Rigoletto Opera Essay
Emily Proffitt
Blanka Roundtree
Art 211
26 September 2017
Rigoletto
Rigoletto has been the first opera I ever watched from start to finish. I thought it was good even though the plot was very predictable. This opera was written in 1851, by Giuseppe Verdi, but the video I watched was filmed in 1982. The filming was not very good and it was clearly not put on professionally. All the acting was done on one stage so transitioning from scene to scene must have been a challenge but they did a good job of it. This particular recording of Rigoletto was more of a movie so they did not show the changing of backdrops and characters from scene to scene.
When I was watching this video is reminded me a lot of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet because in a way they are both about forbidden love. The scene in Rigoletto when Gilda is singing on the balcony is exactly like the scene in Romeo and Juliet when Juliet is singing off the balcony. They are both singing about their loves but they do not know that their loves are actually listening. Then both the men step out from behind the bushes and confess their love and both scenes end with them kissing. The rest of both plays is about getting their love back and sacrificing themselves for each other.
I believe that when people first watched Rigoletto they must have noticed the similarities between Rigoletto and Romeo and Juliet as well. This is a safe accusation to make because Romeo and Juliet was created before Rigoletto and it was be far one of the most popular shows to ever be made. Because Romeo and Juliet was so popular Giuseppe Verdi probably made and similar story line just so his show would be popular as well.
When Rigoletto was written, operas had been around for about two hundred years already. The first operas were open to the public in 1637, after the first commercial opera house opened (“History.”) The people in charge of the mise-en-scene of the this opera had many shows before Rigoletto to learn from previous mistake and how to improve on operas already being performed. Rigoletto is important in the chronology of all operas because it was an improvement from previous operas and this was probably an example to all operas after it on how to make more improvements. On a timeline of operas, each opera is made better than the one before it because the producers have learned from the lows of all past operas.
I personally thought that the mise-en-scene of Rigoletto was done nicely and it seemed well planned out. In one of the very first scenes there were many people on the stage, probably close to 50, and they all seemed nicely organized. Their dance moves timed up with each other and the filmers made sure to have the camera on whoever was singing the whole time. The props and costumes were good and because the whole opera took place in less than a day no one had to change. In the opening scene Rigoletto is holding a prop that appears to be a stick with a head on it and in the next scene the Duke has a crown on that is appropriately made. One of the most important props in the whole opera is the boat. The boat is seen floating on water and is used when Rigoletto founds out her daughter was killed. The boat plays a major role and I would say it’s the most important prop.
Some technology used in the opera is the changing of the back drops. Within the first five minutes you see a curtain drop quickly to display a different background. Some more technology being used is the lighting. The whole second half of this play takes place at night so obviously the lights are off for the effect of night time. There really is not any other technology in this because it is set up such a long time ago in the 1850s.
Turning this particular opera into a video game would be a challenge. I would have to make it into a game where the man has to choose between two women like the Duke had to. The women would need to fight for the Duke’s attention. Maybe I would make it into a karaoke game in order to honor the opera. The end of the game would always end in the women sacrificing herself just like Gilda did.
I could also turn this into a two player board game. It would have the same idea as shoots and ladders, where one person would roll a die to determine how many spaces to go. The last square would have a picture of the Duke’s face because he would be the prize. The two characters playing would be Gilda and the Duke's mistress. The boxes could have different pictures of the different characters and some of the props. Instead of doing slides to slide down I would do a river because at the end of the opera that's where Rigoletto finds out his daughter is dead. The game itself is pretty simple but if you are a fan of the opera it would be very fun because of the Rigoletto theme.
Bibliography
BridNetwork. “Rigoletto 1982.” YouTube, YouTube, 24 Aug. 2012,
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