"Rigoletto del Maeso. Giuse. Verdi ..."
Acte I -- Acte II -- Acte III -- Partition d'orchestre.
Full score of the opera.
Libretto by F.M. Piave.
Italian copyists' ms., in more than one hand, apparently prepared for the first performances of the opera at the Théâtre-Italien, in Paris, in 1857. The full score of Rigoletto was not published until about 1895.
Acts I-III each in one volume, the stage-band music in Vol. 4.
The title page of each volume bears the stamp of the Direction du Théatre Impérial Italien.
Comparison with the critical edition of the full score shows discrepancies in dynamics, phrasing, stage direction, etc.
The manuscript also indicates cuts both small and large, including the Duke's cabaletta at the beginning of Act II and the duet for Rigoletto and Gilda at the end of the opera. Also, written in at the end of Gilda's aria "Caro nome" is an alternative vocal line, higher in tessitura than in the definitive version and ending on the upper E. This alternative is marked "Murska," referring to the Croatian soprano Ilma Di Murska.
Piave, Francesco Maria, 1810-1876, librettist.