CAMBA, Andrea Melisa R.

OPERA 1: RIGOLETTO
PLOT SUMMARY
Rigoletto is the right-hand man of the Duke of Mantua. Although not blessed with good
physiquehunchbacked and not too attractivehe is good in humiliating the courtiers for his
masters amusement. The Duke on the other had is a ladys man and is not satisfied until he
gets the women he desires. At a night in his casino, the Duke woos the Countess Ceprano while
his sidekick Rigoletto mocks the countess husband, Count Ceprano. Meanwhile, Marullo, one
of the Dukes entourage, rumors that Rigoletto is keeping a young mistress in his home.
Rigoletto, unaware of this, continues to insult Ceprano who now plans of vengeance. Count
Monterone appeals to the Duke for seducing his daughter but is cruelly mocked by Rigoletto.
Maddened, Monterone casts a fathers curse on Rigolettto.
On his way home, Rigoletto encounters Sparafucile, an assassin, but declines his
services. Gilda, Rigolettos daughter is warned by her father to stay hidden in their homenot
revealing that she has fallen in love with a man at church. The Duke appears as the soon as
Rigoletto left and bribes Giovanna, the housekeeper, to let him in. He then declares his love for
Gilda and immediately left the house. Unexpectedly, the courtiers abduct Gilda believing that
she is her fathers mistress. Rigoletto was fooled into assisting them, assuring him that their
target was Countess Ceprano. When he realizes what happened he is flustered and remembers
the curse.
The courtiers tell their abduction of Gilda to the Duke. He is of course filed with delight
knowing that she now waits for him in his room. Rigoletto storms in faking indifference but
dreadfully seeks signs of his daughter. He pleads for his daughters return but was rejected.
Gilda appears dishabille which triggers Rigoletto swear vengeance on the Duke.
Rigoletto makes a deal with Sparafucile to kill the Duke and deliver his body back to him.
The Duke was lured in by Maddalena, Sparafuciles sister. Rigoletto brings Gilda with him to spy
on the inn trying to convince her daughter about the Dukes indecent faade. Gilda is
unimpressed and tries to fight for her love but Rigoletto sends him home to change into mens
clothing for their travel to Verona. As she journeys home, she hears Maddalena persuading his
brother to spare the Dukes life and kill another man instead. They both decided to kill the next
person who shows up at the inn so that Sparafucile will be able to produce a dead body to his
client. Gilda, determined to save her love, bravely walks in and was immediately stabbed and
stuffed in a sack by the assassin. The body is delivered to Rigoletto. As he is checking the sack,
he hears the Duke still singing and is surprised to see that it is his daughter who was murdered.
Horrified, Rigoletto recalls Monterones curse.
REVIEW/CRITIQ
An internationally acclaimed conductor, a commended director, world-class singers and
the countrys leading orchestrathese factors raised peoples expectations to a high level and I
must say the production did not disappoint me at all.

DIRECTION
Floy Quintos reputation in this business had been very solid ever since and I have been,
somehow, a witness to his credibility as a stage director. It amazes me that he never set his
standards at a mediocre level, thus giving him a consistent portfolio. In this production, Quintos
focused on his actors connection to their respective roles. Each artist gave a very genuine
approach to his interpretation which made the acting very believable. As a musician, I was really
drawn to the arias, especially Gildas Caro Nome and Rigolettos aria during the death of his
daughter where I was already in the verge of tears. I saw truth in every song, movement and
interaction.
COSTUME AND STAGE DESIGN
The stage design of the opera was very interesting. Even with just the use of long flowy
curtains and wooden platforms, the set was able to match the operas grandeur. I liked how the
production opted for ease and simplicity. The costumes on the other hand matched Verdis
splendor in terms of music. The costumes and styling helped in bringing out distinctive
personalities of each character. Gildas white dress with red stains was my favorite. I loved how
the costume illuminated the tragic incident that the character went through (was raped by the
Dukes entourage).
STAGING/ CHOREOGRAPHY
One of the things that fascinated me is the staging. I loved how the actors were blocked
in every scene. Probably my favorites were the parts of the Dukes entourage. Their basic
choreography and movements had a very strong impact which made the scenes more effective.
Their presence exuded tension and triggered the emotional weight of the musical passages.
The way the quartet was staged also fascinated me. I loved how balanced it wasMaddalena
and the Duke on one side, feeding on each others energies; and Rigoletto and Gilda on the
other, both being wretched and miserable about their struggle. Youll really notice that this
blocking choice was emphasized by the composer to show both balance and contrast among
the actors (in terms of characters and emotions).
ORCHESTRA
There was no question that the orchestra did a great job that evening. Jae Joon Lee took
the lead in the operas one night journey and in I think he did a fantastic job in doing so. He
really took good care of the material and made good choices in his musical interpretation. It was
shown in the arias and ensemble numbers that he had great consideration to the singers. The
most difficult thing, I think, in being a conductor is attaining that equilibrium between the voices
and the orchestral instruments, and Jae Joon Lee, being the great conductor that he is, leaped
to this aim.

ARTISTS
More than the colorful visuals and stage aesthetics, the real attraction of the opera are
the singers. They are the ones who have the most pressure during showsthe singers
performance will define weather the production was a hit or a miss. It might be quite unfair but it
is the truth; the entire opera is on their shoulders.
Rigoletto featured baritone Daesan No in the title role, together with soprano Yun
Kyoung Yi and tenor Jae Wook Lee. All delivered in their respective roles and made genuine
interpretations of their characters. Daesan No was indeed the star of the show. His rich baritone
voice filled every space of the theater. The way he projected his songs and enunciated his
words were good enough evidences that he gave justice to the title role. Yun Kyoung Yi on the
other hand complemented Nos deep tone and soared in her beautiful arias. Gildas Caro Nome
is one of the operas hooks and I think that she did a fairly good job in singing it. Jae Wook Lee
also made sure that he made an impression to the stage. His dramatic tone was very fit to the
Dukes dramatic character.
This may sound biased but I think that the opera wont be a full success without the
countrys very own Nenen Espina (Maddalena), Ronan Ferrer (Borsa), Jun Francis Jaranilla
(Sparafucile) and Noel Azcona (Count Monterone). They all gave tasteful interpretations on the
portrayals of their roles and as expected, they did not disappoint in terms of vocal prowess and
musicality.
Coro Tomasino was also highly commendable for being such a solid ensemble. They
radiated such great energy which definitely helped the lead actors carry a dynamic
performance.
CONCLUSION
This Rigoletto was indeed another gem of the classical music industry. It brings me joy
that despite the lack of popularity of this art form in the Philippines, CCP still pushed through
with this project. But hopefully next time, they could feature more Filipino artists in their
productionsnot that Im against foreign artists but itll also be nice to promote the amazing
talents
that
our
country
has
to
offer.