Toledo Opera Opens 50th Season with Verdi's Rigoletto
Toledo, OH -Toledo Opera will open its 50th celebratory season with Rigoletto, a supreme lyrical masterpiece by the great Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi, on November 8 and 14 at 7:30 pm and November 16 at 2 pm at The Valentine Theatre. It is a magical combination of music and drama: combining political power, depravity, brutality and pathos. Verdi described Rigoletto as “the best subject that I’ve ever set to music.”
The story is based on Victor Hugo’s play, Le Roi s’amuse, which premiered in Paris in 1832. It depicted the libertine escapades and adventures of the pleasure-loving King François I of France, but the drama featured as its primary force an ugly, disillusioned and malicious hunchbacked court jester. Verdi was especially intrigued by the character of Triboulet, the jester whom Verdi renamed Rigoletto. The opera deals with conflicts and tensions between parent and sibling: Rigoletto the father and Gilda the daughter. Rigoletto attempts to shield her from the evil and hostile world of which he is so familiar, a world that he experiences daily at the court of the Duke of Mantua. His greatest fear is that Gilda maybe taken advantage of by the lecherous Duke and his courtiers.
When Verdi wrote Rigoletto at the age of 38, he was the most popular opera composer in the world. He was unequivocally opera’s superstar. With Rigoletto, Verdi launched his quest for intense human passion on the lyric stage. He understood that the common man experiences emotions as genuinely as kings, gods and heroes, and it was real people he wished to depict.
Performing the role of Rigoletto is baritone Jason Stearns, making his Toledo Opera debut. Mr. Stearns debuted in Europe in a new production of Il Trovatore with Musiktheater im Revier in Gelsenkirchen. Recent engagements include performances with Los Angeles Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Leipzig Opera, and the Washington National Opera. Following his performances in Toledo, Mr. Stearns will make his debut in the role of Monterone with the Metropolitan Opera. Soprano Rachel Watkins will play Rigoletto’s daughter Gilda. Last season Ms. Watkins debuted with Opera Tampa as Juliette in Romeo et Juliette. Other recent performances include Adina in L’elisir d’amore, Violetta in La traviata and the Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute with Opernhaus Zürich. In 2007, Anton Coppola selected Ms. Watkins to sing the title role of Rosina in his opera Sacco and Vanzetti. An active recitalist in both Europe and the United States, she recently made her Lincoln Center debut under the auspices of the Joy in Singing Foundation. Tenor Yoonsoo Shin will bring to life the role of the libertine Duke of Mantua. Mr. Shin has received numerous awards from prestigious competitions including the Licia Albanese Puccini Foundation, the Liederkranz Foundation Competition, and the Metropolitan National Opera Competition. Mr. Shin has performed at various leading opera companies in the United States including Cleveland Opera and New York City Opera, where he specializes in lyric tenor roles including Rodolfo in La bohème, Ferrando in Cosi fan tutte, Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor and Des Grieux in Manon. Bass Randall Jakobsh from British Columbia will play the villainous role of Sparafucile. Mr. Jakobsh has established an international reputation with major opera companies in Europe, South America, Canada and the United States. He recently made his Salzburg debut as Pharnaces in König Kandaules by Alexander Zemlinsky, a role he reprised at Opéra Nancy, and Teatro Colon de Buenes Aires. He debuted at Teatro Liceu in Barcelona as Le Spectre in Hamlet and returned to Barcelona as L’Ombra di Nono in Rossini’s Semiramide. With Washington Opera he has been heard as Alidoro in La Cenerentola, and has appeared with the Baltimore Opera as Escamillo in Carmen.
Grammy award-winning conductor Thomas Conlin will conduct the Toledo Symphony Orchestra and internationally renowned stage director Linda Brosvky will direct the production with sets by designed by New Orleans Opera.
This is Verdi at his white-hot best, with music that is muscular and emotional. Single ticket prices begin at $29.00 and may be purchased online at toledoopera.org, or by phone at 419-255-7464. Discounts are available for students, seniors and groups of 10 or more. Rigoletto will be sung in Italian with English translations projected above the stage.
Press Release Contact Name: Loviah Aldinger
Press Release Contact Email: [email protected]
Press Release Contact Phone: 419-255-7464
Organization Name: Toledo Opera
Website or Link: toledoopera.org
Organization Address: 425 Jefferson Ave., Suite 601, Toledo, OH, 43604