Giuseppe Verdi lived through turbulent times. The struggle for Italy's national unity and against foreign domination during the years of the Risorgimento led some choruses from his operas, such as Va, pensiero! from Nabucco or Patria oppressa from Macbeth, to become anthems that the people sang in the streets. Even his name was used as an acronym for Italian patriots who shouted ¡Viva Verdi! (Viva Vittorio Emanuele Rè d'Italia). But if his nationalism was evident at any point, it was in his unwavering adherence to an ideal of opera as human drama, through the use of a simple and direct solo vocal melody, in contrast to the emphasis on nature and mythological symbolism in German Romantic works, and the orchestral and choral exuberance of French grand opéra.
It was in 1851 that Rigoletto premiered successfully at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice, an opera commissioned by the same theater that would initiate, along with Il Trovatore and La Traviata, the trilogia popolare that would lead Verdi to the height of his success. Based on Victor Hugo's work Le roi s'amuse, with a libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, the opera had to suffer a series of catastrophic misfortunes before it could be premiered, changing the original location of the action and the names of Hugo's protagonists, but not Verdi's intention regarding the union of the traditional structure of a melodrama with the emotional and psychological complexity of the protagonist. La maledizione was the secret name Piave and Verdi used during its creation, and it is true that it seemed cursed until these changes occurred.
Rigoletto is built around three characters: the Duke of Mantua, his hunchbacked jester who gives the opera its name, and the jester's daughter, Gilda. As in many others, the plot is a violent melodrama of blood and fire, full of characters and unconscious coincidences, but with a great profusion of opportunities for the stimulating, robust, and terrible melodies and rhythms especially characteristic of Verdi's early style. Characterization, dramatic unity, and melodic inventiveness come together in Rigoletto and, with the aim of creating both dramatic and musical unity, Verdi resorts to one or more reminiscent themes or motifs at crucial moments in the opera.
The plot is a violent melodrama of blood and fire, full of characters and unconscious coincidencesIn Barcelona,Rigoletto---which ranks tenth in the world ranking of most performed operas--- premiered for the first time at the Liceu in December 1853, being performed up to 375 times, the last being in 2017 with the same production that we will see these days, within the framework of the block PARADISE: the daughter, the family, and the home. And although the interpreters of that moment were already good, the protagonist trio of thefirst distribution of this year is spectacularBenjamin Bernheim debuts at the Liceu as the Duke of Mantua, Christopher Maltman is Rigoletto and Russian soprano Olga Peretyatko takes on the role of Gilda.
"It is an opera about the abuse of power: the duke abuses Rigoletto, who in turn exercises his power over his daughter Gilda," says Monique Wagemakers, the stage director who also directed the previous edition. The production by the Dutch director, who also champions and defends the simplicity of the set design in favor of the music, is a small gem. But the apparent simplicity of the quadrangular stage ---a 1996 design by Michael Levine revised for the co-production of the Liceu and the Teatro Real in 2009--- encloses a play of color codes that serves to express anger, sadness, contempt or sexual fury, in addition to applying new technologies such as the tactile floor that not only changes its color, but also makes the characters drag a trail of light with them when they move. The singers feel so naked that they must explore their inner selves to maximize their emotions, delve into the deep psychology of the characters and explore the tensions and power relationships that unite them, which is precisely Verdi's primary objective when composing this masterpiece.
But that nakedness and honesty that the staging almost demands is completely metaphorical, because another of the strong points of this splendid production is the impressive costumes that characterize the characters, conceived by costume designer Sandy Powell, nominated twelve times for the Oscars and thirteen times for the BAFTAs and winner of three of both, for her excellent cinematographic work. For this Rigoletto, Powell, who collaborated with Spanish designer Lorenzo Caprile, was inspired by Renaissance Venice, trying through it to place the action in the specific place and space that the set design omits, and also for the use of color to define the nature of the characters: from the red of the sinister ruffians to the white and blue of purity and goodness. And that all of this is sufficiently suggestive and attractive to keep the viewer's attention.
Wagemakers has known how to surround herself with great professionals, as the lighting designed by Reinier Tweebeek also plays an important role. But to all this must be added the musical direction of Daniele Callegari, who points out that "this Verdi opera is a spectacle in which the theatrical and musical rhythm never stops, it's like a movie".
And it is that the theme "is splendid, immense, and there is a character that constitutes one of the greatest creations that theater could wish for, in any country and throughout history," Verdi wrote to his librettist while they were trying to bring his work to fruition. The jester Rigoletto, who applauds all the adventures of his master the Duke of Mantua, discovers that the latter seduces his secret daughter Gilda, which leads him to lose his mind and plot a revenge that, unexpectedly and like a curse, turns against him and ends in the worst way expected.
"It is an opera about the abuse of power: the duke abuses Rigoletto, who in turn exercises his power over his daughter Gilda," says Monique WagemakersAt its premiere in Venice, Rigolettoenjoyed a complete triumph, especially the dramatic scene, and the ariaThe woman is ficklewas sung in the streets the next day. And although Verdi had already achieved some successes with previous productions, it was from that moment, and until the end of his days, that he brought Italian opera to a point of perfection never surpassed since then, thanks to the fact that he did not break with the Italian operatic tradition rooted in the people, but rather his creative evolution was directed towards the refinement of his objectives and his technique.