"" (pronounced as /it/; "Woman is fickle") is the Duke of Mantua's canzone from the beginning of act 3 of Giuseppe Verdi's opera Rigoletto (1851). The canzone is famous as a showcase for tenors. Raffaele Mirate's performance of the bravura aria at the opera's 1851 premiere was hailed as the highlight of the evening. Before the opera's first public performance (in Venice), the aria was rehearsed under tight secrecy, a necessary precaution, as "" proved to be incredibly catchy and soon after the aria's first public performance, it became popular to sing among Venetian gondoliers.
As the opera progresses, the reprise of the tune in the following scenes contributes to Rigoletto's confusion as he realizes from the sound of the Duke's lively voice coming from the tavern (offstage) that the body in the sack over which he had grimly triumphed was not that of the Duke after all; Rigoletto had paid Sparafucile, an assassin, to kill the Duke, but Sparafucile had deceived Rigoletto by indiscriminately killing Gilda, Rigoletto's beloved daughter, instead.[1]
The almost comical-sounding theme of "" is introduced immediately. The theme is repeated several times in the approximately two to three minutes it takes to perform the aria, but with the important—and obvious—omission of the last bar. This has the effect of driving the music forward as it creates the impression of being incomplete and unresolved, which it is, ending not on the tonic (B) or dominant (F) but on the submediant (G). Once the Duke has finished singing, however, the theme is once again repeated; this time, it includes the last—and conclusive—bar and finally resolves to the tonic of B major. The song is in strophic form with an orchestral ritornello.
The lyrics are based on a phrase by King Francis I of France, French: [[wikt:souvent femme varie, bien fol est qui s'y fie|Souvent femme varie, bien fol qui s'y fie.]] [Women are fickle, and who trusts them is a fool.], that he, deceived by one of his numerous mistresses, reputedly engraved on a window pane. Victor Hugo used this phrase verbatim in his play, Le roi s'amuse, on which Rigoletto is based.[2] Fleury François Richard depicted in an 1804 oil painting Francis engraving the lines.[3]
Sempre un amabile,leggiadro viso,in pianto o in riso,è menzognero.
RefrainLa donna è mobil'.Qual piuma al vento,muta d'accentoe di pensier'!
È sempre miserochi a lei s'affida,chi le confidamal cauto il cuore!
Pur mai non sentesifelice appienochi su quel senonon liba amore!
RefrainLa donna è mobil'Qual piuma al vento,muta d'accentoe di pensier'![4]
Always a lovely,pretty face,in tears or in laughter,it is untrue.
RefrainWoman is fickle.Like a feather in the wind,she changes her wordsand her thoughts!
Always miserableis he who trusts her,he who confides in herhis unwary heart!
Yet one never feelsfully happywho from that bosomdoes not drink love!
RefrainWoman is fickle.Like a feather in the wind,she changes her words,and her thoughts!
Thus heart of womankindEv'ry way bendeth,Woe who dependethOn joy she spendeth!
RefrainYes, heart of womanEv'ry way bendethWoe who dependethOn joy she spends.
Sorrow and miseryFollow her smiling,Fond hearts beguiling,falsehood assoiling!
Yet all felicityIs her bestowing,No joy worth knowingIs there but wooing.
RefrainYes, heart of womanEv'ry way bendethWoe who dependethOn joy she spends.
The tune has been used in popular culture for a long time and for many occasions and purposes. Verdi knew that he had written a catchy tune, so he provided the score to the singer at the premiere, Raffaele Mirate, only shortly before the premiere and had him swear not to sing or whistle the song outside rehearsals.[5] And indeed, people sang the tune the next day in the streets. Early on, it became a barrel organ staple and was later used extensively in television advertisements.[6] Football fans chanted new words to the tune of the melody.[7] When all of Italy was under lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a video of opera singer Maurizio Marchini performing "La donna è mobile" and other arias and songs from his balcony in Florence went viral.[8]