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 theaters 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. 

The 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 Maledizion (The Curse), refers to a curse placed on both the Duke and Rigoletto by the Count Monterone, 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.

CAST:
Baritone Michael Nansel – RIGOLETTO
Tenor Victor Starsky – DUKE
Soprano Hanna Brammer – GILDA
Basso Steven Fredericks – SPARAFUCILE
Mezzo Soprano Christina Lamberti – MADDALENA
Bass Baritone – Nate Strock – MONTERONE
TBD – MARULLO
Maestro Adrian Sylveen – Conductor
Rider Foster – Chorus Master
Giorgio Lalov – Stage Director, Sets, costumes and lights

About Teatro Lirico d’Europa
Teatro Lirico d’Europa has produced over 700 performances in 120 different venues across the United States after decades of success performing for European audiences. The company delivers traditional, full-scale productions featuring a professional orchestra and chorus and world-class soloists.