Rigoletto

Rigoletto is simply wonderful entertainment. It is a delight to listen to the opening ten minutes or so and recognize a dozen superb tunes. It is also much more—a daring attack on aristocratic privilege, a tender love story, and an impassioned appeal on behalf of the disadvantaged, all set to music of such wealth and beauty that, with its sister operas, La Traviata and Il Trovatore, has almost defined Italian opera for 150 years. 

Overcoming initial trouble with the censors, Verdi’s Rigoletto was a smash hit at its premiere and has not been out of the repertoire since. It’s not hard to see why. With Thomson Smillie’s accessible account, the opera comes alive.