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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.
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