Let me get right to the point. “Rigoletto”, now at Lyric Opera, is a vocally ravishing, near-perfect production that you should rush to see before its run ends on November 3rd. It is good to see Lyric nicely rebounding from its well-intentioned, but flawed, opening production of Gluck’s “Orphee et Eurydice”.
Rigoletto sings to Gilda
The opera is one of (Giuseppe) Verdi’s triumphs in which he delved deeper into writing music closely married to the story’s drama. And the story is one that is full of so many elements that strongly resonate in our time: a parent’s love, sex, power and corruption. On Opening Night (October 7), both my companion and I thought the Duke of Mantua’s modern counterpart was Harvey Weinstein with Donald Trump not far behind.
It is an opera in which the trio of leading roles demands great vocal talent. And the trio of Matthew Polenzani as the lascivious Duke of Mantua, Rosa Feola, as the innocent Gilda in love with the Duke and Quinn Kelsey as the court jester, Rigoletto, blend beautifully together and deliver the vocal goods. Each sang their roles with freshness and rich tones with nary a miscue all evening. The opera has some of Verdi’s most stirring music such as the meltingly moving aria between Rigoletto and his daughter, Gilda in Act Two and the Duke’s famous “La Donna Mobile”. It seemed to be more of a “sung opera” than most, in that Verdi one aria leadling inexorably into another, driving the story along.
Rigoletto and the Duke
Lyric also made a smart choice in engaging the sought-after Italian conductor, Marco Armiliato, to play coax spirited playing of Verdi’s splendid score from Lyric’s stellar orchestra and the promising E. Loren Meeker to keep all the parts moving seamlessly.
Rigoletto is the tale of a curse cast on Rigoletto in Act One that is fulfilled at the end of the opera. The court jester’s over-protective love for his daughter leads to conflict and her unintended death.
I saw the Metropolitan Opera’s Live 2013 telecast of the opera in which director Michael Mayer had the inspired idea to transfer the action from 16th Century Mantua to modern-day Las Vegas with the Duke as the leader of a gamblers’ “rat pack”. That production featured the great tenor, Piotr Beczala, and generated much amusement. Lyric’s production was low on laughs but struck me as having a deeper emotional core.
I left the hall knowing that I’d spent a great night at the opera. You have five more chances to catch this winning production. For tickets, go to www.lyricopera.org.