonizing Gilda ("Up there in the sky, close to the mother") and the extreme cry of Rigoletto, evoking the curse of Monterone.

English

Rigoletto by Verdi, From (2011/2011), Directed by Daniele Abbado,, Conductor Diego Matheuz, Teatro Municipale Valli, Reggio Emilia, Italy

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