Posted on 25-8-2013 by Frank
Montegrappa launches a new pen in the range “Emozioni in Musica”. Earlier creations were “La Traviata” and “Il Barbiere de Siviglia”. This year tribute is given to Verdi’s Ricoletto. First performed at the famous La Fenice opera house in Venice on 11 March 1851, Rigoletto reached its debut despite initial problems with the Austrian censors who had control over northern Italian theaters at the time.
The premiere was a triumph, regardless of any controversy, and is considered by many to be the first of the masterpieces of Verdi’s middle-to-late career. An immediate success, Rigoletto enjoyed the equivalent of a “smash hit”, as the Duke’s cynical aria, “La donna è mobile” was sung in the streets the next morning. A great box-office success for La Fenice, it was Verdi’s first major Italian triumph since the 1847 premiere of Macbeth in Florence. Rigoletto’s initial run of 13 performances was revived in Venice the following year, and again in 1854. Rigoletto now features in all lists of great operas. In order to create the beautiful red, white and black diamonds in the pen, a diffusion bonding technique has been used to weld them together.
The Ricoletto is available from late September 2013 as a fountain pen and rollerball.
