Rigoletto - a tale of love and corruption

Rigoletto, by Giuseppe Verdi

NBR New Zealand Opera

Wellington, St James Theatre

May 19-26

Auckland, ASB Theatre, Aotea Centre,
June 7-17

The NBR New Zealand Opera’s production of Verdi’s opera Rigoletto which opens in Wellington next month is one of the great classic operas which exposes the nature of power and how it corrupts institutions and individuals.

Aidan Lang, deneral director of the company, is excited to be presenting this great and enduring work.

“The great works of the operatic canon are great for a reason,” he says.

“Beneath the surface of their glorious music and thrilling theatre there are ostensibly bigger issues at stake – issues to make us think about the world we live in today and tell us things about ourselves in a direct and sometimes forceful way.

"Rigoletto is one such piece.

“By interweaving two enormously strong dramatic threads – the abuse of power and the power of the father/daughter relationship – Rigoletto retains its potent impact to this day.”

Hardened by a life of daily taunts, Rigoletto aids and abets his master in the seduction of young women.

He mocks their stricken husbands and fathers – until the tables are horribly turned.

The duke seduces Rigoletto’s daughter Gilda and Rigoletto is driven mad with despair. Revenge seems to be his only solution, but fate has something else in store.

The largely shady, but true-to-life characters in Rigoletto are vividly portrayed by a superb, predominantly male cast.

All the characters are well fleshed out in the opera which is one of the first major 19th century operas where truly dramatic characters were created which require good actors as well as good singers to catch the emotional tension of the work.

After stand-out performances in The Italian Girl in Algiers and Cav & Pag, Australia’s highly acclaimed baritone Warwick Fyfe returns to undertake the great central role of Rigoletto, “the zenith of the Verdi baritone repertoire”, he says.

Soprano Emma Pearson, an equally popular Australian on our shores, returns from her triumphant Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro to sing his daughter Gilda.

Following a star turn in last year’s Cav & Pag, Mexican tenor Rafael Rojas is back with the company to play the philandering Duke of Mantua.

From Egypt, bass baritone Ashraf Sewailam joins the cast as hired killer Sparafucile.

And from New Zealand, baritone Rodney Macann, one of our greatest and most successful international artists, takes the role of Count Monterone, while mezzo soprano Kristin Darragh, whose international career is just taking off, returns from her German base to sing Maddalena.

Smaller principal roles are sung by James Clayton (Count Ceprano), Derek Hill (Matteo Borsa), Matthew Landreth (Cavaliere Marullo), Emma Fraser (Countess Ceprano), Wendy Doyle (Giovanna), and Moses Mackay (The Usher).

Rounding out the cast is the all-male Chapman Tripp Opera Chorus.

Rigoletto is sung in Italian with English surtitles.

The production is directed by Lindy Hume, designed by Richard Roberts, and lit by Jason Morphett.

Wyn Davies conducts the Vector Wellington Orchestra and the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra.

RIGOLETTO

# WELLINGTON – St James Theatre

May: Sat 19, Thu 24, & Sat 26 at 7.30pm; Tue 22, 6pm

# AUCKLAND – ASB Theatre, Aotea Centre

June: Thu 7, Sat 9, Wed 13 & Fri 15 at 7.30pm; Sun 17, 2.30pm