Giuseppe Verdi’s “Rigoletto” opens soon

“One of the groundbreaking trio of masterpieces from Verdi’s ‘middle period’ (along with La Traviata and Il Trovatore), Rigoletto is an exceptionally powerful tragedy ” said Christopher Koelsch. “I welcome its return to our stage, especially under the baton of James Conlon, whose Verdi interpretations are always notably moving, and with the supremely gifted baritone Quinn Kelsey in the title role.”

About Rigoletto:
In a court ruled by decadence and corruption, the Duke of Mantua sits on top. Whatever he wants, he gets. And lately, he’s set his sights on Rigoletto’s daughter. It’s enough to send the formerly carefree court jester into a deadly rage, but revenge comes at a price he never expected.

Rigoletto features some of the composer’s best known arias, including the instantly recognizable tenor aria “La donna è mobile.” Although it has long been one of the most popular works in the entire operatic repertoire, Rigoletto has only been previously presented by LA Opera four times in the company’s four-decade history, most recently in 2018.

Meet the Cast:
Baritone Quinn Kelsey, who made his LA Opera debut in 2020 as the Duke of Nottingham in Roberto Devereux, is regarded as one of the greatest Verdi baritones of our time. He returns to Los Angeles as Rigoletto, a role he performed earlier this season at the Metropolitan Opera and at Opernhaus Zürich. This season’s appearances have also included Amonasro in Aida and Scarpia in Tosca at the Metropolitan Opera, and performances as Germont in La Traviata in Kyoto and Tokyo with the Seiji Ozawa Music Academy Opera Project XXI.

The Duke of Mantua is performed by tenor René Barbera, who has previously appeared with the company in two Rossini works, as Count Almaviva in The Barber of Seville and Don Ramiro in Cinderella. He began the season as the Duke of Mantua with the Dutch National Opera, followed by major role debuts in the title role of Roberto Devereux at Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, Arnold in Guillaume Tell at New National Theatre Tokyo, and Gennaro in Lucrezia Borgia at Teatro dell’Opera di Roma. He also debuted at Teatro Regio Torino as Nemorino in L’Elisir d’Amore.

At the first four performances (May 31 through June 15), the role of Gilda will be performed by Lisette Oropesa, a role she previously performed with the company in 2018. Additional appearances at LA Opera include Rosalba in Daniel Catán’s Florencia en el Amazonas and Eurydice in Gluck’s Orpheus and Eurydice. One of the brightest stars of her generation, she has notably performed Violetta in La Traviata at the Metropolitan Opera and in London, Madrid, Barcelona, Verona and Vienna, and the title role in Lucia di Lammermoor in Milan, London, Salzburg and Madrid.

On June 18 and 21, soprano Kathryn Lewek takes over the role of Gilda for her LA Opera debut. She is today’s reigning Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute, singing that role more than 300 times in leading opera houses worldwide, including those of London, Vienna, Berlin, Munich, Madrid, Chicago, Houston and at the Metropolitan Opera, where she has performed it a record-breaking 85 times. Other recent highlights include the title role of Lakmé at Opéra de Nice and the four Tales of Hoffmann heroines at the Salzburg Festival and Deutsche Oper Berlin.Baritone Blake Denson makes his company debut as Monterone. Bass Peixin Chen and mezzo-soprano Sarah Saturnino (an alumna of LAO’s Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program) portray the scheming Sparafucile and Maddalena.The cast also includes several current members of LA Opera’s Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program: tenor Nathan Bowles as Borsa, baritone Hyungjin Son as Marullo, bass Vinícius Costa as Count Ceprano, and Gabrielle Turgeon as both Countess Ceprano and the Page. Another alumna of the program, mezzo-soprano Madeleine Lyon, returns as Giovanna.

The Creative Team:
The production, directed by Tomer Zvulun, features sets designed by Erhard Rom, costumes by Jessica Jahn and lighting by Robert Wierzel. The choreographer is Ricardo Apponte and Jeremy Frank is the chorus director.
Performance Dates, Times and Address:
There will be six performances of Rigoletto presented at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, located at 135 North Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90012:

• Saturday, May 31, 2025, at 7:30pm
• Sunday, June 8, 2025, at 2pm
• Thursday, June 12, 2025, at 7:30pm
• Sunday, June 15, 2025, at 2pm
• Wednesday, June 18, 2025, at 7:30pm
• Saturday, June 21, 2025, at 7:30pm

Tickets
Tickets begin at $37.50 and are on sale now. Tickets can be purchased online at LAOpera.org, by phone at 213.972.8001, or in person at the LA Opera box office at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion (135 N. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles CA 90012). For disability access, call 213.972.0777 or email LAOpera@LAOpera.org.

More information about the production is available at LAOpera.org/Rigoletto.

Rigoletto is sung in Italian with English supertitles projected above the stage.

About LA Opera
Los Angeles is a city of enormous diversity and creativity, and LA Opera is dedicated to reflecting that vibrancy by redefining what opera can be. Through imaginative new productions, world premiere commissions, and inventive performances that preserve foundational works while making them feel fresh and compelling, LA Opera has become one of America’s most exciting and ambitious opera companies.

In addition to its mainstage performances at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, the company explores unusual repertoire each season through the LA Opera Off Grand initiative, featuring performances in a variety of venues throughout Los Angeles. The LA Opera Connects initiative offers a robust variety of educational programming and community engagement offerings that reaches people throughout every corner of Los Angeles County. Learn more at LAOpera.org.