A dramatic journey of undeniable force, Rigoletto was immensely popular from its premiere and remains fresh and powerful to this day. The story, based on a controversial play by Victor Hugo, tells of an outsider—a hunchbacked jester—who struggles to balance the dueling elements of beauty and evil that exist in his life. Written during the most fertile period of Verdi’s artistic life, the opera resonates with a universality that is frequently called Shakespearean.
Read the synopsis and program guide from the Metropolitan Opera.
From the Met: "Rigoletto contains a wealth of melody, including one that is among the world’s most famous: 'La donna è mobile.' All the opera’s solos are rich with character insight and dramatic development.
"The famous Act III quartet, 'Bella figlia dell’amore,' is an ingenious musical analysis of the diverging reactions of the four principals in the same moment: the Duke’s music rises with urgency and impatience, Gilda’s droops with disappointment, Rigoletto’s remains measured and paternal, while the promiscuous Maddalena is literally all over the place. In the context of the opera, the merely lovely music becomes inspired drama."
Composer: Giuseppe Verdi
Libretto: Francesco Maria Piave
CAST:
Duke of Mantua: Pene Pati
Borsa: Scott Scully
Countess Ceprano: Tessa McQueen
Rigoletto: Luca Salsi
Marullo: Yeongtaek Yang
Count Ceprano: Christopher Job
Monterone: Blake Denson
Sparafucile: Soloman Howard
Gilda: Erin Morley
Giovanna: Eve Gigliotti
Page: Mikki Sodergren
Guard: Yohan Yi
Maddalena: Rihab Chaieb
