PBS’s Great Performances at the Met will continue on June 17 with a presentation of Verdi’s “Rigoletto.” The opera, which was directed by Bartlett Sher, stars Quinn Kelsey, Piotr Beczala and Rosa Feola. Conductor Daniele Rustioni leads the cast and mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard hosts the program. Of an early performance in the run, OperaWire’s review noted that Feola “brought beautiful {…}
The Greek National Opera is set to present Verdi’s “Rigoletto” starting on June 2, 2022. The new production will be directed by Artistic Director Katerina Evangelatos, who will set the opera in a 1980s Italian town. The repertory classic will star Dimitris Paksoglou as the Duke of Mantua, Dimitris Tiliakos as Rigoletto, Christina Poulitsi as Gilda, Petros Magoulas as Sparafucile, {…}
On April 10, the Opernhaus Zürich will revive its acclaimed production of Verdi’s “Rigoletto.” The production will feature veteran performers and some of the most acclaimed interpreters of the opera. However, there will be a newcomer to the opera, Sandra Hamaoui. The French-American soprano will make her role debut as Gilda following her successful turn as Constance in a new {…}
Nashville Opera is set to present “Rigoletto Noir” on April 7 and 9, 2022. The production, which was canceled twice because of the pandemic, will star Aleksey Bogdanov in the title role with Sarah Coburn as Gilda and Daniel Montenegro as the Duke. Rounding out the cast will be Kevin Thompson in the role of Sparafucile. Per the company’s official {…}
(Photo: R. Tinker) The ever-elusive Verdi baritone. A voice with a unique timbre, range, expressive quality, and psychological immersion that manages to let us into the lives of the composer’s most complex and complete characters. A lot of baritones aspire to this title, but it’s not in the cards for most of them. But it was for Todd Thomas. Just {…}
The Royal Opera House has canceled its first performance of “Rigoletto” on Feb. 18, 2022. The company said, “We are sorry to announce that tonight’s performance of Rigoletto is canceled due to storm Eunice.” For ticket holders, the company will credit their accounts directly. Storm Eunice has already torn down rooftops and trees, crushed cars, and sent planes skidding on {…}
The Staatsoper Berlin has announced a cast change for “Rigoletto.” Sofia Fomina will sing the role of Gilda for the Feb. 17 performance, replacing Erin Morley who tested positive for COVID-19. Morley took to social media and said, “Welp, COVID finally arrived at my door! I’m doing just fine — grateful to be vaccinated and boosted. Sending all the positive {…}
Opera Philadelphia is set to return to the Academy of Music stage for the first time since September 2019 with a new production of “Rigoletto.” The opera, which will be performed four times from April 29-May 8, will return to the company for the first time in 15 years. The new production will see baritone Anthony Clark Evans take on the title {…}
The Polish National Opera is set to present a semi-staged production of Verdi’s “Rigoletto.” Following the cancellation of “Carmen” due to COVID-19, the company will go ahead with performances. The company stated, “despite the COVID-19 absences within our team, we have decided to go ahead with the upcoming run of ‘Rigoletto’ in a semi-staged version.” The sumptuous scenery for the {…}
The Royal Opera House has announced a cast change for its upcoming production of “Rigoletto.” The company noted, Mexican tenor Javier Camarena has withdrawn from all “Rigoletto” performances. As a result, the role of the Duke of Mantua will be performed by Italian tenor Francesco Demuro. Demuro made his Royal Opera debut as Rinuccio in “Gianni Schicchi” in 2011 and {…}
(Credit: Ken Howard: Metropolitan Opera) The Metropolitan Opera has announced that performances will be held as scheduled on Jan. 29, 2022. The company noted that both its performances of Verdi’s “Rigoletto” and Puccini’s “Tosca” will go ahead as planned despite the winter storm in the New York City area. New York City is currently being battered by a winter storm {…}