Rigoletto insists on his protective measures towards his daughter Gilda, and commands Giovanna to ensure that the girl does not leave the tower for any reason other than to attend the church on Sunday.
Rigoletto:
Ah, veglia, o donna, questo fiore
che a te puro confidai;
veglia, attenta, e non fia mai
che s’offuschi il suo candor.
Tu dei venti dal furore
ch’altri fiori hanno piegato,
lo difendi, e immacolato
lo ridona al genitor.
O woman. watch over this flower
entrusted, pure, to your keeping;
be vigilant, that nothing may ever
sully its purity.
From the fury of the winds
that have broken other flowers,
protect her, and unstained
restore her to her father.
Nevertheless, Gilda, although appreciating of his father's care, remains irritated with all the pointles prohibitions (2:22), as she does not understand that Rigoletto fears her kidnapping by the courtiers in revenge. She does not reveal she has met a man in church.
Gilda comes out of the house and throws herself into Rigoletto's arms. When she begs him to tell he about her early life, or at least the name of her mother, he pours out the sorrow of his lost love. Anxiously he forbids Gilda ever to leave the house, and orders the housekeeper Giovanna to guard her.
Rigoletto is a melodrama in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi and libretto by Francesco Maria Piave based on the drama Le Roi s’amuse by Victor Hugo. Originally named La Maledizione (“The Curse”), had a triumphant premiere in La Fenice in 1851, where people where allegedly singing “La donna è mobile” on the streets the following day.
Brief synopsis of Rigoletto (spoiler alert): Rigoletto is the story of Rigoletto, a jester in the palace of Duke of Mantua, whose beloved daughter, Gilda, whom he overprotects as the gift of his only love affair, is seduced by the Duke of Mantua, among many others. One of which was the daughter of Count of Monterone, who confronts the Duke and gets cruelly mocked by Rigoletto on its failure to defend his daughter’s honour. Enraged by the jester, Monterone casts a curse on Rigoletto. This is the main leit motiv of the work and will define the fatal ending. In revenge, Gilda is kidnapped by courtisans and taken to the palace, where she is raped by the Duke of Mantua. Rigoletto plans his own vengeance by hiring the hitman Sparafucile to murder the Duke. But Gilda, still madly in love with the Duke, hands herself to Sparafucile to die in his place. Finally, when Rigoletto comes to throw the corpse to whom he believes to be the Duke to the river, is astonished to hear the tune of such in the distance (“La donna é mobile”) and snaps in horror when discovers the body of Gilda inside the stead by the Monterone curse came to fruition.
Full Libretto: [ Ссылка ]
Cast: Ingvar Wixell as Rigoletto and Count of Monterone, Luciano Pavarotti as Duke of Mantua, Edita Gruberova as Gilda, Ferruccio Furlanetto as Sparafucile, Victoria Vergara as Maddalena, Fedora Barbieri as Giovanna, Bernd Weikl as Marullo, Remy Corazza as Borsa, Roland Bracht as Count of Ceprano and Kathleen Kuhlmann as Countess of Ceprano.
Wiener Philharmoniker, directed by Jean-Pierre Ponnelle, 1981.
If you enjoyed this, please like and subscribe!!
👉 [ Ссылка ]
