Rigoletto

Rigoletto

Verdi’s searing exploration of a father’s love for his daughter in his masterpiece – Rigoletto. A love that is too intense, too controlling and ultimately lethal. An opera that explodes with superb melodies, intricate ensembles and exuberant choruses.
Irish National Opera

“Alone, deformed, poor,” is how Rigoletto describes himself. His beloved wife is dead. He sees himself as being without homeland, relatives, friends, religion or family. His daughter Gilda is his entire universe, but he keeps her very existence secret. He will do anything to protect her from the malevolent forces he experiences in his own life. At court a rich, powerful and predatory duke, “vile” courtiers, debauched orgies. On the street, assassins and sex workers.

Star soprano Soraya Mafi is an innocent Gilda, baritone Michael Chioldi a towering Rigoletto, tenor Bekhzod Davronov a dashing Duke and mezzo Niamh O’Sullivan a seductive Maddalena. New production by Julien Chavaz, presented in co-production with Santa Fe Opera and Opera Zuid.

Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Dublin 01, 03, 05, 07 December 2024

Creative Team:
Director: Julien Chavaz
Set Designer: Jamie Vartan
Costume Designer: Jean-Jacques Delmotte
Lighting Designer: Rick Fisher
Movement Director: Nicole Morel

Cast:
Rigoletto: Michael Chioldi
Gilda: Soraya Mafi
Duke of Mantua: Bekhzod Davronov
Sparafucile: Julian Close
Maddalena: Niamh O’Sullivan
Count Monterone: Phillip Rhodes
Borsa: Andrew Masterson
Marullo: Seán Boylan
Count Ceprano: David Howes
Giovanna: Leanne Fitzgerald
Countess Ceprano: Sarah Luttrell
A Court Usher: Matthew Mannion
A Page: Caroline Behan

Irish National Opera Chorus
Irish National Opera Orchestra
Conductor: Fergus Sheil

★★★★ In the pit was conductor Fergus Sheil. With well-judged tempi and pacing he allowed the music to match the action on stage.  – Bachtrack

The company’s artistic director, Fergus Sheil, conducted with great bravura and the orchestral playing matched the exemplary singing – Opera Magazine

The musical side of the production was in the hands of the conductor Fergus Sheil, who successfully captured the depth and delicacy of the score’s rich textures in a gripping performance from the Irish National Opera Orchestra. The sound was clearly defined and rhythmically strong, and the musical momentum was expertly handled to successfully reflect the changing atmosphere, shifting perfectly between capturing the turbulence and unpredictability of the sea, the heavy gloom that hung over the work and the interactions between the characters – Operawire

Fergus Sheil conducts with a passion that manages never to overwhelm – Sunday Independent

Choosing the correct tempo is everything and conductor Fergus Sheil kept the pace moving to good dramatic effect – The Journal of Music

The entire production was underpinned by a polished performance by the Irish National Opera orchestra and conductor Fergus Sheil, Irish National Opera’s artistic director – Nomoreworkhorse