RIGOLETTO Program

VERDI

R I G O L E T TO A P R I L 29, M AY 1, 6, 8, 2 0 2 2 Academy of Music Part of the Kimmel Cultural Campus

2022–23

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R I G O L E T TO Music by Giuseppe Verdi Libretto by Francesco Maria Piave Conductor Original Director Revival Director Set & Costume Design Lighting Design Chorus Master Wig & Make-up Design Stage Manager

Rigoletto Gilda Duke of Mantua Sparafucile Maddalena Count Monterone Matteo Borsa Marullo Countess Ceprano Count Ceprano Giovanna The Page The Usher

Corrado Rovaris Lindy Hume* Daniel Pelzig* Richard Roberts* Drew Billiau Elizabeth Braden David Zimmerman Jennifer Shaw

Anthony Clark Evans* Raven McMillon* Joshua Blue* Wei Wu* Kristen Choi Ben Wager Julius Ahn Robert Mellon* Kara Goodrich* Grant Youngblood* Lauren Decker* Lindsey Reynolds Frank Mitchell

*Opera Philadelphia debut

Rigoletto runs approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes, including one 20-minute intermission.

Rigoletto includes themes of sexual assault and depictions of violence against women.

Rigoletto is a New Zealand Opera Production.

Leadership support for Rigoletto has been provided by Judy and Peter Leone.

Maestro Corrado Rovaris’ engagement as the Jack Mulroney Music Director has been made possible by Mrs. John P. Mulroney.

Support for the Opera Philadelphia Orchestra and Chorus has been provided by Alice and Walter Strine, Esqs.

B OA R D O F D I R E C TO R S OFFICERS Peter Leone | Chairman Charles C. Freyer | Vice Chair Caroline J. Mackenzie Kennedy | Vice Chair Dr. Eugene E. Stark, Jr. | Vice Chair Sandra K. Baldino | Secretary Thomas Mahoney | Treasurer David B. Devan | President (ex officio) Daniel K. Meyer, M.D. | Immediate Past Chair

MEMBERS

Sarah Marshall Taneise S. Marshall Daniel K. Meyer, M.D. Agnes Mulroney Carolyn Horn Seidle Jonathan H. Sprogell Dr. Eugene E. Stark, Jr. Barbara Augusta Teichert Kathleen Weir

Sandra K. Baldino Lawrence Brownlee Willo Carey Katherine Christiano Maureen Craig William Dunbar Carol S. Eicher Mikael Eliasen Charles C. Freyer Beth W. Glynn Alexander Hankin Valerie Harrison Frederick P. Huff Caroline J. Mackenzie Kennedy Stephen K. Klasko, M.D., M.B.A Beverly Lange, M.D. Peter Leone Thomas Mahoney

HONORARY MEMBERS Dennis Alter H.F. (Gerry) Lenfest† Stephen A. Madva, Esq., Chairman Emeritus Alan B. Miller Alice W. Strine, Esq. Charlotte Watts

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F R O M T H E B OA R D C H A I R M A N Dear Colleagues, Welcome, at last, to opera in the Academy of Music.

Rigoletto is one of about a hundred operas—not to speak of Broadway musicals—based on work by Victor Hugo.

Le roi s’amuse, the Hugo play on which Rigoletto is based, was banned after one show as potentially insulting to France’s then-king. It was not seen again in Paris for another 50 years, following one unsuccessful lawsuit, two revolutions, two republics, and the reign of one emperor. (Verdi’s opera, which substituted a dissolute duke for Hugo’s concupiscent king, ran into trouble with censors before its triumphant premiere in Venice but was performed in Paris for much of the time le roi s’amuse was proscribed there.)

It hasn’t been quite so long since opera took the stage here at the Academy.

Still, this run of Rigoletto comes 942 days after Opera Philadelphia’s last fully staged opera performance. And much has happened here in the interim (though maybe not so much as in 19th-century France).

During our challenging period of disruption, the extraordinary Opera Philadelphia staff has worked diligently and with inspiration to present great music to audiences in any number of venues: from the Mann Center to a West Philadelphia Church, from an American Revolution battlefield on the banks of the Brandywine to the steps of City Hall, to streaming on the Opera Philadelphia Channel. Throughout that journey their efforts have been sustained—financially and emotionally—by you, our Opera Philadelphia community. Thank you for that.

Thanks also and especially to Agnes Mulroney, who steadfastly underwrites our beloved music director, Corrado Rovaris, in honor of her late husband (and Opera Philadelphia board chair) Jack Mulroney; to my former board colleague Alice Strine and her husband Walter for their long-time support for our Orchestra and Chorus; and to our individual artist underwriters Mrs. Sandra K. Baldino, Mr. Peter A. Benoliel and Ms. Willo Carey, Judith Durkin Freyer and Charles C. Freyer, Mrs. Sheila Kessler, Dr. Joel and Mrs. Bobbie Porter, and the Estate of Mrs. Alise (Lee) Steinberg.

With great gratitude for your support,

Peter Leone 5

W E L C O M E TO O P E R A P H I L A D E L P H I A !

Opera Philadelphia is committed to fostering an environment of belonging and inclusion for our entire community. We have adopted this Code of Conduct to ensure the comfort and safety of all artists, contractors, staff, supporters, and volunteers. We are committed to maintaining an environment wherein everyone is treated with respect, dignity, and compassion. By purchasing a ticket or entering our environment, you agree to the tenets of Opera Philadelphia’s Code of Conduct.

We are an anti-racist organization. We are fierce advocates for the rights of our trans community. Behavior that is harmful to others or disruptive to our communal sense of belonging for all will not be tolerated.

Learn more: operaphila.org/codeofconduct

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F R O M T H E G E N E R A L D I R E C TO R Dear Friends, I am delighted to welcome you back to the Academy of Music for Opera Philadelphia’s performances of Verdi’s Rigoletto. After more than two years away from the Academy, it has felt incredibly special to see the set loaded in, rehearsals commencing, and our beloved audience filling the seats of this beautiful theater so we can all experience the magic of grand opera together.

We have assembled an amazing cast that includes many singers, such as Anthony Clark Evans and Raven McMillon, who are making their debuts with Opera Philadelphia. Several of tonight’s stars will also be returning next season: Joshua Blue and Kara Goodrich, both making their company debuts in Rigoletto, will reunite as Rodolfo and Mimì next spring in La bohème.

Kristen Choi, who is making her stage debut with us after first appearing in TakTakShoo on the Opera Philadelphia Channel, will return this fall for Toshio Hosokawa’s The Raven, part of Festival O22. I’ve been asked many times over the past two years when the festival will be returning, and I’m so excited to finally say it is coming back!

In many ways we are returning to “normal” at Opera Philadelphia. We are back to live performance, planning for a Festival, and staging grand opera in the Academy. While the circumstances of the last two years have pushed us toward innovation, they have also challenged us to make opera more inclusive, to center and uplift artists whose voices have not been prominent enough in this art form. The story of Rigoletto may be almost two centuries old, but in this production, director Lindy Hume refuses to romanticize or ignore the abuse of women at the hands of powerful men. It is my hope that we will continue to evolve, to innovate, and to support new voices, and that even the beloved works of the opera canon can be made relevant to our modern lives.

David B. Devan General Director & President

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A R T I S TS JULIUS AHN Matteo Borsa

2016 Turandot

Tenor | Seoul, South Korea

Recent: Goro, Madama Butterfly, Canadian Opera Company; 2nd Priest, The Magic Flute, The Metropolitan Opera; Gherardo, Gianni Schicchi, Tulsa Opera Next: Matteo Borsa, Rigoletto, Dallas Opera

DREW BILLIAU Lighting Designer

Rockford, Illinois

Recent: Lighting Designer, Samsung CES 2022, Fine Design Associates; Lighting Designer, Extreme Home Makeover, Theater Exile; Lighting Designer, Blood Moon Exhibition, The Fabric Workshop and Museum

2021 The Drama of Tosca, An Evening of Vocal Fireworks: Amici e Rivali

Next: Lighting Designer/Artist, Freeport Row Neon Mural, Cincinnati, Ohio

JOSHUA BLUE Duke of Mantua

Tenor | Aurora, Illinois

Underwritten by Judith Durkin Freyer and Charles C. Freyer

Opera Philadelphia debut

Recent: Peter, Porgy and Bess, The Metropolitan Opera; Evangelist, St. Matthew Passion, LA Opera; Loge, Das Rheingold, Virginia Opera Next: Tamino, The Magic Flute, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis

ELIZABETH BRADEN Chorus Master

Easton, Pennsylvania

Recent: Conductor, Amahl and the Night Visitors, Three Oaks Opera; Conductor, Organ Stops, Opera Philadelphia; Chorus Master, Oedipus Rex, Opera Philadelphia

2022 Oedipus Rex + Lilacs, 2021 Organ Stops, The Drama of Tosca

Next: Chorus Master, Otello, Opera Philadelphia

KRISTEN CHOI Maddalena

Mezzo-soprano | Torrance, California Underwritten by Mrs. Sheila Kessler Recent: Stewardess, Flight, Dallas Opera; Suzuki, Madame Butterfly, Washington National Opera; Alto soloist, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, Dayton Philharmonic Next: Cherubino, Le nozze di Figaro, Opera Omaha 8

2021 TakTakShoo

LAUREN DECKER Giovanna

Contralto | Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Recent: Third Lady, Die Zauberflöte, Lyric Opera of Chicago; Jade Boucher, Dead Man Walking, Lyric Opera of Chicago; Eduige, Rodelinda, Aspen Music Festival

Opera Philadelphia debut

Next: Herodias, Salome, Madison Opera

ANTHONY CLARK EVANS Rigoletto

Baritone | Owensboro, Kentucky

Underwritten by Mr. Peter A. Benoliel and Ms. Willo Carey

Opera Philadelphia debut

Recent: Sharpless, Madame Butterfly, Lyric Opera of Chicago; Lescaut, Manon Lescaut, San Francisco Opera; Zurga, The Pearl Fishers, Santa Fe Opera Next: Germont, La traviata, Houston Grand Opera

KARA GOODRICH Countess Ceprano

Soprano | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Underwritten by Dr. Joel and Mrs. Bobbie Porter

Opera Philadelphia debut

Recent: Countess Almaviva, Le nozze di Figaro, The Academy of Vocal Arts; Rusalka, Rusalka, The Academy of Vocal Arts; Fiordiligi, Così fan tutte, The Academy of Vocal Arts Next: Mimì, La bohème, Opera Philadelphia

LINDY HUME Original Director

Tathra, Australia

Recent: Director, La cenerentola, Seattle Opera; Director, Madama Butterfly, Welsh National Opera; Director, The Barber of Seville, State Opera South Australia

Opera Philadelphia debut

Next: Director, Così fan tutte, New Zealand Opera

RAVEN MCMILLON Gilda

Soprano | Baltimore, Maryland

Underwritten by the Estate of Mrs. Alise (Lee) Steinberg Recent: Pamina, Die Zauberflöte, Des Moines Metro Opera; Peter, The Snowy Day, Houston Grand Opera; Frasquita, Carmen, Houston Grand Opera Next: Musetta, La bohème, Cincinnati Opera 9

Opera Philadelphia debut

ROBERT MELLON Marullo

Baritone | Ronkonkoma, New York Recent: Papageno, The Magic Flute, Pensacola Opera; Marcello, La bohème, Opera de Oviedo; Schaunard, La bohème, San Diego Opera

Opera Philadelphia debut

Next: Jago, Otello, InSeries Opera

FRANK MITCHELL The Usher

Bass-baritone | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Recent: Soloist, Handel’s Messiah, Salem Baptist Church; Soloist, Concert of African American Spirituals, Choristers of Upper Dublin; Chorus, Oedipus Rex + Lilacs, Opera Philadelphia

2021 An Evening of Vocal Fireworks: Amici e Rivali, 2020 LOVE in the Park, 2018 Sky on Swings

Next: Soloist, Fauré Requiem, First Presbyterian Church, Moorestown, New Jersey

DANIEL PELZIG Revival Director

New York, New York

Recent: Stage Director, Le Médecin malgré lui, Odyssey Opera: Stage Director, Die Fledermaus, Houston Grand Opea: Associate Director & Choreographer, Le comte Ory, La cenerentola, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Seattle Opera

Opera Philadelphia debut

Professor of Dance, Theater and Opera, Boston Conservatory at Berklee

LINDSEY REYNOLDS The Page

Soprano | New Orleans, Louisiana

2020 Lawrence Brownlee & Friends

Recent: Despina, Così fan tutte, Curtis Opera Theatre; Zerlina, Don Giovanni, Curtis Opera Theatre; Giulietta, I Capuleti e i Montecchi, Chautauqua Voice Program Next: Alice, Le comte Ory, Lyric Opera of Chicago

RICHARD ROBERTS Set & Costume Design

Melbourne, Australia

Recent: Set design, Rigoletto, Opera Australia; Set design, The Cunning Little Vixen, Victorian Opera; Set design, Requiem, The Australian Ballet Next: Costume design, The Sunshine Club, Queensland Theatre

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Opera Philadelphia debut

CORRADO ROVARIS Conductor

Bergamo, Italy Underwritten by Mrs. John P. Mulroney

Recent: Conductor, Mendelssohn Symphony No. 4 & Beethoven Symphony No. 5, Orchestra di Cagliari; Conductor, Concert with Maddalena Crippa, Orchestra del Teatro Petruzzelli; Conductor, La bohème, Ópera de Oviedo at Teatro Campoamor

2022 Oedipus Rex + Lilacs, 2021 An Evening of Vocal Fireworks: Amici e Rivali, The Drama of Tosca

Next: Conductor, Don Giovanni, Teatro Regio di Parma

BEN WAGER Count Monterone

Bass-baritone | Havertown, Pennsylvania Recent: Farfarello, The Love for Three Oranges, Opera Philadelphia; Zuniga, Carmen, Dallas Opera; Calchas, La belle Hélène, Odyssey Opera

WEI WU Sparafucile

Bass | Beijing, China

Underwritten by Mrs. Sandra K. Baldino

2019 The Love for Three Oranges, 2013 Powder Her Face, 2009 The Rape of Lucretia

Opera Philadelphia debut

Recent: Allan, Le roi Arthus, Bard Summerscape; Sarastro, The Magic Flute, Washington National Opera; Kobun, The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, Santa Fe Opera Next: Mev Carson, A Thousand Acres, Des Moines Metro Opera

GRANT YOUNGBLOOD Count Ceprano

Baritone | Lumberton, North Carolina

Recent: Scarpia (cover), Tosca, Lyric Opera of Chicago; Germont, La traviata, Opera Southwest; Baritone soloist in performances and recording of Harmonious Dreams by Jennifer Barker; Transcontinental

Opera Philadelphia debut

Next: Germont, La traviata, Virginia Opera

DAVID ZIMMERMAN Wig & Make-up Design 2019 The Love for

Mt. Pleasant, Texas

Three Oranges,

Semele, La bohème Recent: Wig & Make-up Design, Semele, Opera Philadelphia; Wig & Make-up Design, La traviata, HALO Opera; Wig & Make-up Design, Pirates of Penzance, Atlanta Opera 11

CHORUS TENOR

BASS

Daveed Buzaglo

Gregory Cantwell

Sang B. Cho

Stephen Dagrosa

Mathew Coules

Lucas DeJesus

Colin Doyle

James O. Gwathney

Corey Don

Christopher Hodges

Gabriel Feldt

Mark Hosseini

A. Edward Maddison

John David Miles

Toffer Mihalka

Michael Miller

George Ross Somerville

Frank Mitchell

Tyler Tejada

Robert Phillips

Cory O’Niell Walker

Tim Stopper

Steven Williamson

Jackson Williams

SUPERNUMERARIES Victoria Baccini ....................................................................................... Monterone’s Daughter Maddy Montz .........................................................................................................….. Party Girl Ellicia Clayton .........................................................................................................….. Party Girl Alicia Simon .................................................................................................….. Cabinet Minister Ginger Moore .............................................................................................….. Cabinet Minister Effie Kammer ...............................................................................................….. Cabinet Minister Cecilia J..................................................................................….. Cabinet Minister/Sex Worker Bobb Hawkey .......................................................….. Waiter/Abductor/Bodyguard/Trucker Ryan Kleinman ....................................................................….. Waiter/Abductor/Bodyguard Zachary Moore ............................................................................ Waiter/Abductor/Rent Boy Kristerpher Henderson ......................................................................….. Videographer/Trucker Jack Taylor ........................................................................................................….. Photographer

Support for the Opera Philadelphia Orchestra and Chorus has been provided by Alice and Walter Strine, Esqs.

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O R C H E ST R A VIOLIN 1 Luigi Mazzocchi, Concertmaster Meichen Liao-Barnes Elizabeth Kaderabek Diane Barnett Donna Grantham Natasha Colkette Robyn Quinnett Gared Crawford Lisa Vaupel Catherine Kei Fukuda Yoori Kim Williams VIOLIN 2 Tess Varley, Principal Paul Reiser Sarah DuBois Heather Zimmerman Mary Loftus Maya Shiraishi Guillaume Combet Irina Schuck Samantha Crawford VIOLA Jonathan Kim, Principal Carol Briselli Julia DiGaetani Ellen Trainer Elizabeth Jaffe Yoshiko Nakano Ruth Frazier

CELLO Branson Yeast, Principal Vivian Barton Dozor Brooke Beazley Jennie Lorenzo David Moulton Jasmine Pai BASS Anne Peterson, Principal Daniel McDougall Steven Groat Domenick Fiore FLUTE Prema Kesselman, Principal Kimberly Trolier OBOE Geoffrey Deemer, Principal Nick Masterson CLARINET John Diodati, Principal Allison Herz

HORN John David Smith, Principal Angela Bilger Karen Schubert Ryan Stewart TRUMPET Brian Kuszyk, Principal Steven Heitzer TROMBONE Robert Gale, Principal Edward Cascarella Philip McClelland CIMBASSO Paul Erion, Principal TIMPANI Martha Hitchins, Principal PERCUSSION Ralph Sorrentino, Principal Bradley Loudis

BASSOON Erik Höltje, Principal Emeline Chong

B A N DA Flute Susanna Loewy Piccolo Frances Tate Clarinet 1 Doris Hall-Gulati Clarinet 2 Joshua Kovach French Horn 1 Lyndsie Wilson French Horn 2 George Barnett French Horn 3 Lisa Dunham

Trumpet 1 Frank Ferraro Trumpet 2 Nozomi Imamura Flicorno Thomas Cook Trombone Bradley Ward Trombone 2 Jonathan Schubert Tuba Paul Arbogast 13

A R T I S T I C & P R O D U C T I O N S TA F F Assistant Director ................................................................................. Gregory Boyle Assistant Stage Managers ............................................. Luci Burdick, Megan Coutts Original Lighting Designer ................................................................. Jason Morphett Assistant Lighting Designer ............................................................ Sasha Anistratova Props Supervision ........................................... Avista Custom Theatrical Services LLC Fight Director ....................................................................................... J. Alex Cordaro Principal Pianist ..................................................................................... Grant Loehnig Associate Pianist ................................................................................... Michael Lewis Assistant Orchestra Personnel Manager & Librarian ......................... Nathan Lofton Super Captain ....................................................................................... Bobb Hawkey Supertitle Author .................................................................... Jonathan Dean,© 2019 Supertitle Operator ................................................................................... Tony Solitro Supertitle Assistant ................................................................................... Hunter Smith Technical Director .......................................................................... Stephen Dickerson Head Flyman ............................................................................................. Steve Wolff Head Props .................................................................................................. Paul Lodes Head Electrician ............................................................................ Chris Hetherington Programmer/Assistant Electrician ................................................. John Allerheiligen Automation ........................................................................................... Mike Troncone Video Coordinator/Programmer ................................................. Chris Hetherington Video Programmer ................................................................................. Joseph Korup Wardrobe Supervisor ............................................................................... Elisa Hurley Wig & Make-up Supervisor ................................................................ Amanda Clark Stitchers ............................................... Mark Mariani, Susie Benitez, Morgan Porter Cutter/Drapers .............................................................. Nell Unrath , Kara Morasco First Hands ............................................ Patrick Mulhall, Joy Rampulla, Suzie Morris COVID Check-in Supervisor .................................................................... Alda Bjorns Shopper .............................................................................................. Austin Ginsberg

Download the LiveVoice app to connect to Audio Description

Audio Description is available for the Friday, May 6 performance only.

Enter Performance Code: 207697 | For more information, visit operaphila.org/ad Audio Description for the Opera Philadelphia 2021-2022 Season has been underwritten by

A D M I N I S T R AT I V E S TA F F LEADERSHIP

Taylor Ott, Apprentice Teaching Artist

David B. Devan, General Director & President

Miles Yves Salomé, Apprentice Teaching Artist

Corrado Rovaris, Jack Mulroney Music Director

Rosemary Schneider, T-VOCE Conductor

Dr. Derrell Acon, Vice President of People Operations & Inclusion

Jessica Gruver, T-VOCE Accompanist Dan Amadie, Backstage Pass Consultant

Veronica Chapman-Smith, Vice President of Community Initiatives

MARKE TING COMMUNICATIONS & GUEST SERVICES

David Levy, Vice President of Artistic Operations

Michael Knight, Director of Guest Services

Frank Luzi, Vice President of Marketing Communications & Digital Strategy

Karina Kacala, Director of Advertising & Promotions

Jeremiah Marks, Chief Financial Officer

Shannon Eblen, Content Director

Rachel McCausland, Vice President of Development

Steven Humes, Manager of Audience Development

Ken Smith, Chief of Staff

Jeffrey Mason, Guest Services Manager

Lawrence Brownlee, Artistic Advisor

Abby Weissman, Guest Services Associate

Mikael Eliasen, Artistic Advisor

Andrew Anderson, Guest Services Associate Ali Haegele, Graphic Designer

MUSIC

DEVELOPMENT

Michael Eberhard, Director of Casting & Artistic Administration

Rebecca Ackerman, Director of Individual Giving & Advancement Services

Sarah Williams, Director of New Works & Creative Producer

Derren Mangum, Director of Institutional Giving

Elizabeth Braden, Chorus Master & Music Administrator

Adele Mustardo, Director of Events

J. Robert Loy, Director of Orchestra Personnel & Librarian

Eva James Toia, Director of Major Gifts Aisha Wiley, Director of Research

Grant Loehnig, Head of Music Staff

Michael Bolton, Individual & Planned Gift Officer

PRODUCTION

Rachel Mancini, Leadership Giving Administrator

John Toia, Director of Production Drew Billiau, Director of Design & Technology

Catherine Perez, Development Services Coordinator

Stephen Dickerson, Technical Director Millie Hiibel, Costume Director

PEOPLE OPERATIONS & INCLUSION

Bridget A. Cook, Associate Director of Production

Kiamesso DaSilva, Office Manager Catherine Reay, People Operations Manager

COMMUNIT Y INITIATIVES Christa Sechler, Education Manager

COUNSEL

D’quan Tyson, Lead Teaching Artist

Ballard Spahr, LLP, General Counsel

Evan Kassof, Teaching Artist CodyRay Caho, Teaching Artist 15

SY N O PS I S ACT I Scene 1 At a lavish party hosted by the philandering Duke of Mantua, he tells his courtier, Borsa, about his obsession with a girl he has seen in church. He knows where she lives and means to have her—and whichever other women he fancies in the meantime (aria: “Questa o quella”). He flirts with Countess Ceprano in front of her furious husband. The situation escalates when the court jester, Rigoletto, taunts the Count. Rigoletto flaunts the fact that he enjoys the Duke’s protection.

When Marullo arrives at the party with gossip that Rigoletto has a mistress, Count Ceprano and the other courtiers devise a scheme to strike back at Rigoletto, whom they all despise.

Monterone’s arrival brings the party to a stop. He is the outraged father of a young woman the Duke has used and shamed. Rigoletto cruelly derides Monterone’s grief. As the Duke coolly orders Monterone’s arrest, the incensed father damns both the Duke and Rigoletto with a curse.

Scene 2 Unnerved by the curse, Rigoletto encounters Sparafucile, an assassin for hire, on his way home. The assassin offers the jester his services. Alone, Rigoletto (recitative: “Pari siamo”) compares himself with the assassin: instead of a knife, he kills with his cruel taunts. Full of self-loathing, he rails against mankind, nature, his deformity, and his fate—to be a clown, forced to smile and ridicule people for a living.

Rigoletto arrives home to his daughter Gilda, whom he keeps locked away, hidden from the world. Ignorant of her own background and even her father’s name, she asks many questions. Rigoletto demurs, only telling her that she is all he has in the world since the death of her mother. He confines Gilda to the house and orders the housekeeper, Giovanna, to keep a strict watch on her.

Giovanna knows that Gilda has fallen for a young man who has been following her home from church. Chasing his prey, the Duke turns up at Rigoletto’s house in disguise. He bribes Giovanna, then seduces Gilda (duet: “È il sol dell’anima”), telling her he is a student named Gualtier Maldè. Hearing footsteps, Giovanna warns him to leave. The Duke reluctantly departs. Enraptured, Gilda sighs the name of her first love as she goes to sleep (aria: “Caro nome”).

Marullo, Ceprano, Borsa, and other courtiers arrive to abduct Rigoletto’s “mistress.” When Rigoletto unexpectedly returns, Marullo sells him the story that the courtiers are going to kidnap Countess Ceprano, who lives nearby. They fool Rigoletto into helping them break into his own house, where they capture Gilda.

Upon discovering the trick and his daughter’s abduction, Rigoletto remembers Monterone’s curse.

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Act II - The Duke and Courtiers Photo by Sunny Martini

—INTERMISSION— ACT 2 The next morning, the Duke is ranting that Gilda wasn’t there when he returned to Rigoletto’s house. The courtiers tell him they’ve abducted Rigoletto’s “mistress” and brought her to the palace. Guessing that they mean Gilda, he rushes to where the girl is captive. Rigoletto, searching for Gilda, confronts the courtiers (aria: “Cortigiani, vil razza dannata”). He reveals that the girl is his daughter, begging them for compassion. The courtiers remain unmoved. Gilda emerges, distraught from her ordeal. She tries to tell her father what has happened. They are interrupted by Monterone who, on the way to his execution, pardons the Duke and takes back his curse. In response, Rigoletto swears vengeance on the Duke, both for himself and for Monterone. Gilda pleads for her father to have mercy on the Duke.

ACT 3 In a tavern, the Duke, in disguise, is in high spirits (aria: “La donna è mobile”).

Rigoletto forces Gilda to observe The Duke with Maddalena, Sparafucile’s sister (quartet: “Bella figlia dell’amore”). He tells his heartbroken daughter to flee the city and promises to join her the next morning.

As a storm begins to rage, Rigoletto and Sparafucile settle on a price to kill the Duke. Rigoletto tells Sparafucile he will return for the body at midnight. Sparafucile takes the Duke to a room where the Duke waits for Maddalena. She, too, is now infatuated with the Duke, and begs her brother to spare him. She asks Sparafucile to kill Rigoletto when he returns.

Drawn back to the tavern, Gilda overhears Sparafucile agree to murder someone else and substitute that corpse for the Duke’s. Gilda rashly decides to sacrifice her own life to save the Duke. She knocks on the door and meets her fate. Rigoletto returns for the Duke’s body. As he prepares to throw the sack containing the corpse into the river, he hears the Duke’s voice in the distance. Rigoletto rips open the sack to find Gilda, who dies in his arms. Monterone’s curse has been fulfilled.

Rigoletto is approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes, including one 20-minute intermission.

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Courtesy of Seattle Opera

Q & A W I T H D I R E C TO R L I N DY H U M E

Why did you update Rigoletto?

So, this interpretation isn’t about Donald Trump?

The problem with not updating Rigoletto is that a Renaissance-era codpiececloak-and-hose setting in a fictional court of Mantua lets the licentious Duke off the hook for his appalling treatment of women. Verdi turned a famous philanderer into a rock star by giving him some of the best music to the most misogynistic lines ever written (Act 1 “it’s this girl or that girl, they’re all the same to me…” and in Act 3 “women are unreliable…”). These are two of the most jaunty, charming, popular tunes in the entire operatic repertoire, with a bravado that’s guaranteed to win the audience over. Even contemporary audiences in a post-#MeToo world, who can’t help but gasp at his shameless audacity and brazenness, adore those arias—which is what makes them so brilliant! I created this production for New Zealand Opera in 2012. I found inspiration for the spirit of this bad boy Duke of Mantua in Silvio Berlusconi, the former Italian Prime Minister, who at that time was breezing through his “bunga bunga” sex trial with his signature blend of political incorrectness, immaculate tailoring, and dazzling—if cosmetically enhanced—smile. Where better to set the debauched action of Rigoletto than the colorful, charismatic, spectacularly excessive “Berlusconi Court”? Even now that Silvio has retreated from public life his reputation is the stuff of legend.

It’s not explicitly Trump’s America, or Berlusconi’s Italy, but a modern, highly recognizable version of the dystopian, brutal, corrupt society Victor Hugo and Verdi imagined as the background for the tragedy of Gilda and her father.

The court’s treatment of Monterone, the heartbroken father of a girl whose reputation the Duke has publicly ruined, quickly descends from boredom to murder. Tired of the old man ranting, the Duke sentences him to death in a statesanctioned execution. As a feminist and a fan of Verdi’s wonderful observation of human behavior, how could I resist bringing these worlds together in an imagined scenario where the excesses of obscene wealth, the corruption of high political power, and the moral void of the court all vibrate with an undercurrent of fear, violence, misogyny, and criminality?

This is the world of Verdi’s Rigoletto, and our own.

Why do you choose to explore sexual assault in the theater?

As we have seen in recent years, particularly through the #MeToo movement, sexual assault is an issue across society that women have been living with for centuries, and increasingly have decided to confront wholesale. My response is not only from the perspective of a feminist woman director, but from that of an average audience member (opera 18

audiences are mostly women, as you know). For years, I’ve been frustrated that this art form has not called out sexual assault and violence, but often celebrated it. For example, Wikipedia says: “the Duke sings of a life of pleasure with as many women as possible,” and mentions that “he particularly enjoys cuckolding his courtiers.” In the most famous and beloved operas—Rigoletto, Don Giovanni, Carmen, Tosca, Madama Butterfly—the tragic heroine is part of the vernacular. Sopranos must rehearse how to fall, be stabbed, brutalized, and thrown across the room, behaviors they would never accept in real life. In 2019, if opera aspires to be a progressive, future-focused art form with relevance in contemporary society, then it must evolve and be responsive to a changing society.

The topic of sexual assault and violence against women in opera is right there in front of us, either to explore, or to ignore.

with profound misery and self-loathing.

His “deformity” is greater in his own mind than anywhere else.

Is there anything redeemable about Rigoletto?

There is something to admire in Rigoletto’s incisive and furious (if impotent) raging against the machinery of corrupt power.

The men he works for disgust him, yet he is powerless to rebel, and he hates himself for it. Understandably, Rigoletto himself feels that the only thing that redeems him is his love for his daughter.

Returning from the court to his home with Gilda, he describes himself as a vile creature, created so by both man and nature. Yet with Gilda he feels himself transformed. His daughter is a shining light in the darkness, representing for him the possibility of a better existence, reminding him of the love he once had with her mother, of a world untouched by the filth that surrounds him at court. It is far too great a moral load for a teenage girl to carry, of course. The fact that he seeks to protect her is admirable and born of love; but locking his daughter up and his obsessive secrecy are creepy, downright pathological behaviors. His love for his daughter makes him ferocious and fearless. Even though it’s ultimately futile, we can’t help but admire Rigoletto’s David-against-Goliath attempt to take down the Duke himself—hiring a hit man, arranging all the details, even planning his escape. Finally, his love for his daughter is expressed in the most heart-rending final scene imaginable. So yes, Rigoletto is both redeemed and abandoned by love.

How would you best describe the world of this story?

The word that best describes this world would be “heartless.” Victor Hugo and Verdi imagined a cold place where those with power own those without. To survive, the powerless must adopt highrisk survival strategies: the hired assassin Sparafucile and his sister Maddalena are in the sex and violence game, while as a servant with a physical deformity, Rigoletto has learned other skills. He’s a fast-talking comedian or joker who has cultivated a cruel wit and alliances with men he detests. He stays close to the Duke, whom he amuses in the manner of a performing dog. In public he is repulsive yet brilliant, but in private he is saddled 19

Courtesy of Seattle Opera, 2019

CARMEN

May 14–28 | Opera House

Music by Georges Bizet and libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy A free spirit comes at a price in Bizet’s blockbuster tragedy. An incredible cast performs this vibrant D.C. premiere directed by Francesca Zambello and conducted

by Evan Rogister.

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Washington National Opera thanks Mrs. Eugene B. Casey for her extraordinary support

P R O G R A M N OT E | R E - E X A M I N I N G R I G O L E T TO

By Alexandra Svokos

Violence against women is so common in opera it has become predictable: you see an opera with a woman and, unless it’s a comedy, you know something bad is going to happen to her. A woman is blackmailed into sex against her wishes by a corrupt cop (Tosca). A woman kills herself after being sexually coerced as a teenager (Madame Butterfly). A woman is forced into sex by an abusive ex (Porgy and Bess). A group of women are executed, one after another, in holy procession (Dialogues of the Carmelites). A woman is shot by a jealous ex (Carmen). A woman is stabbed by a jealous husband (Pagliacci).

Again, a woman is stabbed by a jealous husband (Wozzeck). A woman is stabbed (Lulu). A woman is stabbed (Rigoletto).

This prevalence of violence against women, and our expectation as an opera audience of it, demands discussion. In many ways, what we see onstage reflects the violence of a patriarchal society, both as it was when the opera was written and as it is now in how the story is presented for modern audiences.

With the rise of feminism came a rise in discussion about this theme. In 1979, philosopher Catherine Clément’s “Opera, or the Undoing of Women,” which addressed violence in plots, was published in French, with an English translation a decade later. This was followed by musicologist Susan McClary’s “Feminine Endings” in 1991, which tackled the theoretical side of the discussion.

The conversation on the prevalence of sexual violence in opera was sparked again in recent years with the #MeToo movement. While there has been a reckoning of real-life individuals, we have also begun to reckon with these fictional characters. What do we do with Don Giovanni, anyways? Is it enough that he gets dragged to hell at the end? And hey, is he a serial rapist or just a charming guy – and how much of a difference is there between the two?

These are questions prompted, too, by Rigoletto, which tells the story of a young woman (unless she’s really a girl) confined in an obviously threatening, patriarchal society by a father (who’s either brutally overbearing or rightly protective) facing off with a man (who’s either stricken in fleeting love or seeking a vicious conquest). What might seem like a basic question of whether Gilda is seduced or raped over the course of the opera can be endlessly argued; just ask scholar Elizabeth Hudson, she wrote a 24-page paper about it.

These are not easy questions to answer, and in some cases, these are not easy questions to ask, discuss, or even think about. But, says Monica Hershberger, Assistant Professor of Music at SUNY Geneseo, “I do think that there's something really valuable about trying to wrestle with that discomfort.” By 21

The Duke, celebrating his victory, brags about his conquests with many women.

Photo by Sunny Martini

not shying away from the fact of gender-based violence, opera gives us an opportunity to grapple with these ideas.

Many have argued violence against women in opera does not condone it, but rather demonstrates the negative impact of a sexist world and how it ultimately hurts everyone involved, even if they were, for example, just trying to be a good father. (When Rigoletto cries out about the “curse,” is this reflecting the curse was real, or is this him refusing his own culpability in the tragedy?)

McClary, in her 1991 collection, argues that Carmen, the most famous example of domestic violence in opera, can be viewed as “a bitter critique of European patriarchal forms of gender construction.”

Even with that view, though, she writes, it “must never be forgotten or minimized” that Carmen is, after all, killed. We might now have the language to describe the Duke’s sexism, but violence against women persists. About one in four American women have experienced sexual violence, physical violence, and/ or stalking by an intimate partner, according to the CDC. There are real stakes and consequences; that’s what makes it important that we talk about it, instead of pretending it’s just another trope. To continue moving forward, modern opera participants can’t ignore the discomfort of watching 19th century norms in the 21st century, even if we still walk out of the theater whistling “La donna è mobile.”

Alexandra Svokos is the senior editor of digital at ABC News and an MBA candidate at NYU Stern. She fell in love with opera at age 15 with a performance of Lucia di Lammermoor (a woman has an understandable reaction to marital rape).

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The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) suggests keeping this in mind while watching depictions of sexual violence as a survivor: 1. You are in control of what you watch and don’t have to watch anything you don’t want to. 2. Pay attention to content warnings. 3. “Remember, this isn’t the whole story,” as dramas often leave out how survivors heal.

WOAR – Philadelphia Center Against Sexual Violence A non-profit organization, WOAR is Philadelphia’s only rape crisis center. WOAR’s mission is to eliminate all forms of sexual violence through specialized treatment services, comprehensive prevention education programs, and advocacy for the rights of victims of sexual assault. WOAR works with survivors and their loved ones to support healing, understanding, and thriving, and provides free therapy services to anyone who has experienced sexual abuse, assault, harassment or human trafficking. WOAR is committed to providing education about sexual violence and creating a culture that supports sexual violence prevention.

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THANK YOU

We are proud to salute the following individuals and institutions whose collective support allows us to bring you Rigoletto.

H.F. Lenfest Fund of the Philadelphia Foundation Mr. Thomas Mahoney The McLean Contributionship OPERA America PNC The Presser Foundation Scott F. Richard and Mamie Duff Dr. Renée Rollin Alice and Walter Strine, Esqs.

Robert L. Turner

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GENERAL DIRECTOR’S COUNCIL Platinum Patron Al and Laura Myron and Sheila S. Bassman Mr. and Mrs. Julian A. Brodsky Connelly Foundation Christian Humann Foundation In memory of Joseph G. Leone The Samuel P. Mandell Foundation Joan Mazzotti and Michael Kelly Jeanette Lerman-Neubauer and Joe Neubauer David and Susan Rattner Katie Adams Schaeffer and Tony Schaeffer Drs. Richard and Rhonda Soricelli Wells Fargo

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Anonymous (7) Lorraine and Ben† Alexander Eleanor M. Allen† Mary Jo Ashenfelter and Thomas S. Heckman Eileen Baird Mr. Kenneth H. Barr Myron and Sheila S. Bassman Mr. and Mrs. Robert Bergen Ms. Jane A. Berryman Dr. Claire Boasi Dr. Rita B. Bocher Mr. Michael Bolton Mrs. Sheila Buckley Constance G. Burton† Ms. Willo Carey Dr. and Mrs. Peter Cassalia† Dr. Thomas A. Childers and Dr. John B. Hall Dr. Maria Elisa Ciavarelli† Miss Lucy Clemens Joan and Frederick Cohen Dianne and Don Cooney Mr.† and Mrs. Arthur Covello Ms. Ginny L. Coyle Mr. W. Kenneth Cressman and Mr. Lloyd Christy† Ms. Joan DeJean Ms. Virginia Del Sordo† Robert and Monica Driver Mrs. Antoinette DuBiel Dr. Bruce Eisenstein Eddie and Rachel Eitches

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Dwight and Christina McCawley Drs. Joseph and Jane McGowan Eugene C. Menegon† Mrs. Lois Meyers Mrs. Ellen Cole Miller† Mr. Siddhartha Misra Mrs. Naomi Montgomery† Constance C. Moore Msgr. Felix M. O’Neill† Helen E. Pettit Mr. William Reily† David Rhody Dr. Scott F. Richard Mr. Laurence T. Robbins† Dr. Renée Rollin Jeffrey and Kendell Saunders Robert Schoenberg† Mr. Jonathan H. Sprogell and Ms. Kathryn Taylor Mr. and Mrs. Morton F. Steelman† Ms. Lee Steinberg† Ellen Steiner Mr. Kenneth R. Swimm Mr. Michael Toklish Christina M. Valente, Esq. Charlotte Watts Dr. and Mrs. Andrew Wechsler Ester C. Weil† Mr. George P. White† Drs. Anne and Jim† Williamson Richard and Kelley Wolfington Ms. Karen A. Zurlo, Ph.D. † Deceased List as of March 22, 2022

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