Opera

Rigoletto

Giuseppe Verdi

The fool in Nikolaus Lehnhoff’s production of Rigoletto is clad in poisonous green, and equally toxic is his mockery of the gaggle of courtiers around the Duke of Mantua. But emotionally the fool is a mess, constantly worried about his daughter Gilda, whom he jealously shields from the clutches of the Duke, an infamous rake.

When Gilda nevertheless falls victim to the Duke, Rigoletto swears bloody vengeance. But the plan backfires … The hugely successful premiere of Rigoletto took place at the Teatro La Fenice in 1851. Giuseppe Verdi created a score which he himself described as ”revolutionary“ in its ground-breaking musical and dramatic intensity. The end result is a deeply shocking work, and perhaps the best opera by the great Italian.

Opera in three acts
Libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on the verse drama Le roi s'amuse by Victor Hugo

Performed in Italian with German and English surtitles

Premiere
21. June 2008,

No further performances in the current season.

Premiere cast

Sächsischer Staatsopernchor Dresden
 Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden

Generously supported by the Semperoper Foundation

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