Rigoletto

Act I

Strolling among the courtiers in his palace ballroom, the Duke ot Mantua lightheartedly boasts of his way with women ('Questa o quella'). After flirting with his newest quarry, the Countess Ceprano, he escorts her from the room, followed by his hunchbacked jester, Rigoletto, who openly mocks the Countess' enraged but helpless husband.A courtier named Marullo bursts in with the latest gossip: Rigoletto is suspected of keeping a young mistress in his home. The jester shortly returns with the Duke and, sure of his master's protection, continues to taunt Ceprano, who plots with others to punish him. When Monterone, an elderly nobleman, forces his way into the room to denounce the Duke for seducing his daughter, he is viciously derided by Rigoletto. As Monterone is arrested, he pronounces a father's curse on both the Duke and the jester, who falls to the floor in terror.

Late that night, brooding over Monterone's curse, Rigoletto hurries to the house where he has hidden his daughter, Gilda. On the way he encounters Sparafucile, a professional assassin, who offers his services; but the jester dismisses him, reflecting that his own tongue is as sharp as the murderer's dagger ('Pari siamo!'). His mood brightens when he is greeted by Gilda, who questions him about her long-dead mother; he nostalgically describes his wife as an angel ('Duet: Deh, non parlare'), adding that Gilda is all he has left. Afraid for the girl's safety, he warns her nurse, Giovanna, to admit no one to the house. As the jester leaves however, the Duke slips into the garden, tossing a purse to Giovanna to keep her quiet. He declares his love to Gilda (duet 'E il sol dell'anima'), who has secretly admired him at church, and tells her he is 'Gualtier Malde', a poor student. At the sound of footsteps Gilda begs him to leave; alone, she tenderly repeats his name ('Caro nome') and then goes up to bed. Meanwhile, the malicious courtiers stop Rigoletto outside his house and ask him to help abduct Ceprano's wife, who lives nearby. The jester is duped into wearing a blindfold and holding a ladder against the wall of his own house. Laughing at how they have tricked him, the courtiers break into his house and carry off Gilda. Rigoletto, hearing his daughter's cry for help, tears off his blindfold and rushes into the house: discovering only her scarf, he collapses as he remembers Monterone's curse.