Chatham Life & Style

★★★★1/2 by Philip Guadagno, staff writer

Rigoletto on the Lake

Recorded Live at Lake Constance, Bregenz, Austria

Broadcast by CineLife Entertainment

The Cary Theater

Cary, NC

February 23, 2020

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Learn more HERE.

Rigoletto, an opera in three acts

Composer: Giuseppe Verdi

Librettist: Francesco Maria Piave

Source material: Le roi s’amuse by Victor Hugo

Originally titled La maledizione (The Curse), Rigoletto focuses on the namesake, hunchbacked court jester of the licentious Duke of Mantua. Bound by his duty to his dastardly master, his love for his daughter, Gilda, and his paranoia stemming from a curse placed on him during the first scene, the audience follows Rigoletto through a series of events leading ultimately to Gilda’s demise and Rigoletto’s emotional undoing. In this production from the Bregenz Festival on Lake Constance in Austria, director Philipp Stölzl leans into the spectacle of Italian verismo grand opera and the question that scholars have been asking for years: is Rigoletto truly a prisoner to this “curse,” or is he actively engaging in his own destruction?

Some immediate technical concessions made for this production and its filming for broadcast include the addition of microphones (which is nearly unheard of in opera) and the regular use of zoom on the cameras because of the immense size of the stage. Considering the entire set and the majority of the cast and crew are residing on top of a lake and facing an enormous amphitheater filled to what appeared to be its absolute maximum capacity, it absolutely makes sense that the production would require some sound assistance. Because the performers all had microphones on, they were no longer held by the necessity of facing the audience, allowing for more flexibility of movement and immaculate staging ideas. Additionally, there was scarcely a moment where the balance between the performers and the orchestra was off unless the textures were really dense.

The orchestra and conductor were located on the shore, and that, in turn, created a different problem for the performers: the most notable instance of this is during the Act I duet for Gilda and “Gulatier Maldé,” an alias taken up by the Duke. During a particularly sensual and musically exposed moment, Gilda had her back to the audience and was pinned against a railing while the Duke was facing the audience and the conductor. Because this moment was almost entirely a cappella and Gilda could not see the conductor, the Duke was required to take on all of the responsibility of ensuring they both remained in time through all of the unaccompanied, chromatic coloratura. In order to make sure that happened, tenor Stephen Costello, playing the Duke of Mantua, sacrificed the believability of the moment for the sake of watching the conductor. For the live audience in the amphitheater in Austria, this is a slight detail that would go unnoticed. For those of us getting to see it in the context of the filmed version, the cameras made it glaringly obvious.

Rather than following in the traditionalist vein of a Rigoletto production, director, set designer, and co-lighting designer Philipp Stölzl wanted to take a more modern approach. Envisioning the Mantuan court as a dank, derelict circus, Stölzl attributed each role in the opera to one of the standard circus performers: the Duke of Mantua as the ringmaster, Rigoletto as the clown, Gilda as an acrobat/mechanical doll/damsel in distress, Sparafucile as a knife thrower, Giovanna/Maddalena as a showgirl, and Count Monterone as a magician. Costume designer Kathi Maurer followed these descriptions in suit, aptly dressing each of the performers in an outfit that clearly depicted their purpose in the show and dazzled the audience with the abundant use of glitter, sequins, and rhinestones.

The lighting design was a collaboration between Georg Veit and Stölzl. Because of the scale of the production, they wanted to take an approach that would be more engaging for the audience; so, they lit it like a rock concert. With an almost inordinate number of lights coming from behind the cast, and then more traditional overhead stage lighting, Veit and Stölzl were able to clearly show shifting times of day, create different but appropriate moods for each moment, and even brew up a terrifying and scintillating storm. In the score, there is a motif for the wind of the storm played on the piccolo, and Veit and Stölzl orchestrated the rear stage lights to flicker in time with the piccolo line to add a swift but powerful visual effect.

This production had a wonderful cast of performers, each really meeting the challenges of their individual roles both with their acting and their vocalism. Stephen Costello, as the Duke of Mantua, occasionally tended toward a darker tone than is typical for this role, but his precise coloratura (quick movement through many notes to express heightened emotion to the vocal line) and smooth, clear high notes made his portrayal of the dashing young scoundrel all the more realistic. Vladimir Stoyanov’s portrayal of Rigoletto was heartbreaking and beautiful, but he vocally tended toward the sharp side of the pitch on his high notes, especially if he was singing alone.

Mélissa Petit’s performance as Gilda was absolutely exquisite from beginning to end. Although there were some slight legato problems early on in the opera during the duet with Stoyanov, her performance of “Gualtier Maldé...Caro nome,” was absolutely flawless with crisp coloratura, gorgeous ornamentation, and impressive musicality despite the complexity of the aria. Miklós Sebestyén’s performance of Sparafucile was dark and powerful, exactly as is anticipated of the assassin.

Katrin Wundsam, double-cast as Giovanna (Gilda’s nurse in Act I) and Maddalena (Sparafucile's sister and assistant in Acts II and III), perfectly played each role, and really showcased her vocal ability in the quartet with Stoyanov, Petit, and Costello, richly filling in the middle texture of the quartet, which can be hard to hear between the tenor and the soprano lines. Kostas Smoriginas’ portrayal of Count Monterone was commanding and frightening. As the harbinger on Rigoletto’s undoing, his rumbling baritone and flawlessly smooth legato brought Rigoletto’s curse to life in Act I, truly establishing the beginning of Rigoletto’s end.

This production of Rigoletto was truly captivating from beginning to end. Highlighting the humor and humanity throughout the plot, this dark twist on one of Verdi’s best-known works brought a new interpretation to the forefront, and I suspect it will inspire future productions of this tragedy for years to come. -- P. Guadagno

Philip Guadagno (he/him), staff writer, is a long-time North Carolina resident and a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He holds bachelor's degrees in Dramatic Art and Music. He specializes as a Baroque opera singer, having performed in UNC Opera's productions of Dido and Aeneas and Alcina and having attended the Oberlin Conservatory Baroque Performance Institute. Primarily an opera and music performance critic, Philip also writes about theatre and performance art from a wide variety of performance levels.