La donna è mobile, from Rigoletto (viola duo)

Title: La donna è mobile, from the opera Rigoletto

Compose: Giuseppe Verdi, arr. David Gable

Instrumentation: Two Violas

Printout: 2 pages

Note: When Verdi completed his score for Rigoletto, he did not allow the tenor singing the role of the Duke of Mantua to see the music for La donna è mobile until the day of the performance, lest it be publicly heard before the premier. (The tenor must have been a quick study!) Verdi was certain the catchy tune would be a hit, and he was right. The audience left the theater humming the tune, and within days organ grinders in the streets were playing what would become Verdi’s most widely recognized composition.

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More Verdi for two violas:

Anvil Chorus, from Il Trovatore
Grand March, from Aida
Soldier’s Chorus (Part I – “Or co’ dadi), from Il Trovatore
Un di felice, eterea, from La Traviata
Valse, from La Traviata
Va Pensiero, from Nabucco