2024-2025 OPERA AND BALLET SEASON
RIGOLETTO by Giuseppe Verdi
Music pub: E. F. Kalmus & Co., New York
Music Director and Conductor DANIEL OREN
Director VIVIEN HEWITT
Chorus master PAOLO LONGO
PRODUCTION BY FONDAZIONE TEATRO LIRICO GIUSEPPE VERDI DI TRIESTE
Characters and performers
Rigoletto AMARTUVSHIN ENKHBAT (16, 18, 23, 25/V)
YOUNGJUN PARK (17, 24/V)
Gilda SABINA PUÉRTOLAS(16, 18, 24/V)
FEDERICA GUIDA (17, 23, 25/V)
The Duke of Mantua GALEANO SALAS (16, 18, 23, 25/V)
IVÁN AYÓN-RIVAS (17, 24/V)
Maddalena MARTINA BELLI
Sparafucile CARLO STRIULI
Giovanna CARLOTTA VICHI
Count of Monterone GABRIELE SAGONA
Countess of Ceprano/Page MIRIAM ARTIACO
Matteo Borsa ENZO PERONI
Marullo FABIO PREVIATI
Count of Ceprano DARIO GIORGELE’
A court usher DAMIANO LOCATELLI / GIULIANO PELIZON / DANIELE CUSARI
ORCHESTRA, CHORUS AND TECHNICIANS BY FONDAZIONE TEATRO LIRICO GIUSEPPE VERDI DI TRIESTE
This production marks one of the most eagerly anticipated events of the season. The presence of Daniel Oren, a long-standing friend of the city and a renowned conductor of the Romantic repertoire, adds to the occasion, as does the revival of the most recent staging of Verdi’s masterpiece, directed by Irish stage director Vivien Hewitt, who remains faithful to the original libretto while introducing significant updates.
The opera will also be performed at the Teatro Nuovo Giovanni da Udine on 30 and 31 May.
With this fourth new production staged in the city for its vibrant opera season—reworked with significant changes from the 2022 version by director Vivien Hewitt, who returns to Rigoletto after her 2013 production at Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa inspired by the work of Rolando Panerai—comes the eagerly anticipated second consecutive appearance on the podium of the esteemed Maestro Daniel Oren. Fresh from the triumph of Lucia di Lammermoor, Oren continues to enjoy critical and audience acclaim for last year’s Rigoletto directed by John Turturro at the Teatro Massimo in Palermo.
A work much loved by the city of Trieste, Rigoletto first arrived here in 1852, just a year after its celebrated Venetian premiere, and has returned to the stage regularly ever since—most recently during the 2022 season.
On the stage of Teatro Verdi, in a production expected to remain faithful to tradition, two outstanding leads take the spotlight: Amartuvshin Enkhbat, currently among the most acclaimed baritones worldwide, returns to the role that earned him great recognition at La Scala, in between his performances of La Traviata at the Metropolitan Opera in New York; and Youngjun Park, a promising young Korean baritone, who will reprise Rigoletto at the Arena di Verona in the final performances of its upcoming season this September.
The role of Gilda will first be performed by the soprano Sabina Puértolas, who has already portrayed the ill-fated Mantuan girl at London’s Royal Opera House, and the Italian Federica Guida. The Duke of Mantua will be sung by Mexican-American tenor Galeano Salas, a regular presence on many of the world’s leading stages, and by the outstanding Peruvian tenor Iván Ayón-Rivas, whose international career continues to gain momentum.
Given the significance of each individual role, Rigoletto will feature an exceptional ensemble cast on the Verdi stage, showcasing a parade of accomplished professionals. Among them: mezzo-soprano Martina Belli as Maddalena, a role she will also reprise later this season at La Scala; the solid bass-baritone Carlo Striuli as Sparafucile; Carlotta Vichi as Giovanna, a role she has already performed at La Fenice; Gabriele Sagona as Count Monterone; Miriam Artiaco as the Countess of Ceprano and the Page; Enzo Peroni as Matteo Borsa; Fabio Previati as Marullo; and Dario Giorgelè as Count of Ceprano.
Rigoletto will also be performed twice at the Teatro Nuovo Giovanni da Udine, on 30 and 31 May, with the first of the two performances dedicated to the schools outreach programme. This further confirms Teatro Verdi’s role as the leading performing arts production centre in the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region.
Teatro Verdi also announces that, beginning with Rigoletto, the Victor de Sabata Lounge will reopen with a new spring menu, available during the first three performances of the opening weekend.
PERFORMANCES:
A – Friday 16 May 2025, 8:00 PM
B – Saturday 17 May 2025, 7:00 PM
D – Sunday 18 May 2025, 4:00 PM
C – Friday 23 May 2025, 8:00 PM
S – Saturday 24 May 2025, 4:00 PM
E – Sunday 25 May 2025, 4:00 PM