Verdi: Rigoletto
The Met's new production
In this staging by Tony Award-winning director Bartlett Sher, the story is transplanted from Renaissance Mantua (or, relative to the earlier production, from the setting of a Las Vegas casino) to 1920s Europe. Daniele Rustioni, who conducted a memorable performance of Luisa Miller at Müpa Budapest a few years ago, will be working with superb singers like the ever triumphant Piotr Beczała in the role of the Duke of Mantua and, as a representive of the new generation of Verdian baritones, Quinn Kelsey.
Verdi himself considered this opera to be a revolutionary work, while for posterity Rigoletto is in and of itself probably one of the most characteristic examples of the Italian strain of the genre. This opera, brimming with both passion and musical hits, is a cornerstone of the international repertoire and has naturally been broadcast as part of the Met's HD cinema programme before. Playing the tragic title role of the cursed court entertainer and father this time around will be the American Quinn Kelsey, whose portrayal of Rigoletto has been uniformly praised by critics and opera audiences around the world for its extraordinary dramatic intensity and psychological sophistication. Singing the part of his daughter, Gilda, will be an Italian soprano enjoying a spectacularly skyrocketing career: it was in exactly the same role that Rosa Feola made her Met début in 2019. The third main character in this production promising sets that evoke the atmosphere of art deco and elegantly stylish costumes will be the star Polish tenor Piotr Beczała, who also made a guest appearance in Budapest at the turn of the millennium as the heartlessly seductive Duke of Mantua, in addition to singing at Müpa Budapest.
The 'Metropolitan Opera Live in HD' transmissions have been made possible through the cooperation of our partner, Cikánek Management.
Conductor: Daniele Rustioni
Performers:
Gilda...................................... Rosa Feola
Maddalena............................. Varduhi Abrahamyan
The Duke of Mantua.............. Piotr Beczała
Rigoletto................................ Quinn Kelsey
Sparafucile............................. Andrea Mastroni
Featuring Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra
Creators:
Set designer: Michael Yeargan
Costume designer: Catherine Zuber
Lighting designer: Donald Holder
Director: Bartlett Sher
Presented by: Müpa Budapest
