Rigoletto

A Song to Die For

Before there was the whistle in M, before the theme to Jaws, there was that haunting "La donna e mobile". In the opera, the court hunchback, Rigoletto, serves with resentment under the lascivious Duke. When the court men kidnap Rigoletto's daughter for the amusement and pleasure of the Duke, Rigoletto sets out on revenge. The hunchback hires a local man to murder the Duke when he calls on the tavern. The hitman's sister, however, falls for the Duke's and convinces her brother to not kill him but, instead, kill the next traveler and present that body to Rigoletto as the Duke's. When Rigoletto lugs the sack with the dead body out on the dock to dump into deep waters, he hears the Duke's haunting melody from the tavern. But who then is the body in the bag? Revenge has teeth, too.

The Met's classic staging showcases the simple plot against the opulent setting of the court. There are three settings, the regal court palace, Rigoletto's modest but apportioned home and the local street it abuts, and the shabby tavern on the outskirts of town on the marshlands. The class differences between these settings clearly showcases the levels each person is limited to play in society. But the actions of all cross these lines and no one is above reprehensible behavior regardless of class. The lighting of the sky in the final act was amazing, as if watching the thunderstorm grow and rumble. A grand night even up in the bleacher seats.