Classical Principle Weekly
May 23, 2023
Tragedy in Opera: Classical or Romantic?
Part 3 Finale: Verdi's Rigoletto & Wagner's Lohengrin
Dear readers, please review of parts 1 and 2 for detailed recap.
RIGOLETTO
ACT 1 opens with a grand ball in the court of the lascivious Duke of Milan, who, like a Hollywood mogul, uses his power to seduce every woman he can, despite the havoc he wreaks. Rigoletto, the court jester, tries to lead a double life—that of a good father to his daughter Gilda (who he keeps hidden), and that of a jester who encourages the Duke in his debauchery. This is is a recipe for disaster.
Unknown to Rigaletto, the Duke has already spotted Gilda, and pretends to be a poor student in order to seduce this overprotected and naïve child.
The act ends with a group of the Duke's courtiers abducting Gilda, one of whom is Ceprano, swore vengeance against Rigoletto for encouraging the Duke to violate his wife. Rigoletto's duplicity is shown when he gladly holds the ladder for the kidnappers, believing it is Ceprano's wife they have come for. When he discovers it was his daughter who was kidnapped, he blames the curse put on both him and the Duke, by Count Monterone, whose daughter had also been abused by the Duke. Rigoletto should have had nothing but empathy for the Count. Instead he taunted him, on behalf of the Duke.
The curse, or "Maladizione" was taken very seriously in the time and place, but we gradually come to question how much of it issues from Monterone, and how much of it is self-inflicted, through Rigoletto's own duplicity.
ACT 2 begins with the recitative and aria "Ella fu mi rapita" (She has been taken from me), and "Parmi veder le lagrime" (The tears of my beloved demand it), in which the Duke expresses anguish that Gilda has been abducted. Her innocence and purity have awakened a foreign emotion for him, the idea of enduring love with one person.
So pure that her modest demeanour
almost convinced me to lead a virtuous life!
Notice the "almost." This video includes the English translation: https://youtu.be/kfhTBI9k_5Y?list=RDkfhTBI9k_5Y
When Gilda reunites with her father Rigoletto, she confesses her shame over falling for the Duke's pretenses. The act ends with a duet expressing the tension between the noble emotion of mercy and vile revenge.
RIGOLETTO
Revenge!
GILDA
Forgive him: and then we too may hear
the voice of pardon from Heaven.
RIGOLETTO
Revenge!
GILDA
Forgive him!
RIGOLETTO
No!
GILDA (to herself)
He betrayed me, yet I love him; great God,
I ask for pity on this faithless man!
The ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius warned, wisely, that before one sets out on a mission of revenge, one should be sure to dig two graves.
ACT 3: The main characters converge in a broken-down tavern/home on the right bank of the river Mincio. Sparafucile has been contracted by Rigoletto to kill an unnamed man who has been lured there by his sister, Maddalena. The Duke, in disguise again, approaches singing "La Donna e mobile" (women are fickle).
A great vocal quartet "Bella figlia dell’amore" takes place between the Duke, Maddalena, Rigoletto and Gilda, who are watching through the window.
I am convinced that this quartet is inspired by another vocal quartet, "Mir ist so Wunderbar" from Beethoven's Fidelio. Why? The music is so different. Beethoven's quartet is a canon, in which soprano, alto, tenor and bass, all sing the exact same notes (though in different octaves) at different times, but with different words. However, while singing the same tune, all four characters have completely different perceptions of what is going on. One sees love, another, danger. The words "es ist Klar" (this is clear), take on great irony. It's too much to explain here, but for those readers who wish to engage in the fun of exploration, here is a video with notes and text.
Verdi uses the same four voice species, all of whom also have different perspectives on the matter.
In this quartet, the Duke sings his usual BS, but sings it beautifully and seductively :
DUKE
Fairest daughter of love,
I am a slave to your charms;
with but a single word you could
relieve my every pain.
Come, touch my breast and feel
how my heart is racing.
With but a single word, etc.
Maddalena sees through him.
MADDALENA
Ah! Ah! That really makes me laugh;
talk like that is cheap enough...
...believe me, I know exactly
what such play acting is worth
Gilda is mortified.
GILDA
Ah, these are the loving words...
...he once spoke to me.
...O wretched heart betrayed,
do not break for sorrow.
Rigoletto tries to calm his daughter and becomes more set on revenge.
RIGOLETTO
Haven’t you seen enough? etc.
Hush, weeping can do no good, etc.
This video includes the English translation. The quartet begins at 1:35.
Rigoletto pays Sparafucile to kill the Duke but Maddalena has developed a soft spot for him, and wants to show him mercy. Her idea of mercy? Kill Rigoletto instead. Sparafucile responds with his idea of honor:
SPARAFUCILE
Kill the hunchback? What the devil do you mean?
Am I a thief? Am I a bandit?
What client of mine has ever been cheated?
This man pays me, and I shall deliver.
They then compromise on killing an innocent passerby, stuffing him into a bag, and delivering him as being the Duke (as if that were not cheating the client).
Meanwhile Gilda has returned disguised as a man, and laments.
GILDA (to herself)
Ah, my reason has left me!
Love draws me back...
She hears the discussion and decides to sacrifice herself for the Duke. She knocks on the door, knowing she will be murdered. Sparafucile does the deed, and hands the body-bag to her father. Rigoletto rejoices in having bagged a dead Duke, but his blood chills when he hears "La donna e mobile" being sung in the distance. He opens the bag. His final duet with a dying Gilda moves us to tears, even as we question how he got there. He calls Gilda his only joy on this earth, while earlier he expressed his hatred of the courtiers. Does that not echo the cry of so many Hollywood movies, "My family is all I care about. The rest of the world can go to Hell”? What supports our families? Society! If you love your family, you do not detest the society that made its present and future existence possible. If that society is corrupt, change it!
Rigoletto's final word is "Maladizione". The curse on him was bad enough before. Now, instead of mercy and forgiveness, he multiplied it by seeking revenge and murder. Is it Monterone's curse? Count Monterone, when being led to the dungeon said that his curse had failed, and the Duke would now be free to just party on. Rigoletto did not create the curse. The society was accursed. He brought the curse of that society down upon his and Gilda's heads through his own duplicity.
The Finale: https://youtu.be/RdqAfXZyQ-Q
LOHENGRIN
Wagner once called this opera a fairy-tale, and indeed it is. In Act 1, Lohengrin shows up as literally a knight in shining armor, to rescue a damsel in distress. He defends her in combat with her accuser Telramund (*Friedrich"), but does not kill him. Wagner composed his own libretto, where he revealed his prejudice for feudalism.
HERALD
(standing in the middle of the circle)
Hear me, listen carefully:
let no man disturb this fight!
Keep away from the battle ring,
for if anyone disrespects the law of peace,
if freeman, he shall pay with his hand,
if serf, he shall pay with his head!
ALL THE MEN
If freeman, he shall pay with his hand
if serf, he shall pay with his head!
There is a sort of curse on Lohengrin, but not one related to the real world. It's more like a jinx. Lohengrin is a Knight of the Holy Grail, an object so sacred that:
it was brought down by a host of angels;
every year a dove descends from Heaven
to fortify its wonderous power:
A Knight of the Grail will retain marvelous power, wherever he goes, unless his secret identity be exposed, in which case he must up and leave.
Friedrich and Ortrud are secret pagans (followers of the same Norse Gods who Wagner later glorified). Ortrud is also a secret witch. They will use every trick in the book to force Lohengrin's identity out into the open. They challenge the legitimacy of the combat because:
1. Lohengrin was aided by magic (as if the whole opera isn't based on magic).
2. An anonymous man cannot become victor.
Friedrich, in front of the King and his men, challenges Lohengrin to either reveal his true self, or forfeit the victory in combat. Lohengrin, however, will only submit to his beloved wife Elsa's demand for his name. She, however is rightly troubled at being Mrs. John Doe, or Lady X. She submits a reasonable question to her husband, whether the Christian principles of mercy and forgiveness ought to apply to her desire for an answer.
Lohengrin's answer is a flat no, and in front of the King and his men, he sings this deservedly famous aria: https://youtu.be/hLAQuI7Rs6E
LOHENGRIN
(looking ahead, solemnly transfigured)
In a far-off land, inaccessible to your steps,
there is a castle by the name of Montsalvat;
a light-filled temple stands within it,
more beautiful than anything on earth;
therein is a vessel of wonderous blessing
that is watched over as a sacred relic:
that the purest of men might guard it,
it was brought down by a host of angels;
every year a dove descends from Heaven
to fortify its wonderous power:
it is called the Grail, and the purest, most blessed faith
is imparted through it to the Brotherhood of Knights.
Whosoever is chosen to serve the Grail
is armed by it with heavenly power;
the darts of evil prove powerless against him,
once he has seen it, the shadow of death flees him.
Even he who is sent by it to a distant land,
appointed as a champion of virtue,
will not be robbed of its holy power,
provided that he, as its knight, remains unrecognised there.
For so wondrous is the blessing of the Grail
that when it is revealed it shuns the eye of the uninitiated;
thus no man should doubt the knight,
for if he is recognised, he must leave you.
Hear how I reward the forbidden question!
I was sent to you by the Grail:
my father Parzival wears its crown,
I its knight - am called Lohengrin.
Elsa is left with no other emotional resort but remorse and especially GUILT.
ELSA
(devastated)
I swoon! What dreadful darkness!
I gasp! I gasp for air, wretch that I am!
(She is about to collapse when
Lohengrin catches her in his arms)
LOHENGRIN
O Elsa! What have you done to me?
When I first set eyes upon you
I felt myself overwhelmed with love for you
and I quickly recognised a new happiness:
the noble might, the wonder of my origin,
the strength granted me by my secret,
all these I wanted to dedicate to serving the purest of hearts: why did you force me to reveal my secret?
ELSA
My husband! No! I will not let you leave this place!
Remain here, that you might witness my repentance!
You must not escape my bitter repentance,
I lie before you, that you may punish me!
WOMEN
Woe, now he must leave you!
LOHENGRIN
I must, I must! My sweet wife!
The Grail is already angry that I have not returned!
ELSA
If you are truly as divine as I believed,
banish not God's mercy from your heart!
........................................................
Do not repudiate me, however great my crime,
Do not leave me, oh do not leave me, as the most wretched of women!
LOHENGRIN
There is but one punishment for your crime!
Alas! I, as you, feel its cruel pain!
We must be parted, separated:
this must be the punishment, this the atonement!
(Elsa falls back with a cry)
Christian mercy has no sway against the will of the Grail, and what kind of husband chooses a cup over his wife? How could a man sworn to protect his secret identity ever hope to marry and settle down? What would their 50th anniversary look like? What would they name their kid? Is this really Christianity, or paganism in disguise?
The swan shows up, boat in tow, to take the Knight back to wherever. Lohengrin sings to the swan with a love that should give us pause. Did he ever sing to Elsa this beautifully?
My beloved swan!
Ah, how gladly I would have spared you
this last, sad journey!
At the end of a year
your time of service would have come to an end -
then, freed by the power of the Grail,
you would have appeared to me in a different form!
Lohengrin them heaps more guilt upon Elsa:
O Elsa! I had longed to witness
just one year of happiness by your side!
Then your brother, whom you thought dead, would have returned,
accompanied by the blessed retinue of the Grail!
Oops! Now she has inadvertently prevented her brother's return. There are huge plot gaps here. It turns out the witch Ortrud had turned Elsa's young brother into a swan. Why this is called a year of service we know not. Why the all-powerful Grail had to wait another year to free him, we also know not. The romantics were big on magical objects. Lohengrin gives Elsa his horn, sword, and ring for when Gottfried comes home (but didn’t Lohengrin just said Gottfried's return depended on them being together for a year?)
Soon, after Ortrud gloats over her apparent victory, Lohengrin turns the swan back into Gottfried, and announces that he shall be their leader. As Lohengrin disappears into the sunset, Elsa cries out "My Husband, my Husband", and sinks lifeless to the ground, giving us a taste of Wagner's misogynism, since she is the most real person in the opera.
CAREFUL CONSIDERATIONS ON CAUSALITY
We invite our readers to add their own thoughts on the matter.
Let’s investigate both operas. In “RIGOLETTO”, All the main characters had at least some chance to break out of their tragic path.
1. The Duke was almost moved to change his life by Gilda.
2. Rigoletto could have adopted Gilda's idea of mercy rather than revenge.
3. He did not need to encourage the Duke's depravity.
4. Verdi called Shakespeare "Papa." A jester might seem helpless, Rigoletto might have imitated the fool, but he is the only person who could tell King Lear the truth.
(King Lear, Act 1, Scene 4.)
LEAR: Dost thou call me fool, boy?
FOOL: All thy other titles thou hast given away; that thou wast born with.
(King Lear, Act 1, Scene 5.)
FOOL: E’er since thou mad’st thy daughters thy mothers. For when thou gav’st them the rod and put’st down thine own breeches.
FOOL: Thou shouldst not have been old till thou hadst been wise
LEAR: Who can tell me who I am?
FOOL: Lear's shadow
5. Gilda, who had had a rude awakening, should not have persisted in her naivety, and sacrificed herself for an irredeemable Duke, knowing how it would devastate her father.
How could anyone have changed anything in Lohengrin? All of the characters exist in a fantasy world.
1. If Elsa had been satisfied not to know her husband's name, could that have ever worked out? What would be their child's last name?
2. If Lohengrin had stayed with Elsa, would the Grail be happy? The very necessity of a secret identity suggests that visits abroad were meant to be short term.
Our modern entertainment culture is dominated by such sword and sorcery fantasy. We never ask if it will ennoble us, or help us become better people. In his essay, "ON THE USE OF CHORUS IN TRAGEDY", the great poet and playwright Friedrich Schiller, identifies the difference between art and mere entertainment.
“Every person, indeed, expects from the arts of imagination a certain liberation from the bounds of the real world; he wants to take pleasure in
what is possible and give room to his own phantasy. He who sets his expectations the lowest, still wants to forget his business, his common life, his particular individuality, he wants to feel himself in extraordinary situations, he wants to delight in the strange combinations of chance, if he is of a more serious nature, he wants to find the moral world-government, which he misses in real life, upon the stage.
“But he himself knows quite well, that he is engaging in but an empty play, that in fact he takes delight only in dreams, and when he returns from the theater back to the real world,
it will surround him once more with its full, oppressive constriction; he is its booty as he was before, and it has not been changed in the slightest.
“Thus, nothing but a pleasant delusion of the moment has been won, which disappears when one awakens. And just for that reason, because the intent here is but a temporary illusion,
all that is necessary is thus but an appearance of truth, or popular probability, which one so gladly sets in the place of truth.
“True art, however, does not aim merely at a temporary play; it seriously intends not to transpose a person into a merely momentary dream of freedom, but to make him really and in fact free, and to accomplish this by awakening in him a force, exercising it and developing it, to thrust the sensuous world, which otherwise only presses upon us as crude material, bearing down upon us as a blind power, into an objective distance, to transpose it into a free work of our mind, and to achieve mastery over the
material with ideas.”
This, we hope, will help our readers understand why we are the "Foundation for the REVIVAL of Classical Culture." We hope you not only enjoyed out 3-part essay comparing the two operas, we hope it gave you food for thoughts. As always, we welcome your comments.