RIGOLETTO GI USEPPE V ER D I
One of opera’s most vivid and compelling characters, a vengeful court jester, desperately tries to protect his daughter from a lascivious duke in this heart-wrenching tragedy. Music Director Nicola Luisotti conducts two superb casts: Portraying the hunchbacked court jester are Željko Luˇci´c, “one of today’s pre-eminent Verdi baritones” (Financial Times, London), and the “arrestingly dark and charismatic” Marco Vratogna (San Francisco Chronicle); appearing as Rigoletto’s innocent daughter Gilda are Aleksandra Kurzak, who is rising “to the stratospheric heights of opera superstardom” (The Guardian, London), and Albina Shagimuratova, whose “radiant soprano dispatches the gorgeous lines and elaborate ornamentation with agility and flair, glistening in her top notes” (The Houston Chronicle); and singing the lecherous Duke are Francesco Demuro, “whose open, bright, superbly focused tone was reminiscent of Pavarotti” (Opera News), and David Lomelí, whose “sound is sweet and penetrating …and golden-toned” (The New York Times). SAN FRANCISCO OPERA PRODUCTION
“The subject is grand, immense, and has a character that is one of the most important creations of the theatre, of all countries and all ages.” – Giuseppe Verdi
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