CAST REFLECTIONS ON RIGOLETTO

Of course, the whole opera is filled with some of the greatest music ever written.  What affects me most about the piece, I think, is the relationship between Rigoletto and his daughter, Gilda.  She loves her father completely but, like many a naive young person, is overwhelmed by the experience of first love.  Rigoletto loves her just as much…perhaps too much.  In the end, his desire to protect her from the evil he has seen in the world seals both their fates. 

The story may seem implausible to some but, at its core, it is a reflection of the struggles we face each day as human beings.  I am honored and excited to be a part of Montana Lyric Opera's upcoming production.

Brandon McReynolds (singing the role of the Duke of Mantua): This particular performance is very special to me for two reasons. This will be my first performance of the Duke, a role that I have always dreamed of doing since I started taking voice lessons.  Secondly -- and most importantly -- I will be on stage with my wife (Monica Yunus, as Gilda; the two married just last month) in a Verdi opera.  It doesn't get any better than that!

Jeffrey Kitto (singing the role of Borsa; Kitto hails from Bozeman): It’s always special to perform close to home.  It’s amazing that Montana has the quality of people that allow opera to thrive in such a low-population density area.

Susan Salas (singing the role of Maddalena): Maddalena is one of the great ‘bad girls’ of opera.  Even though she doesn’t appear until late, she manages to destroy Rigoletto’s life by realizing the curse that was brought down on Rigoletto in the first act.  She also saves the life of the Duke, the most worthless person in the opera.  In essence, she acts as the lynchpin of the plot, which is unusual for a character who is only in three scenes!

It’s incredibly enjoyable to play someone who truly has no morals or scruples.  It is one of the great pleasures of being a mezzo.  We don’t have to be winsome or likeable.  We can behave in ways that would make us (and others) shudder in real life.

SYNOPSIS:

Another courtier, Marullo, appears with juicy gossip: Rigoletto, it seems, is keeping a mistress at his home. The Duke and Rigoletto return, plotting to get rid of Ceprano. Rigoletto suggests beheading him; after all, he jokes, “What can one do with a head like that?” Ceprano and the other courtiers are outraged. They vow revenge on Rigoletto, that very night.

The voice of the Count Monterone is heard outside. He has come to dress down the Duke for seducing his daughter. Rigoletto makes fun of him with mock sincerity. Monterone curses both the Duke and Rigoletto. The Duke commands his arrest, and the courtiers bemoan the rude interruption of their festivities. Rigoletto is nonetheless terrified by the Count’s curse.

Later that night, Rigoletto arrives at his home, still preoccupied by the curse. He is approached by an assassin, Sparafucile, who offers him his services. Rigoletto turns him away; but after Sparafucile leaves, the jester reflects on the similarity of their jobs: One kills with a sword, the other with words.

Alone with her nurse, Gilda regrets not telling her father of the man who follows her home from church every Sunday. Suddenly, he appears: It is the Duke, though he claims to be a poor student. After initially resisting his overtures, Gilda professes her love to him. When Giovanna hears voices on the street, the Duke departs, and Gilda swoons with love.

Meantime, outside, the courtiers have arrived and are spying on Gilda, whom they assume to be Rigoletto’s mistress. As they plot to kidnap her, Rigoletto returns. The courtiers convince him they are plotting to kidnap the Countess Ceprano, for the pleasure of the Duke. Rigoletto agrees to help out. Pretending to mask the jester, the courtiers blindfold him, and task him to hold their ladder. Just as Gilda is dragged away, she cries out, and Rigoletto discovers the deceit.

ACT II: In a hall of his palace, the Duke bemoans the loss of Gilda – the one woman he believes could awaken in him “the flame of constant love.” The courtiers arrive to tell the Duke of their prank against Rigoletto; the Duke realizes that they have, in fact, kidnapped Gilda and brought her to his palace. He departs to find her, and Rigoletto arrives, feebly pretending to be his jesting self.

A servant of the Duchess enters, announcing that she wishes to speak to her husband. As the courtiers make up excuses for the philandering Duke, Rigoletto deduces that his master is with Gilda, and reveals to the courtiers that she is, in fact, his daughter. Rigoletto begs the callous men to release her. His pleas fall on deaf ears, but just then Gilda bursts into the room, begging his forgiveness for not revealing to him the Duke’s deceitful overtures. Rigoletto runs off the courtiers, and father and daughter pour out their grief. Monterone is led past them on his way to prison, and Rigoletto vows that he will be avenged. Gilda begs her father to forgive the Duke.

ACT III: Night on the bank of the River Mincio, at a dilapidated tavern run by the assassin Sparafucile. Outside, Gilda continues to beg forgiveness from her father, who refuses to believe that she shares the bond of love with the Duke. Rigoletto has set up a trap. The Duke arrives in the tavern, disguised as a young soldier; as Gilda watches, he asks for a glass of wine and Sparafucile’s sister, Maddalena, with whom he intends to spend the night. Sparafucile disappears to fetch the wine, and the Duke sings his famous tune, “La Donna e Mobile,” about the fickleness of women.

Sparafucile returns and summons his daughter. As Gilda listens, the Duke swears his love for Maddalena and asks for her hand in marriage. Rigoletto commands Gilda to return home, don a disguise, and meet him in Verona the next day. Rigoletto then pays the assassin to deliver to him the Duke’s body in a sack at midnight. Maddalena, however, has fallen under the Duke’s spell, and begs her brother to spare him. The assassin, with Rigoletto’s gold in hand, cannot go back on his word; he is not, he reminds her, a robber. The two agree that if someone else should appear before midnight, Sparafucile will kill him instead.

Gilda, who has returned, overhears the plan and decides to sacrifice herself. She enters the tavern, and is murdered as a storm rages outside. Rigoletto returns, and Sparafucile delivers the body in a sack. Rigoletto drags the body to the river, but just then hears the voice of the Duke. Cutting open the sack, he discovers his daughter, who is gasping her last breaths. She dies in his arms, and Rigoletto once again reflects on the curse that has taken away all that he loves.

synopsis copyright 2009 Joe Nickell

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