La maledizione! The curse! That’s the final line of Verdi’s Rigoletto as the Duke of Mantua’s jester collapses in grief over the dead body of his beloved daughter, which we saw performed last night in Chicago Lyric Opera’s stunning new production.
It’s a crying shame that Victor Hugo, one of the greatest writers the world has ever known, is best known in the English-speaking world as a supplier of plots for Verdi operas (and Broadway musicals). Rigoletto is based on Hugo’s 1830 play, Le Roi, s’Amuse, which was closed by the authorities after a single performance. Here’s Hugo’s own description from the preface to the printed edition of the play:
The production of this drama on the stage has given rise to a Ministerial action unprecedented. The morning after its first representation the author received from M. Jouslin de la Salle, stage-manager of the Theatre Francais, the following letter, the original of which he carefully preserves:
It is half-past ten o’clock, and I have just received the order1 to suspend the representation of ‘Le Roi s’Amuse.’ It is M. Taylor who communicates this command from the Minister.
“November 23.”
The first emotion of the author was incredulity. The act was so arbitrary he could not believe in it.
It’s not surprising that the play was banned. Hugo’s melodrama of aristocratic debauchery, how a man born different is twisted in heart and spirit by his treatment at the hands of his betters just as his body is twisted, a curse, revenge, and the curse’s cruel fulfillment is ruthless in its treatment of the aristocracy.
And it’s also not surprising that the material attracted Verdi, the great republican and revolutionary. What is surprising is that it managed to pass the Venetian censors. They did manage to force Verdi to demote the king, Francis I of France, subject of the original play, to the Duke of Mantua.
This production and performance of Verdi’s ground-breaking creation is, simply put, by far the best thing we’ve seen this year and unquestionably one of the best things we’ve seen at Lyric Opera ever.
The sets and costumes, inspired by 16th century Venetian paintings, were appropriate, effective, and beautiful. See here for an album of the actual costumes. The set was probably the most effective “working” set we’ve seen at Lyric (the only competition would be the set of the sublime Hal Prince production of Madama Butterfly which we’ve seen for many years).
The voices were fabulous. Carlos Alvarez’s Rigoletto was simply suberb. He handled the dramatically very difficult second act entrance of Rigoletto after Gilda’s abduction in which Rigoletto goes from nonchalance to anger to abject pleading in the space of a few minutes with skill and subtlety. I’ve heard Frank Lopardo for many years and I honestly don’t think I’ve ever heard him sing better than last night’s Duke. He’s at the very height of his powers and I don’t know that I’ve ever heard the Duke sung better by anyone. It was a flawless performance. Dina Kuznetsova as Gilda, Rigoletto’s daughter, got off to a slightly shaky start, her voice a little thin and taking her high notes somewhat tentatively. By the second act she had improved enormously and overall gave a wonderful performance. Every single character including the lesser characters of Maddalena and Sparafucile had strong, memorable voices. The matching of the voices was felicitous.
My quibbles about the production are extremely minor. There was a fluff by the horn player early in the overture. Beth Clayton, who played Maddalena, has shoulders like a middle linebacker. I found it a little distracting. Knock off the pumping iron, girl! But she sang and acted the part beautifully exuding an Anna Magnani-esque earthiness.
The beautiful and effective sets, sumptuous costumes, excellent staging, and best of all, great singing and acting all combined to make this an unforgettable performance. If you love opera and there is any way at all for you see this production, I urge you to do so.
Here’s a little sidelight I found amusing. Here’s the casting call for supernumeraries:
In an effort to recruit male and female supernumeraries for the company’s upcoming production of Rigoletto, Lyric Opera of Chicago has put out an casting call seeking “Adonis-looking” men and women, ages 18 to 30 that don’t mind being topless or wearing “physique-revealing toga-like outfits,” and men 4 feet 10 inches tall or shorter with “gymnastics or tumbling skills” able to “rappel down a rope.” The company’s Rigoletto, which features said society women, noblemen, kidnappers, courtesans and riffraff transported to the French royal court during the Renaissance, opens at the Lyric on January 21.
“We’re not going to let this get real raunchy,” William Mason, Lyric’s general director, told the Chicago Sun-Times in reference to the company’s new Rigoletto, which is being directed by Stefano Vizioli. “Topless ladies — we’ll see how that’s done, if it’s tasteful. But in the first act of Rigoletto, you want to show that this is really a debauched court. It’s not exactly a board meeting of General Motors. You need to set that tone. We’ll see how it goes. We’re trying to find the balance between some artistic license and what our public will accept.”
The Sun-Times reports that the incorporation of topless women into a production represents a bit of a gamble for the Lyric, after having already shelved its 2000 Christopher Alden-production of Rigoletto following complaints by some Lyric attendees who were upset by that production’s more licentious elements.
