promo code rigoletto lyric opera chicago

As the court jester, he has created many enemies with his sharp-tongued and insulting jokes masquerading as wit and whimsy. Rigoletto refuses to let her out of the house or to be drawn out on the subject of her mother/his deceased wife. At the center is the eponymous protagonist, who is overly protective of his daughter Gilda, poignantly portrayed by newcomer Rosa Feola. It is also about the power of words to curse, to wound, and to woo. Similarly stunning is Polenzani’s performance as the profligate duke, whose ravishing tenor lilts and soars.īased on Victor Hugo’s 1832 play Le roi s’amuse, Rigoletto is a tragedy in three acts set in 16th-century Mantua featuring a cast of finely-drawn, multi-layered characters.

At turns jocular and brooding, bellicose and tender, he masterfully imbues his character with all of the shifting moods and emotional complexity that the role requires. Kelsey’s performance in the titular role might be his best yet at Lyric, using his brassy, barrel-chested baritone to maximum effect. Each has returned to Chicago frequently and recently. One of the things that makes this production so easy to warm to-besides its well-known music-is audience familiarity with lead performers Quinn Kelsey and Matthew Polenzani, who are both Ryan Opera Center alumni. Rigoletto doesn’t drag either, nor is it overly long, but lasts a reasonably full two and a half hours, including one intermission. In Rigoletto, Verdi’s score is as delightful and charming as ever, with such memorable songs as “La donna è mobile” and “Caro nome.” Moreover, it is perfectly balanced between large ensemble scenes and more intimate duets. After the novelty of Lyric’s season-opening production of Gluck’s Orphée et Eurydice, this more traditional production of Giuseppe Verdi’s Rigoletto is welcome indeed.

Promo code rigoletto lyric opera chicago