Organization

Singer

Tenor

Juan Diego Flórez

The Duke of Mantua

Wookyung Kim

Baritone

Željko Lučić

Rigoletto

Soprano

Diana Damrau

Gilda

Agnete Munk Rasmussen

Bass

Rainer Büsching

The Count of Ceprano

Markus Butter

Sangmin Lee

Mezzo-soprano

Kyung-Hae Kang

The Countess of Ceprano

Matthias Henneberg

Marullo

Christoph Pohl

Oliver Ringelhahn

Matteo Borsa

Timothy Oliver

Michael Eder

Sparafucile

Georg Zeppenfeld

Contralto

Christa Mayer

Maddalena

Sofi Lorentzen

Elisabeth Wilke

Giovanna

Angela Liebold

Conductor

Fabio Luisi

Stage director

Nikolaus Lehnhoff

Costume designer

Bettina Walte

Set designer

Raimund Bauer

Markus Marquardt

The Count of Monterone

Dominik Licht

A court usher

Lin Lin Fan

A page

Lighting designer

Paul Pyant

Chorus master

Ulrich Paetzholdt

Semperoper Dresden

Others

Herren des Staatsopernchores Dresden

Orchestra

Staatskapelle Dresden

Sächsischer Staatsopernchor Dresden

Italian

Dresden

Germany

Rigoletto is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play Le roi s'amuse by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had control over northern Italian theatres at the time, the opera had a triumphant premiere at La Fenice in Venice on 11 March 1851.

The work, Verdi's sixteenth in the genre, is widely considered to be the first of the operatic masterpieces of Verdi's middle-to-late career. Its tragic story revolves around the licentious Duke of Mantua, his hunch-backed court jester Rigoletto, and Rigoletto's daughter Gilda. The opera's original title, La maledizione (The Curse), refers to a curse placed on both the Duke and Rigoletto by a courtier whose daughter the Duke has seduced with Rigoletto's encouragement. The curse comes to fruition when Gilda falls in love with the Duke and sacrifices her life to save him from the assassin hired by her father

Semperoper

One of the world's leading stage directors, Nikolaus Lehnhoff (1939-2015) will always be remembered for his outstanding work on many operas, and notably for this spectacular production of Giuseppe Verdi's popular opera Rigoletto, here showcased at the Dresden Semperoper. The version released here stars two internationally-acclaimed singers, tenor Juan Diego Flórez and soprano Diana Damrau.

From the Semperoper Dresden, 2008
Outstanding production by Nikolaus Lehnhoff with the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden under the baton of Fabio Luisi. English subtitles available in the player.

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Fabio Luisi - conductor
Nikolaus Lehnhoff - stage director

Juan Diego Flórez - The Duke of Mantua
Željko Lučić - Rigoletto 
Diana Damrau - Gilda 
Markus Marquardt - Count Monterone

Chapters:
0:00 Giuseppe Verdi - Rigoletto
1:05 Overture
3:31 Act. I
1:00:45 Act. II
1:34:07 Act. III

International stars like Juan Diego Flórez and Diana Damrau directed by the chief conductor Fabio Luisi. This opera production demonstrates a convincing and highly qualified musical standard. A wonderfully timeless event, which took place in the marvelous atmosphere of Dresden’s Semperoper.

The cast are highly convincing in terms of both their singing and their acting. Diana Damrau is a naive and curious Gilda; Juan Diego Flórez' South-American temperament is perfect for the role of the lustful duke. Lehnhoff is fond of working with masquerades in his stagings, blurring the line between illusion and reality. Here, "La donna è mobile" (Act 3) is not only a vision of testosterone-fueled excess - it also makes clear the vast gulf separating the worlds of the duke and Gilda.

Rigoletto Verdi

Public

German

Approved

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