Rigoletto

by Giuseppe Verdi

 Rigoletto is court jester to the Duke of Mantua.  When he cruelly ridicules Monterone, a man whose daughter has been disgraced by the womanizing Duke, the jester goes too far.  Monterone curses the laughing Rigoletto with misery.  It is a curse that will affect not only Rigoletto but also the one he loves the most—his own daughter.