Baritone Michael Mayes returns to Louisiana to sing the title role in Verdi’s “Rigoletto” for one night only.

The baritone will perform the role on March 26, 2022 at Shreveport Opera, where Mayes sang early in his career, including Danilo in “The Merry Widow” and the title role of Mozart’s “Don Giovanni.”

On his return, Mayes said, “I made my debut at Shreveport opera 12 years ago. In those years, Shreveport Opera was one of the few companies that would give me the time of day. It was at places like Shreveport Opera that I would get my education about what it means to tell a story in the operatic genre. At the time I was often beset with episodes of consternation at my exclusion from the large American Opera companies; in retrospect, I will always be grateful to Shreveport Opera for the incredible gift they gave me with mentorship from men like Dean Anthony, Jerome Shannon, and Steve Aiken. I’ve always believed that you should ‘dance with them that brung ya,’ and I am looking forward to making my way around the dancefloor with them one more time when I sing Rigoletto there this March.”

John Baril will conduct the opera in a production by Adam Cioffari. Laura Sanders stars as Gilda alongside Dylan Davis as the Duke. The cast is rounded out by Sarah Saturnino and Gregory Frank.