In which opera does a hunchback jester help his master, the Duke of Mantua, to seduce the daughter of a courtier?
Rigoletto Rigoletto Rigoletto () is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the play "Le roi s'amuse" by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had control over northern Italian theatres at the time, the opera had a triumphant premiere at La Fenice in Venice on 11 March 1851. It is widely considered to be the first of the operatic masterpieces of Verdi's middle-to-late career. Its tragic story revolves around the licentious Duke of Mantua, his hunch-backed court jester Rigoletto, and Rigoletto's beautiful daughter Gilda.
Francesco IV Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua Francesco IV Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua Francesco IV Gonzaga (7 May 1586 – 22 December 1612), was Duke of Mantua and (as Francesco II) Duke of Montferrat between 9 February and 22 December 1612. Born in Mantua, he was the eldest son of Duke Vincenzo I and Eleonora de' Medici. In 1607, Claudio Monteverdi dedicated his opera "L'Orfeo" to Francesco. The title page of the opera bears the dedication "Al serenissimo signor D. Francesco Gonzaga, Prencipe di Mantoua, & di Monferato, &c." Francesco became Duke upon his father's death on 9 February 1612. He died at Mantua on 22 December