Soundtracks:
Wall Street
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Spider's Strategy
The burbs
China Girl
The Road to Wellville
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Rigoletto
Kind: Serious opera in three acts
Language: Italian
Location: the Duke of Mantua's palace
Time: 16th century
Hits: La
donna è mobile, Caro nome, La vendetta
Rigoletto, among Verdi's most popular operas, is the one that made him
immortal. On its opening night, on March 11, 1851, listeners fell in love
with Verdi and his music, and they would never turn their back on him ever
again. He would become Italy's beloved composer. Unlike previous operas
he composed, whose text was poor and failed to compete with Verdi's music,
this is the first opera where the libretto is of a high level and that
presents true drama. The opera was formed on the basis of Victor Hugo's
play, "Le Roi s'amuse" (1832).
The opera's plot is not quite inspiring. Gilda is the secret daughter
of the hunchback Rigoletto, the court jester of the corrupt Duke of Mantua.
She has a secret wooer, the Duke himself, interested in another conquest,
so to speak. When the duke's assistant plays a prank and kidnaps Gilda,
Rigoletto hires an assassin to kill the Duke. But Gilda, confused by love,
is shot instead of him, and dies. The Duke remains intact.
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