TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Giuseppe Verdi’s gripping opera “Rigoletto” will be performed in Taichung next month, showcasing the dramatic intensity of one of the Romantic era’s most celebrated works.
Four performances are scheduled from Oct. 2 to Oct. 5 at the National Taichung Theater, featuring Italian-language singing with Mandarin and English subtitles. Main roles will be performed by different singers across the four shows, giving audiences the chance to experience varied interpretations and subtle nuances in every performance.
Based on Victor Hugo’s play “Le Roi s’Amuse,” or “The King Amuses Himself,” “Rigoletto” tells the story of the Duke of Mantua, his hunchbacked jester Rigoletto, and Rigoletto’s innocent daughter, Gilda. The opera unfolds as a tale of jealousy, fate, and human desire, where mockery and vengeance spiral into tragedy.
“Everything that happens on stage is detailed and intentional to create reality,” Revival Director Warwick Doddrell shared. From background actions to the main drama, each element is designed to guide the audience through the story.
Designer Michael Yeargan enhances the atmosphere with a rotating, dollhouse-like set, where cinematic shifts move between the Duke’s indulgent world and the jester’s stark reality, heightening the drama with striking visual flair.
The title role of “Rigoletto” will be shared by baritones Jose Carbo and Chen Han-wei (陳翰威). Carbo, who was 47 when he first performed the role, said he had expected to take it on closer to age 55, noting that Chen is doing so at 33.
He described “Rigoletto” as the pinnacle of a baritone’s career and highlighted the physical demands of singing with a humpbacked posture and walking sticks. Chen said the greatest challenge lies in expressing the character’s emotional depth while managing the physicality of the role.
Gilda will be portrayed by Stacey Alleaume and Miyachi Ena, capturing the character’s journey from a naive girl to a young woman asserting her own choices. Alleaume described Gilda as a teenager navigating life with high stakes: “She doesn’t even know her mother’s name, and her father is a court jester. She wants to explore life but also protect the Duke and herself.”
The morally complex Duke of Mantua, played by Rosario La Spina and Huang Ya-chung (黃亞中), is depicted as a charming yet manipulative figure. La Spina said, “You can’t stand him, but you would love to be like him, just for a day or two. He is very naughty but incredibly layered.”
This production is a revival of Opera Australia’s 1991 staging, which has been performed for over 30 years in 13 revivals. Rather than the traditional 16th-century court, the story unfolds in 1950s Italy, amid the moral decay of the criminal underworld and the glittering excess of high society.
