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A painted-on smile can mask so much.
The court jester Rigoletto loves his daughter Gilda nearly as much as he hates the Duke of Mantua. The Duke steals Gilda's honor, and the jester must continue to joke, even as he
plans revenge.
Like most comedians, Rigoletto sometimes takes a joke too far for the comfort of his audience. But, this being opera, Rigoletto is met not by boos, but by a curse, when one of his jokes gets a little too personal. And when he realizes that his daughter has captured the eye of the Duke, Rigoletto leads us on a whirlwind of rage, revenge, and ultimately a tragic death.
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• All performances of Rigoletto are at the Benedum Center.
• Audio Commentary is available at the TUESDAY, October 9 performance.
• UNDERSTAND EVERY WORD: Sung in Italian with English texts projected above the stage.
• Estimated run time is 2 hours, 40 minutes, with 2 intermissions.
• Join us one hour before each performance for the Pre-Opera Talk. Free to all performance ticketholders, Pre-Opera Talks are full of insights on the opera, the composer, and more!
2012-2013 Season Sponsor: PNC
Opening Night Sponsor: Meat & Potatoes
Pittsburgh Opera is a proud member of
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Photos by David Bachman for Pittsburgh Opera
Previews and Reviews
PREVIEW: "A Father's Curse" - Tribune-Review, 9/30/12
PREVIEW: "A Verdi baritone, Mark Delavan is ready for Rigoletto" - Post-Gazette, 10/3/12
REVIEW: "'Rigoletto' captures dark world in opening night" - Post-Gazette, 10/7/12
REVIEW: "Opera opens season with powerful 'Rigoletto'" - Tribune-Review, 10/8/12
REVIEW: "Rigoletto...Revenge...the Italian Renaissance Way" - Roving Pittsburgher, 10/8/12
REVIEW: "'Rigoletto opens the door to an exciting opera season" - Opera Pulse, 10/9/12
Related Events
| Pre-Opera Talks | Opera Up Close |
| Meet the Artists Q&A | OPERAEncore |
| Brown Bag Concerts |
Additional Features
| Read the story of Rigoletto |
| The Cast and Artistic Team |
| Music and Videos |
| NEW! View the STUDY GUIDE for Rigoletto, produced by our Education Department |
Cast and Artistic Team
(cast is listed in order of vocal appearance)
 Mark Delavan Rigoletto |
.jpg) Lyubov Petrova Gilda |
 Michael W. Lee+ Duke of Mantua |
 Raymond Aceto+ Sparafucile |
 Samantha Korbey* Maddalena |
 Kyle Oliver* Marullo |
 Juan José de León* Matteo Borsa |
 Joseph Barron* Monterone |
Conductor: Antony Walker
Stage Director: Linda Brovsky
Set Designers: John Michael Deegan and Sarah J. Conly
Costume Designer: Susan Memmot Allred
Lighting Designer: Andrew Ostrowski
Asst. Conductor: Glenn Lewis
Chorus Master: Mark Trawka
Associate Coach/Pianist: James Lesniak
Wig & Makeup Designer: James Geier
Assistant Director: Stephanie Havey*
+ Pittsburgh Opera debut
* Pittsburgh Opera Resident Artist
** Pittsburgh Opera Resident Artist alumni
Sets and costumes from Utah Opera.
Rigoletto Video
Christopher Hahn interviews Mark Delavan about singing Rigoletto.
View the Rigoletto video postcard.
View the famous Act III Quartet from our production of Rigoletto.
View the Duke's jaunty aria "Questa o quella" from our production of Rigoletto.
View "Si, vendetta, tremenda vendetta" from our production of Rigoletto.
Music from Rigoletto
The Duke sings about his many conquests:"La donna e mobile" (Domingo)
Rigoletto vows revenge on the Duke: "Si, vendetta" (Cappuccilli)
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Like this recording? Order it from Deutsche Gramophon.
