Miller’s ENO Rigoletto still packs a punch, but Verdi’s music carries the day

United KingdomUnited Kingdom Verdi, Rigoletto: Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of the English National Opera/ Richard Farnes (conductor). London Coliseum, 30.10.2024. (CSa)

Robyn Allegra Parton (Gilda) and Yongzhao Yu (The Duke) © Tristram Kenton

Cast:
The Duke – Yongzhao Yu
Borsa – Thomas Elwin
Ceprano’s wife – Joanne Appleby
Rigoletto – Weston Hurt
Marullo – Patrick Alexander Keefe
Ceprano – Edwin Kaye
Monterone – David Kempster
Sparafucile – William Thomas
Gilda – Robyn Allegra Parton
Giovanna – Sarah-Jane Lewis
A Secretary – Annabella-Vesela Ellis
A Henchman – Ronald Nairne
Maddalena – Amy Holyland

Production:
Director – Jonathan Miller
Revival director – Elaine Tyler-Hall
Designers – Patrick Robertson, Rosemary Vercoe
Lighting designer – Robert Bryan
Revival Lighting designer – Ian Jackson-French
Chorus director – Matthew Quinn

Transported in time and place from the grand ducal court in Renaissance Mantua to a louche hotel in Little Italy in the 1950’s, the late Jonathan Miller’s iconic production of Verdi’s Rigoletto, first staged at the English National Opera over 40 years ago, still stands the test of time. Based on Victor Hugo’s play Le Roi s’amuse, Verdi’s operatic exploration of love, betrayal and revenge finds clever parallels in the mafia-run Manhattan of The Godfather. The licentious Duke has become a shiny suited capo dei capi, constantly combing his slicked-back hair, and his courtiers, a gang of Fedora hatted mobsters. The ancestral palace is now a hotel bar, where Hugo’s long-suffering, hump-backed jester Rigoletto serves as a joshing, one-armed barman, and where at the press of a button, patrons can summon up ‘La donna è mobile’ (‘Woman is fickle’) from the jukebox .The dark drama plays out against a corresponding succession of shadowy urban backdrops, skilfully lit by Robert Bryan and reconstructed by Patrick Robertson and Rosemary Vercoe: half-lit downtown tenements, a spider’s web of fire escapes, solitary hydrants and the villainous Sparafucile’s brightly illuminated Act III riverside bar reminiscent of Edward Hopper’s lonely Night Hawks.

Verdi claimed to have conceived Rigoletto ‘almost as a continuous crescendo of emotion…the father’s curse, the Duke’s cynicism, the tragic fate of (Rigoletto’s daughter) Gilda were the driving elements that needed a powerful musical portrayal.’ Under the sensitively modulated and dramatically paced direction of Richard Farnes, the ENO orchestra, chorus and soloists gave of their best.

British soprano Robyn Allegra Parton as the cruelly deceived and brutally raped Gilda, brought to the part the required combination of innocence, vulnerability and underlying strength. Her lyric coloratura has a bell-like clarity and a light warbling agility which, in ornamented arias such as ‘Caro nome che mio cor’ (‘Sweet name that made my heart’), where voice and flute are almost interchangeable, conjured memories of great singers from a much earlier era. Yet, in ‘Bella figlia dell’amore’ (‘Beautiful daughter of love’)the great quartet in the opera’s final act – when Gilda is required to demonstrate unwavering strength and determination, Parton’s voice expanded magnificently.

Weston Hurt (far right) in the title role of ENO’s Rigoletto © Tristram Kenton

American baritone Weston Hurt, making his UK debut as the white jacketed Rigoletto sang with rich vocal warmth and resonance. His terrified response to Monterone’s curse, tender reassurances to Gilda and ruthless pledge of vengeance impressively displayed Weston’s vocal and emotional range.

The misogynist gangster Duke is central to the plot and requires more than a crystalline tenor voice to carry it forward. Chinese born Yongzhao Yu certainly possesses a powerful and clear instrument which can discharge top notes with bullet-like accuracy, but his portrayal of the cold-blooded Lothario suggested someone handier with a comb than a revolver. Yu’s enunciation of James Fenton’s English text was also problematic and made the ENO’s helpful surtitles essential reading.

As the sinister hitman, Sparafucile (bass William Thomas) executed his role with the appropriate degree of pathological menace while Maddalena (dark-hued contralto Amy Holyland) gave the opera’s final moments an added depth.

One cavil. Despite the stylish evergreen production, some highly accomplished vocal performances from individual soloists and outstanding chorus work throughout, character interaction was frequently rigid and, in the plot’s intimate conversational moments, unconvincing. Some further reworking by Revival director Elaine Tyler-Hall might be in order. As things stand, it is left to the power of Verdi’s eloquent score to carry and continue his ‘crescendo of emotion’ and to fully depict the opera’s tragic conflicts.

Chris Sallon

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