La donna è mobile (The woman is fickle) is the Duke of Mantuas canzone from the beginning of act 3 of Giuseppe Verdis opera Rigoletto (1851). The inherent irony is that it is the callous playboy Duke himself who is mobile (inconstant). A reprise is heard off-stage at the end of the act. The canzone is famous as a showcase for tenors. Raffaele Mirates performance of the bravura aria at the operas 1851 premiere was hailed as the highlight of the evening. Before its first public performance (in Venice), it was rehearsed under tight secrecy: a necessary precaution, because it proved to be catchy and soon after its first public performance every gondolier in Venice was singing it. The almost comical-sounding theme of La donna è mobile is introduced immediately, and runs as illustrated (transposed from the original key of B major). The theme is repeated several times in the approximately two minutes it takes to perform the aria, but with the important—and obvious—omission of the last bar. This has the effect of driving the music forward as it creates the impression of being incomplete and unresolved, which it is, ending not on the tonic or dominant but on the submediant. Once the Duke has finished singing, however, the theme is once again repeated; but this time including the last, and conclusive, bar and finally resolving to the tonic. The song is strophic in form with an orchestral ritornello.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Nov 2014 01:06:40 +0000
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