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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 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. The story is a tragedy which revolves around the licentious Duke of Mantua, his hunch-backed court jester Rigoletto, and Rigoletto's beautiful daughter Gilda.
This picture is Roberto Focosi's illustration to the variant first edition of Rigoletto's vocal score. It depicts the opera's Bella figlia dell'amore scene.Artwork: Roberto Focosi; Lithograph: Francesco Corbetta; Restoration: Adam Cuerden