(Photo by Todd Rosenberg Photography) Lyric Opera of Chicago’s first season without erstwhile General Director Anthony Freud began as his last concluded: with Verdi. Lyric opened 2024-25 and John Mangum’s tenure far more successfully than last season’s dispiriting staging of “Aida,” with Verdi’s indestructible mid-career masterpiece “Rigoletto.” On opening nights, Lyric usually mounts either a new production or one new-to-Chicago, {…}
The Metropolitan Opera is set to revive Verdi’s “Rigoletto” in Bartlett Sher’s production. The opera will showcase two different casts. In the fall season, Quinn Kelsey reprises his devastating portrayal of the title court jester. operaWire noted, “Note for note, moment for moment, this without any doubt in my mind is the most compelling Rigoletto that I’ve heard at the {…}
France’s Les Voix des Forges has announced its programming for the summer of 2024 at the Festival de Musique Forges de Jaegerthal. The season opens with “L’Amur est un oiseau rebelle” will feature works by Verdi, Puccini, Bernstein, Bizet, and Gounod among others. Vocal performers include Camille Tresmontant, Guillaume Paire, Céline Mellon, Alexandra Hewson, Carole Meyer, and Rémi Ortega. They {…}
Druid City Opera at The University of Alabama will present Verdi’s “Rigoletto” for one night only. The famed melodrama will take the stage on May 16, 2024, with a cast starring Lauren Nash Silberstein as Gilda, David Tayloe as the Duke of Mantua, and Jacob Lassetter in the titular role. They are joined by Alexis Davis-Hazell as Maddalena and Peter {…}
The Bilbao Opera has announced that the recent production of Verdi’s “Rigoletto” broke records. The production, which ended on Feb. 26, broke box office records and saw the final performance completely sold out. Additionally, the entire production sold 90 percent. The company also announced that the third and fourth performances received a double encore during the “Si, vendetta tremenda vendetta” {…}
The ABAO Bilbao Opera will continue its 72nd season with Verdi’s “Rigoletto.” The opera, which will be performed from Feb. 17 to 26, 2024, will be performed at the Euskalduna Bilbao and will see the company debut of Amartuvshin Enkhbat, who has become one of the most sought-after Verdi baritones of his generation. He will be joined by Sabina Puértolas {…}
This week, Opera San José is set to bring a production of Verdi’s “Rigoletto” with a cast of rising stars and veterans of San Jose including Eugene Brancoveanu. Brancoveanu is a Tony Award-winning baritone who became a Resident Artist of San Jose during the 2019-2020 season and stayed with the company until 2023. He became a favorite of the company {…}
It belongs in the past, the idea of gathering excellent singers for opening night and then choosing unknown young performers for alternative casts. Teatro Real, with the participation of Quinn Kelsey, John Osborn and Gianluca Buratto, proved how strong cast C was for its production of “Rigoletto.” Quinn Kelsey as Rigoletto Baritone Quinn Kelsey portrayed the titular role. He has {…}
The Teatro Real de Madrid continued its run of “Rigoletto” with a second cast under the musical direction of Nicola Luisotti. Since our earlier review of the first cast already explores the production itself, we will jump right into an analysis of the vocal performances. Étienne Dupuis was a lyrical Rigoletto, but far too lyrical. His warm and effortless timbre {…}
(Credit: Javier del Real) A woman’s whimper, a stifled scream, echoes in the dark. She flees into the theatre, amidst the stalls, chased by a few men in ominous rabbit masks. She seeks refuge on stage, terrified in front of the bright red curtain, the pack hunts her down, overpowers her. The trombones attack the prelude, with haunting repeated notes, {…}
Credit: Meg Goldman Verdi’s “Rigoletto” was staged by Regina Opera Company in Brooklyn, New York, at Our Lady of Perpetual Help on Nov. 18, 2023. Impressive vocalists in the cast included Peter Hakjoon Kim in the title role, Veronica Mak as Gilda, and Christopher Trapani as the Duke of Mantua. Scott Jackson Wiley was on the podium, conducting the Regina {…}