Rigoletto
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Rigoletto is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play Le roi s'amuse by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had control over northern Italian theatres at the time, the opera had a triumphant premiere at La Fenice in Venice on 11 March 1851.
Set design by Philippe Chaperon.
Verdi around 1850
La Fenice's poster for the world premiere of Rigoletto
Teresa Brambilla, the first Gilda
Le roi s'amuse
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Le roi s'amuse is a French play in five acts written by Victor Hugo. First performed on 22 November 1832 but banned by the government after one evening, the play was used for Giuseppe Verdi's 1851 opera Rigoletto.
The character Triboulet (sculpture by Sarah Bernhardt)
"Triboulet"; illustration for Le Roi s'amuse by J. A. Beaucé and Georges Rouget
Fiftieth anniversary production of Le Roi s'amuse at the Comédie-Française.