SOLOISTS INCLUDE
Rigoletto – Grant Doyle
Duke of Mantua – Charne Rochford
Gilda – Carleen Ebbs
Sparafucile – Denis Sedov
Giovanna – Monika-Evelin Liiv
Maddalena – Aigul Akhmetshina
Count Ceprano – Antoine Salmon
Countess Ceprano – Latana Phoung
Borsa – Alexander Pidgen
Monterone – Stephen Kennedy
Marullo – James Rock
DIRECTION
Musical director – Philip Hesketh
Artistic director – Bernadette Grimmett
This is widely considered to be the first of the operatic masterpieces of Verdi’s middle-to-late career. Its tragic story revolves around the licentious Duke of Mantua, his hunch-backed court jester Rigoletto, and Rigoletto’s beautiful daughter Gilda. The opera’s original title, La maledizione (The Curse), refers to a curse placed on both the Duke and Rigoletto by a courtier whose daughter the Duke has seduced with Rigoletto’s encouragement. The curse comes to fruition when Gilda falls in love with the Duke and sacrifices her life to save him from assassins hired by her father.
New production. Rigoletto has previously been produced by Opéra de Baugé in 2010.
