History Theatre / Rigoletto

''Rigoletto'' (1851) is an opera by Music/GiuseppeVerdi (based on the play ''Le roi s'amuse'' or ''Theatre/TheKingAmusesHimself'' (1832) by Creator/VictorHugo) about the Duke of Mantua, a HandsomeLech if ever there was one, and his hunchbacked jester [[CharacterTitle Rigoletto]], a DeadpanSnarker whose quips hit a little too close to home. The opera opens with the Duke plotting the seduction of a young beauty he met in church while gossips whisper that Rigoletto has found a mistress. Count Monterone, whose daughter was seduced by the Duke, comes to complain of her ruined virtue, and the Duke, on Rigoletto's [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong blithe advice]], shuts him up by [[DisproportionateRetribution having him executed]]. Monterone pronounces a curse on them both, and the other courtiers resolve to revenge themselves on Rigoletto for his callous jokes. On his way home from work, Rigoletto also runs into a ProfessionalKiller, Sparafucile, who offers his services in removing anyone Rigoletto might find inconvenient. Now, finally, enter TheIngenue, TheChick and TheHeart: Gilda, the woman who is simultaneously: the woman believed to be Rigoletto's mistress; the beautiful girl the Duke met at church; and, [[{{Masquerade}} unbeknownst to everyone]], Rigoletto's [[AchillesHeel daughter]].

* FaintInShock: Rigoletto himself when he realizes his daughter has been kidnapped; and again in the end, after [[spoiler:she dies in his arms.]]

* MissingMom: Gilda's mother died somehow. It isn't particularly explained, though since Gilda doesn't remember her, it may have been DeathByChildbirth.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: Sparafucile rejects Maddalena's suggestion that they take Rigoletto's money and let the Duke go, saying that he never cheats his customers.

* HypocriticalHumor: The love-'em-and-leave-'em Duke is the one claiming that "[[YourCheatingHeart Woman Is Fickle]]"? ([[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation Alternatively]], he's just using this as [[AllWomenAreLustful his excuse]] for his philandering ways, at which point he is still a jerkass but no longer a hypocrite.)

* AdaptationalNameChange: While this opera plays most of the story of the original Victor Hugo play straight just about everyone got a name change.

[[caption-width-right:350:Poster advertising the premiere peformance]]

* RapeAsDrama

* MsFanservice: Maddalena in many productions. Just see [[http://www.antonellacolaianni.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/rigoletto_antonella_colaianni_005.jpg Antonella Colaianni]], [[https://chicagoontheaisle.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Giuseppe-Filianoti-as-the-Duke-and-Nicole-Piccolomini-as-Maddalena-in-Rigoletto-at-Lyric-Opera-Chicago-2013-credit-Dan-Rest..jpg Nicole Piccolomini]], [[http://archives.metoperafamily.org/Imgs/Rigoletto1011b.15.jpg Kirstin Chávez]], [[http://www.margarita-gritskova.com/gallery/190/gallery9-2-18-08-2018-17-35-01.jpg Margarita Gritskova]], and [[http://archives.metoperafamily.org/Imgs/Rigoletto0506.13.jpg Nancy Fabiola Herrera's]] versions.

* KarmaHoudini: The Duke. Particularly interesting in that Count Monterone curses ''both'' of them, but only Rigoletto gets any real comeuppance (the Duke is last heard happily singing "La Donna è Mobile" in the distance, oblivious to the (failed) plot on his life).

* MissingMom: Gilda's mother died somehow. It isn't particularly explained.

''Rigoletto'' (1851) is an opera by Music/GiuseppeVerdi (based on the play ''Le roi s'amuse'' (1832) by Creator/VictorHugo) about the Duke of Mantua, a HandsomeLech if ever there was one, and his hunchbacked jester [[CharacterTitle Rigoletto]], a DeadpanSnarker whose quips hit a little too close to home. The opera opens with the Duke plotting the seduction of a young beauty he met in church while gossips whisper that Rigoletto has found a mistress. Count Monterone, whose daughter was seduced by the Duke, comes to complain of her ruined virtue, and the Duke, on Rigoletto's [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong blithe advice]], shuts him up by [[DisproportionateRetribution having him executed]]. Monterone pronounces a curse on them both, and the other courtiers resolve to revenge themselves on Rigoletto for his callous jokes. On his way home from work, Rigoletto also runs into a ProfessionalKiller, Sparafucile, who offers his services in removing anyone Rigoletto might find inconvenient. Now, finally, enter TheIngenue, TheChick and TheHeart: Gilda, the woman who is simultaneously: the woman believed to be Rigoletto's mistress; the beautiful girl the Duke met at church; and, [[{{Masquerade}} unbeknownst to everyone]], Rigoletto's [[AchillesHeel daughter]].

** Then again, his latest conquest is the sister of a hit man. How does he expect that to end?

''Rigoletto'' (1851) is an opera by GiuseppeVerdi (based on the play ''Le roi s'amuse'' (1832) by Creator/VictorHugo) about the Duke of Mantua, a HandsomeLech if ever there was one, and his hunchbacked jester [[CharacterTitle Rigoletto]], a DeadpanSnarker whose quips hit a little too close to home. The opera opens with the Duke plotting the seduction of a young beauty he met in church while gossips whisper that Rigoletto has found a mistress. Count Monterone, whose daughter was seduced by the Duke, comes to complain of her ruined virtue, and the Duke, on Rigoletto's [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong blithe advice]], shuts him up by [[DisproportionateRetribution having him executed]]. Monterone pronounces a curse on them both, and the other courtiers resolve to revenge themselves on Rigoletto for his callous jokes. On his way home from work, Rigoletto also runs into a ProfessionalKiller, Sparafucile, who offers his services in removing anyone Rigoletto might find inconvenient. Now, finally, enter TheIngenue, TheChick and TheHeart: Gilda, the woman who is simultaneously: the woman believed to be Rigoletto's mistress; the beautiful girl the Duke met at church; and, [[{{Masquerade}} unbeknownst to everyone]], Rigoletto's [[AchillesHeel daughter]].

* TenorBoy: PlayingAgainstType. While tenors are typically male ingenues and play TheHero, The Duke is at best morally gray, at worst the BigBad.

* IWantSong and IAmSong: The Duke's opening song, 'Questa o quella' ("This Woman or That"), fits both tropes by identifying the Duke as TheCasanova, a man who lives for the intimate company of women (especially other men's wives).

* EvilSoundsDeep: Zig-zags a ''lot'' among the male characters. Sparafucile's role gives him an F2--just one off from the E2, the lowest note you're ever supposed to ask a human being to sing, and he is evil, but relatively sympathetic. The Duke is a tenor and a villain, and was written as such specifically to invert this trope. Meanwhile, Rigoletto himself is a baritone and relatively sympathetic, but hardly a hero by any stretch. Among the women, it is played completely straight, as Maddalena is a contralto and Gilda a soprano.
** On the

* EvilSoundsDeep: Sparafucile's role gives him an F2--just one off from the E2, the lowest note you're ever supposed to ask a human being to sing.

This is the source of "[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8A3zetSuYRg La Donna è Mobile]]" ("[[HypocriticalHumor Woman is Fickle]]") and "[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2Fx4xTgoVQ Cara Nome]]" ("[[LoveAtFirstSight Cherished Name]]"), two of the most famous opera tunes. Beautiful music and tragic love, what else does an opera need?

''Rigoletto'' is an 1851 opera by GiuseppeVerdi (based on the 1832 play ''Le roi s'amuse'' by Creator/VictorHugo) about the Duke of Mantua, a HandsomeLech if ever there was one, and his hunchbacked jester [[CharacterTitle Rigoletto]], a DeadpanSnarker whose quips hit a little too close to home. The opera opens with the Duke plotting the seduction of a young beauty he met in church while gossips whisper that Rigoletto has found a mistress. Count Monterone, whose daughter was seduced by the Duke, comes to complain of her ruined virtue, and the Duke, on Rigoletto's [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong blithe advice]], shuts him up by [[DisproportionateRetribution having him executed]]. Monterone pronounces a curse on them both, and the other courtiers resolve to revenge themselves on Rigoletto for his callous jokes. On his way home from work, Rigoletto also runs into a ProfessionalKiller, Sparafucile, who offers his services in removing anyone Rigoletto might find inconvenient. Now, finally, enter TheIngenue, TheChick and TheHeart: Gilda, the woman who is simultaneously: the woman believed to be Rigoletto's mistress; the beautiful girl the Duke met at church; and, [[{{Masquerade}} unbeknownst to everyone]], Rigoletto's [[AchillesHeel daughter]].

''Rigoletto'' is an opera by GiuseppeVerdi about the Duke of Mantua, a HandsomeLech if ever there was one, and his hunchbacked jester [[CharacterTitle Rigoletto]], a DeadpanSnarker whose quips hit a little too close to home. The opera opens with the Duke plotting the seduction of a young beauty he met in church while gossips whisper that Rigoletto has found a mistress. Count Monterone, whose daughter was seduced by the Duke, comes to complain of her ruined virtue, and the Duke, on Rigoletto's [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong blithe advice]], shuts him up by [[DisproportionateRetribution having him executed]]. Monterone pronounces a curse on them both, and the other courtiers resolve to revenge themselves on Rigoletto for his callous jokes. On his way home from work, Rigoletto also runs into a ProfessionalKiller, Sparafucile, who offers his services in removing anyone Rigoletto might find inconvenient. Now, finally, enter TheIngenue, TheChick and TheHeart: Gilda, the woman who is simultaneously: the woman believed to be Rigoletto's mistress; the beautiful girl the Duke met at church; and, [[{{Masquerade}} unbeknownst to everyone]], Rigoletto's [[AchillesHeel daughter]].

''Rigoletto'' is an opera by GiuseppeVerdi about the Duke of Mantua, a HandsomeLech if ever there was one, and his hunchbacked jester [[CharacterTitle Rigoletto]], a DeadpanSnarker whose quips hit a little too close to home. The opera opens with the Duke plotting the seduction of a young beauty he met in church while gossips whisper that Rigoletto has found a mistress. Count Monterone, whose daughter was seduced by the Duke, comes to complain of her ruined virtue, and the Duke, on Rigoletto's [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong blithe advice]], shuts him up by [[DisproportionateRetribution having him executed]]. Monterone pronounces a curse on them both, and the other courtiers resolve to revenge themselves on Rigoletto for his callous jokes. On his way home from work, Rigoletto also runs into a ProfessionalKiller, Sparafucile, who offers his services in removing anyone Rigoletto might find inconvenient. Now, finally, enter TheIngenue, TheChick and TheHeart: Gilda, the woman who is simultaneously: the woman believed to be Rigoletto's mistress; the beautiful girl the Duke met at church; and, [[{{Masquerade}} unbeknowest to everyone]], Rigoletto's [[AchillesHeel daughter]].

This is the source of ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8A3zetSuYRg La Donna è Mobile]]'' ("[[HypocriticalHumor Woman is Fickle]]") and ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2Fx4xTgoVQ Cara Nome]]'' ("[[LoveAtFirstSight Cherished Name]]"), two of the most famous opera tunes. Beautiful music and tragic love, what else does an opera need?

* BatheHerAndBringHerToMe: this is roughly the Count's reaction when he discovers that his court have kidnapped his beloved church-going lass.

* TheCasanova: The Duke

* DiedInYourArmsTonight: Gilda.

* DownerEnding

* EvilSoundsDeep: Sparafucile's role gives him an F2--just one off from the E2, the lowest note you're ever supposed to ask a human being to sing. Having said that, he's also...
* HitmanWithAHeart to at least a degree. He takes his jobs seriously due to his honor, never double-crosses anyone, and cares for his younger sister Maddalena.
** [[GetTheeToANunnery "Sister" and "brother" may be nineteenth-century euphemisms for "prostitute" and "pimp"]].
* HoneyTrap: Maddalena.
* HypocriticalHumor: the love-'em-and-leave-'em Duke is the one claiming that "[[YourCheatingHeart Woman Is Fickle]]"? ([[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation Alternatively]], he's just using this as [[AllWomenAreLustful his excuse]] for his philandering ways, at which point he is still a jerkass but no longer a hypocrite.)

* TheIngenue: Gilda

* InstantSeduction: The Count. He's good.
* IronicEcho: "La donna e mobile" is sung for the third time towards the finale... revealing to Rigoletto that the corpse in the boy bag isn't who he thinks it is.

* IWantSong and IAmSong: 'Questa o quella' fits both tropes.
* KarmaHoudini: the Count. Particularly interesting in that the Duke of Monterone curses ''both'' of them, but only Rigoletto gets any real comeuppance.

* LadykillerInLove: the Count tries to imply this about Gilda. He does seem genuinely concerned when he discovers she's been kidnapped. (At first, that is.)

* MonsterClown: Rigoletto is neither cheerful nor good-looking.
** SadClown: And his story? Pure drama.

* TheUglyGuysHotDaughter: Gilda, again.
** Also implied with Count Monterone's (unseen) daughter.
* VillainSong: ''La Donna e Mobile,'' the Duke's self-justification for forcing himself on every fickle woman he meets.