Bold. Brave. Brilliant.

Rigoletto: Bad Things Happen When You Hire an Assassin in a Dive Bar

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

(Phoenix & Tucson) Arizona Opera brings Verdi's masterpiece of a vengeful court jester to the stage. With unforgettable arias that are synonymous with Italian opera and a dramatic, twisting plot, Rigoletto features dark assassins, a philandering Duke and the self-sacrificing Gilda. This lush production, set in 16th century Mantua, features baritone Michael Corvino as Rigoletto, (Nov 14, 16 & 22) who "brings a robust voice and disarming vulnerability to the role."  - (The New York Times) alternating with the astounding Joshua Jeremiah (Nov. 15 & 23) a "husky, deep-voiced baritone singing with flexibility and abandon." - (Washington Post).  

Rounding out the cast is Jason Slayden and Anthony Kalil alternating in the role of the Duke of Mantua  and Sarah Coburn and Andrea Shokery as the tender Gilda.  Fenlon Lamb will direct with conductor Dean Williamson making his Arizona Opera debut.

Performances are November 14 & 15 at 7:30 and November 16 at 2:00 pm at Symphony Hall in Phoenix and November 22 at 7:30 and November 23 at 2:00 pm in the Tucson Music Hall.   All performances are sung in Italian with English supertitles. Pre-performance lecture begins 1 hour prior to curtain time.  Students can purchase $20 rush tickets one hour before curtain, best available seats in house (Limit 2).

Tickets for Rigoletto start at $25, and are available at www.azopera.org or by calling 602.266.7464 (Phoenix) or 520.293.4336 (Tucson). Tickets are also on sale at the Arizona Opera Center Box Office at 1636 N. Central Ave, Monday through Friday from  8:30am to 5:00pm.

Rigoletto

Music by Giuseppe Verdi

Libretto by Francesco Maria Piave

 

Phoenix Performances

November 14 & 15 at 7:30pm

November 16 at 2:00pm

Symphony Hall

75 N. 2nd St., Phoenix  AZ  85004

Tickets:  $25-$135 at www.azopera.org

 

Tucson Performances

November 22 at 7:30pm

November 23 at 2:00pm

Tucson Music Hall

260 S. Church St., Tucson  AZ  85701

Tickets:  $25-$120 at www.azopera.org

 

Rigoletto Special Events 

Arizona Opera offers several community events in anticipation of the performances.

 

Phoenix 

Operatif

November 7

7:00pm

Tickets:  $25

Enjoy a glass of wine with General Director Ryan Taylor and look behind the scenes of the opera.

Arizona Opera Center, 1636 N. Central Ave. Phoenix  AZ  85004

 

Rigoletto Student Night  

November 13

Lecture begins at 6:00pm

Performance begins at 7:00pm

Phoenix Symphony Hall, 75 N. 2nd St, Phoenix  AZ  85004

A limited number of tickets for Student Night in Phoenix are available to schools and community groups. Click here for criteria and ticket reservation information. 

 

Tucson

Say Hello to Opera 

November 12

Free performance and introduction to opera open to the community

3:00pm

Oro Valley Library, 1305 W. Naranja Ave, Oro Valley

RSVP 520-594-5580

 

Brown Bag Opera 

November 14

Free performance open to the community 

12:00pm (noon)

Grace St. Paul Episcopal Church, at 12:00 noon.  

2331 E. Adams Street, Tucson

RSVP 520-327-6857

 

About Arizona Opera

Arizona Opera, now in its 44th season, is our state's only professional opera company that produces fully-staged opera performances, concerts, in-school touring productions, educational and outreach programs that reach over 70,000 school-children and adults annually. Since its inception, Arizona Opera has produced over 180 fully-staged operas and concerts. The company's artistic history is rich with a blend of opera's traditional repertoire featuring baroque, bel canto, and verismo works, turn-of-the-century masterpieces, operettas, and American operas. Arizona Opera has also presented Wagner's complete Ring Cycle twice, a feat that has been accomplished in North America by only five other companies. Founded in 1971, Arizona Opera is among only a handful of companies in the United States that regularly performs in more than one city.