There has been a lot of discourse on the survival of opera companies in America. Even the revered Met has met criticisms for everything from the artistic direction and performance choices to dwindling audiences. I must state clearly that the Lyric Opera of Chicago is setting a course that other opera companies should follow. The 2024-2025 season opener is Guiseppe Verdi's Rigoletto, and everything about it is astonishing.
Most of the cast and director Mary Birnbaum are making their debuts at Lyric in Rigoletto. These fresh faces and superb acting abilities pull the audience into the story. I can only compare this cast to a championship team that has the signals and plays down to perfection. Birnbaum's direction is seamless and wonderfully rife with tension even though the opera is one of Verdi's most popular operas and has been performed many times.
Ivan Golovatenko embodies the title role of Rigoletto, the Fool or Jester. The Fool is an archetypal figure in literature and some spiritual traditions. The Fool also serves as one who can make political statements and run roughshod over a court's enemies or competitors. .His previous role at Lyric was in Verdi's Don Carlos as Carlos' close friend Rodrigue. He is a baritone of superb range and depth. His character infuriates and entertains the louche court of the Duke of Mantua. Javier Camarena sings that role as his Lyric debut. He possesses a tenor that is pure and resounding. Some tenors have a treacly sound that belongs in another genre like 19th-century popular music. Camarena plays the Duke as a sensualist cuckolding the Count of Ceprano (a magnificent Christopher Humbert Jr) right under his nose. The acting in this production is excellent. Camarena laughs as he tosses melons to a guest and gives what Kerouac called the "sex eye" to any woman that he finds pleasing.
Mané Galoyan makes her Lyric debut as Gilda, the precious daughter of Rigoletto. Galoyan is also a superb actor playing the blossoming young woman who has fallen for the duplicitous Duke. She is considered a lyrical soprano and indeed, her voice is luxuriant and clear. The duets that she sings with Golovatenko and Camarena are astonishing in the range and blending of their voices. Galoyan carries off the innocence of a young and sheltered Catholic girl. Birnbaum noted that she wanted to make the character of Gilda a person who recognizes their own needs and desires. She is willing to defy her father and make sacrifices in the name of love and Galoyan's expressive face and eyes reach to the back of the house.
The entire cast is spectacular with a special mention of Solomon Howard as Sparafucile the assassin. Howard also appeared in Don Carlos with Golovatenko at Lyric. His bass is exquisite with a clarity in the deepest notes. He is an imposing and menacing Sparafucile with a businesslike demeanor for the task of killing. Andrew Manea makes his Lyric debut as Montarone. The baritone makes s great impression in a relatively small but vital role as the one who curses the Duke for defiling his daughter and then extends the curse to Rigoletto.
The supporting cast features the Lyric debut of sopranos Adia Evans as Countess Ceprano and Maire Therese Carmack as the duplicitous Giovanna who arranges a meeting with the Duke and Gilda. This Rigoletto is an excellent production out of the gate for the Lyric opera. Music director and conductor Enrique Mazzola cements his status as one of the great maestros of opera. His conducting leans into the emotions being expressed through the music and is woven in as much as the singing performances. Chorus director Michael Black does an exemplary job with the Lyric Chorus.
Robert Innes Hopkins's set design is imposing and perfect in scale for the palace of the Duke and the intrigue occurring in the rafters. The set revolves to reveal the humble home of Rigoletto and Gilda and then again to reveal the seedy inn run by Sparafucile and his sister Maddelena (Zoie Reams). The murals on the walls of the palace and in the Duke's bedroom depict erotic scenes in muted colors letting the subject matter be the focus. Costume designer Jane Greenwood's work is a sumptuous twirl of jewel tones and muted greys and browns. The group of kidnappers in black cloaks and skeleton masks is effective and menacing. Duane Schuler's lighting design enhances the set and costumes beautifully, giving a layer of mood and intrigue. The scenic artists keep the orgiastic with the sinister in perfect balance.
Every element of Rigoletto contributes to the tension and suspense of an outstanding production and opener for the Lyric Opera. It is exemplary and I highly recommend that you go and see it. I also recommend this as an example of bringing fresh talent and production values to the opera genre. The audience was filled with people of all ages and backgrounds. There were people in beautiful gowns and some in jeans with tattoos adorning every exposed part of their bodies. There was an elegant gentleman in tails with a real top hat. (Nerd alert—I loved that!) I left feeling exhilarated about the future of opera in Chicago and I hope that you will feel that same elation. Four stars.
Rigoletto runs through October 6, at the Civic Opera House, 20 N. Wacker Drive. Please visit lyricopera.org/rigoletto for tickets and information about performance times. Rigoletto is sung in Italian with projected English titles.
For more information on this and other plays, see theatreinchicago.com.
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