Verdi’s Rigoletto

By the time Giuseppe Verdi got to Rigoletto, he was firmly established as a master of opera. Commissioned by Venice’s La Fenice in 1850, the opera received its premiere there in 1851. Its composition was somewhat up to the wire and its genesis fraught with problems. Based on Victor Hugo’s controversial 1832 play Le roi s’amuse, Rigoletto almost never made it to the stage. However, the composer and librettist Francesco Maria Piave made enough revisions to appease censors who felt the story to be immoral. It was hugely popular and soon secured its place in the Italian repertoire.