On Wednesday, December 6th at 8:30 PM, at the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa, the stage will host “Rigoletto,” one of the most famous and beloved works by Verdi, offered by the Carlo Felice Theater at the start of the 2017-2018 season.
Centered around the dramatic and original character of a court jester, Rigoletto initially faced censorship from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The play “Le Roi s’amuse” suffered the same fate in 1832, banned by censorship and only revived fifty years after its premiere.
What neither the public nor the critics appreciated in Hugo’s drama was the unvarnished portrayal of the dissolute life at the court of the King of France, centered around the libertinism of François I. In the opera, the libretto transfers the action, as a compromise, to the then nonexistent court of Mantua, replacing the King of France with a duke, and changing the name Triboulet to Rigoletto.
A drama of passion, betrayal, filial love, and vengeance, Rigoletto offers not only a perfect melodic and dramatic combination but also highlights social tensions and the subordinate condition of women, which audiences of the 19th century could easily recognize.
Francesco Ivan Ciampa will alternate with Dorian Wilson (on the 22nd, 23rd, 27th, and 29th), to conduct the Orchestra and Choir of the Carlo Felice Theater. The three casts that will alternate are of such significance that they can all be considered a first-rate ensemble: the famous baritone Leo Nucci, Amartuvshin Enkhbat, and Carlos Álvarez will portray the enigma of Rigoletto’s court; the renowned soprano Maria Mudryak, Leonor Bonilla, and Celso Albelo will be Gilda, his beloved daughter; Antonio Gandia, Massimiliano Pisapia, and Celso Albelo will take on the role of the libertine Duke of Mantua; Dario Russo and Mihailo Šljivić will be the assassin Sparafucile; Anastasia Boldyreva and Kamelia Kadare will play his sister Maddalena.
The direction is once again entrusted, as in the 2013 Rigoletto, to baritone Rolando Panerai.
