Rigoletto
Revenge, love, self-sacrifice and murder are what the tragic story of Rigoletto revolves around.
The title hero, the hunch-backed court jester with derision on his lips and
anxiety in his heart, is well aware that it is wrong to serve the licentious
Duke of Mantua, and he tortures himself over the curse placed on him and his
master.
The opera’s premiere, on 11 March 1851 in Venice, was a great triumph,
particularly the Duke’s cynical aria “La donne e mobile” (Woman is
fickle), which was sung in the streets the next morning. Giuseppe Verdi saw that
he had composed a true blockbuster …
When in 1850 he was commissioned to write a new opera for La Fenice, he decided
to base it on Victor Hugo’s controversial play Le Roi s’amuse (The King
Has Fun), although he knew he would imperil himself due the sensitivity of the
subject. Deeming Hugo’s depiction of the escapades of King François I of
France utterly unacceptable and insulting, the Paris censors banned the play
immediately after its premiere, in 1832 at the Théâtre Français.
Almost two decades later, Verdi’s intention to create an opera according to
Hugo’s work met in Italy with an equally hostile response, with the Venetian
censors referring to it as “immoral” and an “affront to royal majesty”.
The parties ultimately arrived at a compromise: the setting would be changed,
the French King would become the Duke of Mantua, yet the most essential
aspects – the characters’ natures and the dramatic situations – would
remain.
Rigoletto was first staged at the New German Theatre (today’s State Opera)
soon after its opening, on 21 May 1888. Over the future seasons, its
productions were adorned by attractive foreign guests, with the most notable
including the legendary tenor Enrico Caruso. The new adaptation of Rigoletto
will be undertaken by Barbora Horáková Joly, a Czech opera director working in
Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Spain and France, the holder of the
UK’s International Opera Award 2018 in the Newcomer category.
Language – in Italian
Premiere performances: 28 and 30 January 2021 at the State Opera
Venue info
State Opera
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Thank you for respecting the government regulations and we look forward to seeing you.
Wilsonova 4
Praha 1