History YMMV / Rigoletto

** Rigoletto's fate in the end. The libretto only says "Tearing his hear, he falls over his daughter's body," which is usually read as either [[FaintInShock Fainting in Shock]] or just collapsing in grief. But Tito Gobbi, one of the most famous mid-century Rigolettos, wrote that he preferred to think Rigoletto [[DeathByDespair dies]] in that final moment, if only because it's [[MercyKill more merciful]] than leaving him alive.

* HarsherInHindsight: The author of the original play ''Le roi s'amuse'' was Victor Hugo. In both the play and the opera, the final tragedy is Rigoletto/Triboulet losing his daughter. Eleven years after the play premiered, Victor Hugo's beloved 19-year-old daughter Léopoldine drowned in a boating accident on her honeymoon, leaving her father overwhelmed with grief from which he never fully recovered.

* Harsher in Hindsight: The author of the original play ''Le roi s'amuse'' was Victor Hugo. In both the play and the opera, the final tragedy is Rigoletto/Triboulet losing his daughter. Eleven years after the play premiered, Victor Hugo's beloved 19-year-old daughter Léopoldine drowned in a boating accident on her honeymoon, leaving her father overwhelmed with grief from which he never fully recovered.

* TearJerker: Poor Georgie falling into the river, with only Ribaldi around to witness the event. Despite his own issues with a bad leg, the man still managed to rescue her. And how is act of compassion and selfless courage repaid? The townspeople automatically jump to the conclusion that Ribaldi ''attacked'' the girl. They then procced to gang up on and beat the poor man to death.

** Poor Count Monterone, mocked by Rigoletto and the rest of the Duke's court for trying to avenge his daughter's honour after the Duke seduced her, and ultimately sentenced to death.

[[AC:Film]]

* EarWorm: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8A3zetSuYRg "La donna è mobile".]] Not only does it have a really catchy tune, but Verdi has the Duke sing it ''three times'' in the final act alone, nailing it in as an ear worm that Italian school boys would still be humming after one and a half centuries.

** Poor Rigoletto... although, unlike most title characters in tragic operas, he's still alive at the end, he certainly wishes he wasn't, as he has lost everything that matters to him. He is cursed by Count Monterone after persuading his boss, the Duke of Mantua, to sentence him to death, inadvertently assists in the abduction of his own daughter, Gilda, to be seduced by the Duke (in whose sexual conquests he has often been an accomplice), is mocked by the court when he discovers what has happened and swears vengeance against the Duke, and then finds that the body Sparafucile has given him that he thinks is the Duke is actually Gilda. And the Duke? He gets off scot-free.

** Poor Gilda, who falls in love with the Duke despite knowing he is TheCasanova, and sacrifices her life for his by tricking Sparafucile into killing her after overhearing him promises Maddalena that he will spare the Duke if he can find a victim whose body he can present to Rigoletto as the Duke's (Gilda is dressed as a man so that she and her father can flee to Verona undetected after the Duke's murder).

** Poor Rigoletto... although, unlike most title characters in tragic operas, he's still alive at the end, he certainly wishes he wasn't, as he has lost everything that matters to him. He is cursed by Count Monterone after persuading his boss, the Duke of Mantua, to sentence him to death, inadvertently assists in the abduction of his own daughter, Gilda, to be seduced by the Duke (in whose sexual conquests he has often been an accomplice), is mocked by the court when he discovers what has happened and swears vengeance against the Duke, and then finds that the body Sparafucile has given him that he thinks is the Duke is actually Gilda. And the Duke? He gets off scot-free.

** Poor Gilda, who falls in love with the Duke despite knowing he is TheCasanova, and sacrifices her life for his by tricking Sparafucile into killing her when he promises Maddalena that he will kill the first man he encounters and present him to Rigoletto (Gilda is dressed as a man so that she and her father can flee to Verona undetected after the Duke's murder).
** Poor Rigoletto... although, unlike most title characters in tragic operas, he's still alive at the end, he certainly wishes he wasn't, as he has lost everything that matters to him. He is cursed by Count Monterone after persuading the Duke to sentence him to death, inadvertently assists in the abduction of his own daughter, Gilda, to be seduced by his boss, the Duke of Mantua (in whose sexual conquests he has often been an accomplice), is mocked by the court when he discovers what has happened and swears vengeance against the Duke, and then finds that the body Sparafucile has given him that he thinks is the Duke's is actually Gilda's, while the Duke gets off scot-free.

* EarWorm: ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8A3zetSuYRg La donna è mobile:]]'' not only does it have a really catchy tune, but Verdi has the Duke sing it ''three times'' in the final act alone, nailing it in as an ear worm that Italian school boys would still be humming after one and a half centuries.
* TearJerker - Poor count Monterone. Poor Gilda. Poor Rigoletto. Poor Maddalena, to a degree.

* EarWorm: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8A3zetSuYRg ''La donna è mobile:'']] not only does it have a really catchy tune, but Verdi has the Duke sing it ''three times'' in the final act alone, nailing it in as an ear worm that Italian school boys would still be humming after one and a half centuries.