“RIGOLETTO” LIVE FROM THE WIENER STAATSOPER

Marco Armiliato conducts the Orchester der Wiener Staatsoper in Verdi’s "Rigoletto", starring Paolo Rumetz, Juan Diego Flórez & Aida Garifullina.

In Pierre Audi’s atmospheric staging of "Rigoletto", Giuseppe Verdi’s masterpiece about the hunch-backed court jester whose existence gets destroyed, Italian baritone Paolo Rumetz will bring an imposing presence to the title role.

At the Wiener Staatsoper, Juan Diego Flórez, the leading Belcanto tenor of our time, will shine as debauched Duke of Mantua. Aida Garifullina, the young Russian soprano of Tatar origin, will enchant as Rigoletto’s beautiful daughter Gilda, who falls in love with the Duke and sacrifices her life to save him from assassins hired by her father.

With sets dominated by clear lines and high-contrast lighting of cold blue and warm yellow, stage designer Christof Hetzer and lighting designer Bernd Purkrabek will evoke all the drama of 16th-century court society on stage. From the opera’s triumphant premiere at La Fenice in Venice in 1851 onwards, "Rigoletto" was celebrated for its music of immense theatrical punch. The excellent Orchester der Wiener Staatsoper under the baton of Maestro Marco Armiliato will demonstrate why Verdi’s work deserves its top spot in the repertoire of all major opera houses.

Live from the Wiener Staatsoper in June 2018.

A production of ORF III and UNITEL