Rigoletto by Verdi, From (2022/2022), Directed by Hendrik Müller, Conductor Jader Bignamini, Simone Di Felice, Opernhaus, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

Verdi achieved his breakthrough as an opera composer with his darkest, most tragic opera: The duke ruthlessly dominates a society from the fringes of which Rigoletto, as the court jester, pours poison into wounded souls. Even more: Rigoletto thinks he can manipulate the others. He keeps his daughter Gilda captive like a holy treasure, so that she does not fall victim to the duke's lust. But Gilda seizes the first opportunity to flee, fatally into the duke's arms... In a heavily condensed score, Verdi combines the two central themes of his entire oeuvre: the conflict-ridden relationship of a father to his child and the precarious situation of an outsider. In his production, director Henrik Müller shows violent, selfish people