Music by GIUSEPPE VERDI
Libretto by FRANCESCO MARIA PIAVE
*Dayton Opera Debut
DAYTON OPERA THOMAS BANKSTON artistic director
DAYTON OPERA CHORUS MASTER JEFFREY POWELL
DAYTON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA
IN ITALIAN WITH ENGLISH SURTITLES
A ringing curse ignites this gripping tale of lost innocence and a father’s bitter revenge. Verdi was so electrified by Victor Hugo’s controversial story that he composed Rigoletto at white hot speed. "The subject is grand, immense, and there is a character that is one of the greatest creations that the theatre can boast of, in any country and in all history," he wrote his librettist. “…it came to me like a flash of lightning, an inspiration, and I said to myself….Yes, by God, this one can’t go wrong,” he informed his publisher a few days later.
In this beloved work, you’ll meet one of Verdi’s most vivid characters: Rigoletto, a hump-backed jester who earns his living by amusing the lascivious Duke of Mantua. When he mocks the anguish of a father whose daughter is a victim of the Duke, the grieving father curses Rigoletto, setting into motion this tragic tale of love, remorse, and revenge, and showcasing some of opera’s greatest hits.
It is no wonder that Rigoletto is consistently in the top ten most-produced operas in the world. At the final curtain of its heart-wrenching finale, you’ll certainly be glad you came!
