What is the famous quartet from Rigoletto?

The Act 3 Quartet
The Act 3 Quartet from Verdi’s Rigoletto performed by Joshua Guerrero (The Duke), Nicholas Pallesen (Rigoletto), Sydney Mancasola (Gilda) and Madeleine Shaw (Maddalena).

What is the story behind the opera Rigoletto?

Rigoletto follows the Duke to a tavern where he drinks and flirts with the Maddalena – the assassin Sparafucile’s seductive sister. Gilda watches her unfaithful lover and is heartbroken. Rigoletto sends he home to Verona, disguising her first as a man for her safety.

What characters sing the quartet in Rigoletto?

The world’s biggest opera stars showing us how it’s done once more in the Act III quartet from Verdi’s Rigoletto. Sherrill Milnes, Huguette Tourangeau, Dame Joan Sutherland and Luciano Pavarotti are the voices of the four singers played by Maggie Smith, Tom Courtenay, Pauline Collins, and Billy Connolly.

Who was the composer of the opera Rigoletto?

Rigoletto, opera in three acts by Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi (Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave) that premiered at La Fenice opera house in Venice on March 11, 1851. Based closely on the controversial 1832 play Le Roi s’amuse ( The King Amuses Himself; also performed in English as The King’s Fool) by Victor Hugo,…

Which is the best ARIA in Verdi’s Rigoletto?

Each of the three remains a staple of the operatic repertoire. The opera’s best-known aria is “La donna è mobile,” in which the womanizing Duke of Mantua muses upon the fickleness of women. Verdi had agreed in 1850 to write an opera for La Fenice in Venice, where Piave, one of his favourite librettists, was the resident poet.

Who was the court jester in the Rigoletto quartet?

Rigoletto, Gilda’s father and the Duke’s court jester, was seen a few minutes ago telling the innkeeper (who moonlights as an assassin) that he hasn’t yet decided whether he wants the Duke killed. In the quartet, when Gilda finally admits what a despicable cad the Duke is and Rigoletto promises to avenge her, we know exactly what he has in mind.

When was the premiere of the ballet Rigoletto?

Rigoletto premiered on 11 March 1851 in a sold-out La Fenice as the first part of a double bill with Giacomo Panizza’s ballet Faust. Gaetano Mares conducted, and the sets were designed and executed by Giuseppe Bertoja and Francesco Bagnara.