IU Opera Theater 2007-2008 Season

Set in 16th-century Mantua, Italy

One of Verdi’s most enduring works, Rigoletto survived considerable censorship to tell the story of the famously acerbic court jester and his scoundrel of a master, the Duke of Mantua. Things go awry when one of the victims of Rigoletto’s sharp tongue curses the deeply superstitious jester. After the licentious Duke seduces the clown’s daughter, Gilda, and then abandons her, Rigoletto vows revenge and plans to have his employer killed. But, through curious twists in the plot, perhaps the curse, the one who dies is not the Duke.

Sung in Italian with English supertitles

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ABOUT THE UPCOMING PRODUCTION.

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Libretto
Francesco Maria Piave,
based on Victor Hugo’s
play Le roi s’amuse

Premiere
La Fenice, Venice,
March 1851

Conductor
Stephen Lord

Stage Director
Vincent Liotta

Choreographer
Michael Vermon

Set & Costume Designs
Max Röthlisberger
and C. David Higgins

Lighting Designer
Mike Schwandt