
A Venetian triangle with a Verdi score
Rigoletto is back at Liceu, with Monique Wagemakers as the stage director and French tenor Benjamin Bernheim making his Barcelona debut.
The opera Rigoletto has been performed 375 times on the stage of the Gran Teatre del Liceu, a number that will increase by 15 before the end of 2021. Rigoletto is one of the many emblematic titles with music by Giuseppe Verdi, a melodrama in three acts with libretto by Francesco Maria Piave based on Victor Hugo's play Le roi s'amuse. The production, which will be at the Barcelona opera house from the end of November until 19 December, is a co-production of the Gran Teatre del Liceu and the Teatro Real and has already been seen a few years ago. The stage direction is by the Dutch Monique Wagemakers, who has opted for an exuberant and minimalist production, in which the costumes and set design, with a clearly predominant red colour and created respectively by Sandy Powell and Michael Levine, play a key role.
Another of the production's highlights is the debut of tenor Benjamin Bernheim as the Duke Mantua in Barcelona and Spain. He will alternate this role with Samir Pirgu and Josep Bros. Rigoletto will be played by baritones Christopher Maltman and Markus Brück, while Gilda will be played by sopranos Olga Peretyatko and Aigul Khismantullina. Daniele Callegari, musical director of the Nice Opera, will conduct the Orquestra Simfònica i Cor del Gran Teatre del Liceu.
The opera Rigoletto questions the notion of power, and above all, its abuse. The relationship between the three main characters, Rigoletto, Gilda and the Duke of Mantua, is presented as a sharp-edged triangle: the Duke is a libertine satyr who does not love Glida, just as Rigoletto does not love his daughter, whom he keeps under oppression disguised as protection. Only Gilda keeps her idealism and love, but she ends up being the innocent victim of her father's wrath.
You can find tickets and more information through this link.