Rigoletto
Giuseppe Verdi
New production.
Opera in three acts.
Libretto by Francesco Maria Piave based on Le Roi s’amuse by Victor Hugo.
Premiered on March 11, 1851 at Teatro La Fenice in Venice.
In coproduction with the Opéra Grand Avignon and the Opéra Nice Côte d’Azur.
Infos
Mulhouse
La Filature
Strasbourg
Opéra
Intermission included.
To help you better appreciate the works you are about to discover, we invite you to attend a “Prologue”— a brief 30-minute introduction — one hour before the performance.
Cast
Musical direction Clelia Cafiero, Sunny Xia Stage direction Eddy Garaudel Collaboratrice artistique Adriane Breznay Set design Manuel La Casta Costume design Isabelle Deffin Lignting design Georgia Tavares Dramaturgy Leila Adham Chœur de l’Opéra national du Rhin, Orchestre national de Mulhouse
Artists
Rigoletto Aleksei Isaev Duke of Mantua Mario Rojas Gilda Julia Muzychenko Sparafucile Sulkhan Jaiani Maddalena Héloïse Mas Count Monterone David Ireland Marullo Jiawen Li Borsa Aleksandre Khukhushvili Count Ceprano Daniel Dropulja Countess Ceprano Naïma Wanshe A page Inès Prevet Giovanna Marie Lenormand
Presentation
The Duke stops at nothing when he sets his eyes on an object of desire, and his philandering ways are common knowledge throughout Mantua. No courtier is spared the constant mocking of his hunchbacked jester, Rigoletto, whose biting wit earns him a curse from Count Monterone. But as night falls and the court’s eyes turn away, the king’s fool reveals a different side: a devoted and protective father, painfully aware of the world’s harsh realities. Meanwhile, his daughter Gilda harbors a secret passion for a young, ambitious student—who is none other than the Duke in disguise. Now Rigoletto must shield his family from the looming dangers and the cruel fate that threatens to engulf them all.
Verdi drew inspiration from Victor Hugo’s acclaimed romantic drama, Le Roi s’amuse, transforming the jester—a figure both cynical and deeply sympathetic—into the opera’s leading protagonist. He infused Rigoletto with a rich tapestry of dramatic devices: a blend of genres, film noir levels of suspense, layered psychological depth, and an intense musical density woven with unforgettable, masterfully composed melodies. Collaborating with conductor Clelia Cafiero, a specialist in Italian opera, director Eddy Garaudel sets the tale within a shady, disturbing world that mirrors the ruthless machinations of those in power.
In Italian
Subtitles in French and German.
