The subject cannot fail!' exulted Verdi, when recommending Victor Hugo's play Le Roi s'amuse to his librettist. But the censors made every effort to stop it, and the baritone was not easily convinced that a hunchback role would suit him. Jonathan Keates gives a vivid insight into the composition of a masterpiece. Verdi long afterwards thought it his best work, and Roger Parker explains why. Peter Nichols, author of several bestselling books in Italy, picks out some of the peculiarly Italian attitudes and characters in the opera which make it timeless - and incredibly modern.Contents: Introduction, Jonathan Keates; Musical Commentary, Roger Parker; The Timelessness of 'Rigoletto', Peter Nichols; Rigoletto: Text by Francesco Maria Piave after Victor Hugo's 'Le Roi s'amuse'; Rigoletto: English translation by James Fenton

A renowned Verdi authority offers here the often-astounding first history of how Verdi's early operas -- including one of his great masterpieces, Rigoletto -- made their way into America's musical life.

Discusses the background of the opera, synopsis of the plot, music, survey of performances, chronology and major compositions by Verdi.

Based upon a play by Victor Hugo, author of THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE-DAME and LES MISERABLES, Giuseppe Verdi's 1851 opera RIGOLETTO is a tragedy of Shakespearean caliber set to music. The time is the Renaissance, the place the Italian city of Mantua. The bitter court jester of a libertine Duke fails tragically to shield his innocent daughter from the Duke's advances. Verdi's great score, composed at the start of his prime, includes three of the most famous numbers in Italian opera: "La donna e mobile," "Caro nome," and the Quartet. Audio and video recordings of RIGOLETTO have involved some of the most celebrated operatic conductors, singers, and stage directors of all time: Solti, Sutherland, Pavarotti, Domingo, Gobbi, Callas, Siepi, Ponnelle, and a great many more. Through detailed reviews of the best of these recordings, VERDI'S "RIGOLETTO" A SELECT DISCOGRAPHY WITH COMMENTARY traces the performance history of this riveting and tuneful opera since the 1940s. Illustrated with photographs and Renaissance-themed paintings.