rigoletto essays

rigoletto essays I attended the opera Rigoletto at the New York State Theater. Rigoletto was composed by Giuseppe Verdi and it was first performed in 1851, during the Romantic period. Act I of Rigoletto starts out in duple meter and sounds very dramatic, as if something dark and mysterious is going to happen. I think the dynamics play a role in this mood because of the constant changing from loud to soft. This act starts with an overture since the beginning is instrumental. All of a sudden, still in duple meter, the music turns lively as if the first part had nothing to do with it and the texture becomes homophonic as the opera singers come in. The music is lively because the Duke is holding a party. At the party, the Duke leaves with the Countess of Ceprano and Rigoletto, the court jester, starts making fun of the Count of Ceprano. The Count gets angry and hears that Rigoletto has a young lover so the Count plans to kidnap her. Towards the end of the party, the Count of Monterone enters and accuses the Duke of seducing his daughter. The Duke has him arrested and Rigoletto makes fun of him also. The Count then sings an aria where he is cursing both Rig oletto and the Duke. After the party, Rigoletto goes home to Gilda, who is really his daughter, not his lover. He talks to her for a while and then leaves. The Duke then enters and, posing as a student, seduces Gilda until he hears some noises outside and leaves. Upon his departure, Gilda sings an aria in coloratura about her new lover. The noise happens to come from the men who are planning to kidnap Rigolettos lover. Rigoletto returns unexpectedly so they blindfold him and lead him to believe that they are kidnapping the Countess of Ceprano for the Duke. The act ends with the trumpets in full blast as Rigoletto hears his daughter calling for help and he realizes what has happened. In Act II, the music starts out in duple meter, changes to triple meter, and goe...