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6We have nothing but praise for Amy Hutchinson’s stage direction. It unfailingly served the music and the drama with a light touch which is, sadly, infrequent these days. Ms. Hutchinson trusts the material, the performers and, most importantly, the audience. Her abundant creativity is evident throughout, but she never bludgeons us with her “concept”.
Yet this was serious fun and a worthy homage to Donizetti with kudos to Hutchison, Danzig and the creative team on this lively and witty production.
It doesn't matter whether “Rigoletto” is a father-daughter story, an intrigue of political decay, a tale of unrequited love or a costumed affair with beautiful music, Giuseppe Verdi's 1851 masterpiece doesn't grow old. The varied elements came together almost seamlessly Friday night at downtown's Municipal Auditorium in the San Antonio Opera's final production of its 2009-10 season. Talent flowed from the stage at every turn of this emotionally complex opera. A great deal of the credit should go to Sam Mungo's well-paced stage direction and Enrique Patrón de Rueda's baton. The pit orchestra absolutely glowed and glittered throughout. The cast members won the evening, however, as they ignited their characters through the inflections of their singing instead of relying on acting, the costumes or the set, although all of those added to the opera's success. The most striking stage presence came from baritone Daniel Sutin as the court's jester and title character. His singing effectively articulated his ardent overprotectiveness, as his daughter's father, and his obsession with a curse placed upon him in the first scene.Soprano Audrey Elizabeth Luna, as Rigoletto's daughter, Gilda, delivered the best singing. Luna hit all her high notes in her big aria, “Caro nome,” which launches the opera's doomed love affair. Tenor Michael Wade Lee, as the duke of Mantua, executed the role of the despicable villain to the hilt. The story wouldn't work without the duke's shameless attitude toward women. Yet, Lee effortlessly tossed off, wonderfully, what may be opera's most famous aria, “La donna è mobile,” without making it sound like a cliché. Minor characters held up their end. The assassin Sparafucile, sung by Matthew Trevino, and Sparafucile's overly senuous sister, Maddalena, portrayed by Dana Beth Miller, stood out in the stormy final act.
‘Pandolfe [was] sung by bass-baritone Derek Welton, another fine artist from down under in his own American debut’
‘As Cendrillon’s wife-weary father, Derek Welton was impressive. His resonant bass-baritone supported the well-shaped lines with ease. The confidence Welton gave to the high passages stood out, along with this clarity in his lower register. In Act III, Welton approached the scene with Cendrillon with the intimacy some would associate with Verdi’s famous father-daughter exchanges.’
