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La Donna e Mobile" is the aria in Giuseppe Verdi's opera masterpiece "Rigoletto." It is a bouncy, merry melody that would be recognizable to many people, even those who have never seen the opera itself. Such is the catchiness of Verdi's composition.

Meaning and Irony

The title translates from Italian as "the woman is fickle" (or "flighty" or "capricious"). That thought is developed in the refrain of the aria, which translates as something like "The woman is fickle / Like a feather in the wind / She changes in voice and in thought / And in thought! / And in thought!" Women, it would seem, have but the faintest grasp on their own thoughts and desires, and these change with the wind.

The aria is performed in the third act of the opera and is sung by the Duke of Mantua, an infamous womanizer and ultimately the opera's antagonist. This "women are fickle" attitude comes across as being a motto of the duke, which is gravely ironic; he is the hyper-amarous character whose desires change on a whim, and it's his careless womanizing that sets in motion the tragedy the opera depicts.

To underscore the irony, as the tragedy is revealed in full to Rigoletto, the eponymous protagonist, the audience can hear the duke once more delivering a reprise of the melody in the background.

Premiere

"Rigoletto" premiered in Venice in 1851 and was widely hailed as a triumph. Verdi was aware of at least the aria's potential to grip the audience. The opera was rehearsed in tight secrecy. Verdi only allowed Raffaele Mirate, the tenor who would play the duke, access to the score a few nights in advance and demanded that the tenor neither sing nor whistle the tune in public before the premiere. For all of Verdi's paranoia, he was right: The next morning, the gondoliers of Venice were all singing the song.

Cultural Relevance

"La Donna e Mobile" has since become a standard among great tenors. Among those who have recorded famous performances of the aria are Enrico Caruso, Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti. Furthermore, the song has found its own place in modern pop culture thanks in large part to its catchiness. The song -- or parodies of it -- have been featured in television shows such as "Seinfeld" and "The Simpsons." The melody is also popular among supporters of Premier League soccer teams, who have their own lyrics set to the tune. イーモバイル ps3 セット