This Autumn, Welsh National Opera transport you to the raucous, decadent and ruthless court of the Duke of Mantua where Rigoletto, the court jester, uses vicious wit to conceal his tormented heart. Verdi’s masterpiece, and one of his own favourite works, Rigoletto, features some of the composer’s best music including one of the most recognisable tunes in opera: La donna ѐ mobile.
The piece appears in Act 3 of Rigoletto and is sung by the Duke, a role that was originated by tenor Raffaele Mirate. When Verdi first composed La donna e mobile, he kept the music a secret, even from Mirate, as he didn’t want anyone humming the tune out in the open and spoiling the piece before the opera’s premiere. It was such a hit, that audience members were heard singing it the following day.
La donna è mobile has been used in countless advertisements, including two Super Bowl adverts, and has also been featured in movie, television, and videogame soundtracks, such as The Sopranos, Rocky Balboa, and Grand Theft Auto.
Doritos have used the famous aria in two of their Super Bowl adverts; one takes place in a theatre where the singer on stage is clearly out of his depth and the audience watches on while eating the crisps. The second advert features a child and his grandmother locked in a feud.
Verdi’s piece is also used in a commercial for Leggo's tomato paste; the music matches the expressive and artistic act of cooking and sharing food. The lyrics are creatively tweaked in this advert to say ‘Good sauce is hard to find, don’tjust use any kind…’
Superbowl champion Donald Driver and his partner Peta Mergatroyd performed a Viennese Waltz to La donna è mobile on Season 14 of the dance competition series Dancing with the Stars.
One of the most memorable performances of the piece is by Luciano Pavarotti; the aria has become synonymous with his name and is adored by opera lovers around the globe. Pavarotti’s emotive interpretation brings the Duke’s character to life, adding depth and complexity to the aria.
Another memorable performance is by the Italian opera singer Maurizio Marchini I; when Italy was under lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a video of the singer performing La donna è mobile, along with other arias and songs from his balcony in Florence went viral.
The famous tune has also been adopted by football fans to form chants such as ‘Your ground’s too big for you’ when the home team’s ground has an abundance of empty seats. However, the most famous football chant using the tune is probably ‘Paolo Di Canio’; while playing for West Ham, in a game against Bradford City, the referee ignored several penalty appeals and Di Canio was so frustrated that he sat in the middle of the pitch while the game went on around him. It was only after 25,000 West Ham supporters began to chant ‘Paolo Di Canio’ to the tune of La donna è mobile, that he finally pulled himself up off the ground to score a second half hat-trick. The chant followed the Italian striker throughout his club and National career.
You can hear this incredible piece for yourself when our brand new production of Rigoletto opens in Cardiff this September before touring to Llandudno, Plymouth, Oxford and Southampton.