Verdi’s Rigoletto
opera • retelling • parenthood • revenge
- Filmed Performance
- Met Opera on Demand
- The Metropolitan Opera
- Free
A Victor Hugo play, haunting and scandalous, provided the inspiration for Verdi’s mid-career masterpiece about a vengeful but misguided court jester, out to rescue his deflowered daughter from a duke’s licentious clutches. None of it ends well, but along the way, the composer introduces several of his most iconic arias and duets—as well as an 11th-hour quartet that counts among the finest moments in opera.