Giuseppe Verdi - Rigoletto (1851) - Insertion aria for Maddalena - "Prends pitie" (Manuela Custer)

Though Verdi is sometimes considered almost as a composer whose style is completely devoid of anything close to the musical traditions that inhabit and define the works of both his predecessors and contemporaries, the composer from Le Roncole is actually somewhat a continuation (and, considering his musical outpour) and an elaboration of the basic idiom that was formed at the end of the 18th - the beginning of the 19th centuries. One of the signs that Verdi continued to be a true successor to such composers as Rossini, Donizetti, Mercadante can be seen in the present number which is at once a representation of two characteristics of the period: reuse of earlier material in new context and insertion of additional numbers into already performed works.

1847 found Verdi in London in preparation for the production of "I masnadieri". Among the dependents of Her Majestys Theater was a librettist, Manfredo Maggioni, who supplied the composer with the poem of ""Il poveretto", a long-breathed essay in musical pathos, which with an altered text would serve as an insertion aria for Maddalena, as she is pleading with her brother to spare the Dukes life, in a French performance of "Rigoletto" at Brussels in 1851. The aria is at once extremely immediate in its' presentation of the character's lament (and one can easily imagine the role of Maddalena elaborated with such a pitiful piece as the song woman pleads for the life of a man who is sure to leave her for another, though, in essence, there is no true need for it in the context of the work) and rather unpretentious in its' uncomplicated melody that seems to be congenial to the character (the music, on the other hand, betrays the work's original status of a song). In any case, an interesting possible addition to a very familiar work.

Manuela Custer sings the piece with a suitable tearfulness, suggesting Maddalena's full understanding of the Duke's intentions. Hope you'll enjoy :).

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Verdi
• belcanto
• romantic
• classical

[lanesville]

I sing "Il poveretto" (it's a great song!), and I must confess I didn't know that it was transformed into an insertion aria! (And I agree with coloraturafan: it would be a dramatic "break" in the action.)

Verdi's songs still are a whole world to be studied. They not only have quality (some more than others, it's true), but they tell us another [hi]story of his composition, parallel to the one told by his operas.

[coloraturafan]

I had never heard about this aria, very interesting. Thinking back to the final act of Rigoletto, I would think this would slow the dramatic pace of the scene. Verdi being a man of the theater probably didn't really approve of this aria. He probably tolerated it for the sake of a singer, or impresario. A very common practice in those days.