The Worlds of Rigoletto

I find the representation of this character
particularly beautiful, externally deformed and
ridiculous and internally impassioned and full of
love. Giuseppe Verdi December 14, 1850.
Rigoletto has long been viewed as one of Verdi s
greatest operas and rightfully represents one of the
outstanding examples of drama and characterization
through music in all of the operatic literature.
This book explores in-depth the development of the
title role of Rigoletto. Verdi s first documented
interest in Victor Hugo s banned play, Le roi
s amuse, his battles with the censors and the
critical reaction of the first performance are
clearly presented. Walters approach is unique, in
that the main body of his research focuses on
musical examples that demonstrate Verdi s
compositional technique and how he delineated the
separate worlds of Rigoletto s character: the
deformed, bitter, court jester and the impassioned,
loving father. This book will be beneficial to
anyone seeking an example of clear writing about
music analysis and operatic characterization.

Autorentext
Mark Walters received his DM from Florida State University. Emerging as one of the important Verdi baritones of his generation, he has been seen in leading opera companies throughout the United States. The Chicago Sun Times recently described his portrayal of Don Carlo in La forza del destino as generating "vocal fury."

Klappentext
"I find the representation of this character particularly beautiful, externally deformed and ridiculous and internally impassioned and full of love." Giuseppe Verdi - December 14, 1850. Rigoletto has long been viewed as one of Verdi's greatest operas and rightfully represents one of the outstanding examples of drama and characterization through music in all of the operatic literature. This book explores in-depth the development of the title role of Rigoletto. Verdi's first documented interest in Victor Hugo's banned play, Le roi s'amuse, his battles with the censors and the critical reaction of the first performance are clearly presented. Walters' approach is unique, in that the main body of his research focuses on musical examples that demonstrate Verdi's compositional technique and how he delineated the separate worlds of Rigoletto's character: the deformed, bitter, court jester and the impassioned, loving father. This book will be beneficial to anyone seeking an example of clear writing about music analysis and operatic characterization.