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“Rigoletto” by Giuseppe Verdi

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Риголетто
Rigoletto: Opera Libretto with Italian–English Translation
Paperback libretto with side-by-side translation

Read Rigoletto with the original libretto and a clear English translation presented side by side.

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Premiere / date of written: 11 March 1851

Libretti

Italian–English side-by-side translation

# Language Authors
1 Italian Francesco Maria Piave
2 German
3 English
4 French B. Vierne

original libretto
side-by-side of the original libretto

History

March 11, 1851 Giuseppe Verdi’s "Rigoletto" received its world premiere at Teatro La Fenice in Venice.
May 14, 1853 "Rigoletto" received its Royal Opera House premiere at the Royal Italian Opera, Covent Garden.
November 1, 1869 Cairo’s Khedivial Opera House opened with a performance of Giuseppe Verdi’s "Rigoletto", during the celebrations surrounding the opening of the Suez Canal.
October 20, 1909 First documented London performance in English of Giuseppe Verdi's "Rigoletto" at Covent Garden, an important example of opera being presented in translation to British audiences.
November 15, 1951 Norman Scott makes his Metropolitan Opera debut as Monterone in Verdi’s 'Rigoletto'.

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Similar Theme

  • La traviata (1853) — Giuseppe Verdi Both operas show the darker side of respectable society and the damage it can do to women. Gilda and Violetta are very different, but both pay the price.
  • Don Giovanni (1787) — Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Don Giovanni and the Duke of Mantua have a lot in common: privilege, charm, and an endless appetite for women. The difference is who finally pays for it.

Good Next Choice

  • Il trovatore (1853) — Giuseppe Verdi A natural next Verdi tragedy. Il trovatore is larger and more tangled, but it has the same mix of memorable melody, family secrets, love, and sudden violence.
  • Un ballo in maschera (1859) — Giuseppe Verdi Another Verdi opera where a powerful man pursues a woman and private desire ends in tragedy. Un ballo in maschera adds politics and conspiracy to the story.
  • Tosca (1900) — Giacomo Puccini Tosca is another compact Italian tragedy where love runs directly into abuse of power. It moves even faster and keeps the conflict very personal.

Contrasting Companion

  • L'elisir d'amore (1832) — Gaetano Donizetti Both begin with a young man in love and a social difference between the lovers. Donizetti turns those problems into comedy; Rigoletto takes them somewhere much darker.

Same Source Author

  • La Gioconda (1876) — Amilcare Ponchielli Both operas are based on plays by Victor Hugo: Rigoletto on Le roi s'amuse and La Gioconda on Angelo, tyran de Padoue.

Tags

Style / Movement: Early Romantic
Structure: Full-length Number opera
Source: Based on literature Based on a play
Theme: Tragic love Revenge
Discovery: Beginner-friendly Crowd-pleaser
Place: Italy

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Also in Italian

Images

Printed Editions

Year Edition Publisher Buy
2025 Rigoletto: Opera Libretto with Italian–English Translation DM’s Opera Series Amazon.com

Audio recordings

Year Cast Conductor,
Opera chorus and orchestra		 Label,
Comment		 Buy
1954 Rigoletto — Aldo Protti,
Duke of Mantua — Mario Del Monaco,
Gilda — Hilde Gueden,
Sparafucile — Cesare Siepi,
Maddalena — Giulietta Simionato		 Alberto Erede
Orchestra and Chorus of the Accademia di Santa Cecilia, Rome
 CD: Decca Cat: 440242

 Amazon.com
1955 Rigoletto — Tito Gobbi,
Duke of Mantua — Giuseppe Di Stefano,
Gilda — Maria Callas,
Sparafucile — Nicola Zaccaria,
Maddalena — Adriana Lazzarini		 Tullio Serafin
La Scala Orchestra and Chorus
 CD: EMI Classics Cat: 747469

 Amazon.com
$25.00
1963 Rigoletto — Robert Merrill,
Duke of Mantua — Alfredo Kraus,
Gilda — Anna Moffo,
Sparafucile — Ezio Flagello,
Maddalena — Rosalind Elias		 Sir Georg Solti
RCA Italiana Opera Orchestra and Chorus
 CD: RCA Victor Cat: 70785

 Amazon.com
$15.48
1967 Rigoletto — Cornell MacNeil,
Duke of Mantua — Nicolai Gedda,
Gilda — Reri Grist,
Sparafucile — Agostino Ferrin,
Maddalena — Anna di Stasio		 Francesco Molinari-Pradelli
Rome Opera House Orchestra and Chorus
 CD: EMI Classics Cat: 3932822

 Amazon.com
$40.99
1971 Rigoletto — Sherrill Milnes,
Duke of Mantua — Luciano Pavarotti,
Gilda — Joan Sutherland,
Sparafucile — Martti Talvela,
Maddalena — Huguette Tourangeau
Count Monterone — Clifford Grant,
Giovanna — Gillian Knight,
Matteo Borsa — Riccardo Cassinelli,
Marullo — Christian Du Plessis,
Countess Ceprano — John Gibbs		 Richard Bonynge
London Symphony Orchestra and the Ambrosian Opera Chorus
 CD: Decca Cat: 414-269-2

 Amazon.com
$34.22
1979 Rigoletto — Piero Cappuccilli,
Duke of Mantua — Plácido Domingo,
Gilda — Ileana CotrubaÈ™,
Sparafucile — Nicolai Ghiaurov,
Maddalena — Elena Obraztsova		 Carlo Maria Giulini
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and Vienna State Opera Chorus
 CD: Deutsche Grammophon Cat: 457 753-2

 Amazon.com
$11.38
1994 Rigoletto — Renato Bruson
Duke of Mantua — Roberto Alagna
Gilda — Andrea Rost
Sparafucile — Dimitri Kavrakos
Maddalena — Mariana Pentcheva
Count Monterone — Giorgio Giuseppini
Giovanna — Antonella Trevisan
Matteo Borsa — Ernesto Gavazzi
Marullo — Silvestro Sammaritano
Countess Ceprano — Nicoletta Zanini
Count Ceprano — Antonio de Gobbi
A Page — Marilena Laurenza
La Scala Orchestra and Chorus
 Sony Classical S2K 66314

 Amazon.com
$27.31

Video recordings

Year Cast Conductor,
Opera chorus and orchestra,
Director		 Label,
Comment		 Buy
1977 Rigoletto — Cornell MacNeil,
Duke of Mantua — Plácido Domingo,
Gilda — Ileana CotrubaÈ™,
Sparafucile — Justino Díaz,
Maddalena — Isola Jones		 James Levine
Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus
Kirk Browning		 DVD: Deutsche Grammophon Cat: 00440 073 0930

 Amazon.com
1982

DM's pick

 Rigoletto — Ingvar Wixell,
Duke of Mantua — Luciano Pavarotti,
Gilda — Edita Gruberova,
Sparafucile — Ferruccio Furlanetto,
Maddalena — Victoria Vergara		 Riccardo Chailly
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and Vienna State Opera Chorus
Jean-Pierre Ponnelle		 Deutsche Grammophon Cat: 00440 073 4166; Decca Cat: 071401

 Amazon.com
$30.97

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