He warns her maid Giovanna (Erika Ross) that no one must be allowed in the house, and that Gilda can leave only to go to church.



When he leaves, Gilda tells Giovanna that she feels guilty — she is attracted to a man who has followed them to church. Unbeknownst to her, it is the Duke (Jeremy Corneil), disguised as a student, who has bribed Giovanna to let him into the house.
Startled at first, Gilda soon surrenders to the Duke’s ardent declaration of love for her. After he leaves, she sings of how she now knows the name of the first man she has ever loved.

The courtiers, led by Ceprano and Marullo, arrive to take revenge. They tell Rigoletto they have come to kidnap Ceprano’s wife, blindfold him instead of giving him a mask, and kidnap Gilda while he holds a ladder against what he thinks is the wall of Ceprano’s palace.