Rigoletto

Giuseppe Verdi

Rigoletto

Opera in 3 acts

Libretto by F. M. Piave based on the play Le roi s’amuse by Victor Hugo

World premiere: 11 March 1851, La Fenice, Venice

Premiere at the Astana Opera House: 3–4 October 2025

Performed in Italian

(with synchronized Kazakh and Russian supertitles)

Running time: 2 hours 40 minutes (including two intervals)

Please note that the age limit is 10+

Management reserves the right to substitute artists

Rigoletto is one of Verdi’s most renowned operas and is consistently ranked among the top ten most frequently performed operas worldwide. The Duke’s famous aria “La donna è mobile” is familiar even to those far removed from the world of classical music.

At the heart of the opera is the tragic figure of Rigoletto – a deformed court jester scarred by life. Possessing a sharp intellect, he is forced into the degrading role of a fool at court. A man of intense passions, Rigoletto despises the nobility, yet he is also a tender and loving father. The purity of his daughter Gilda stands in stark contrast to the moral corruption of the court society. Fate punishes Rigoletto for mocking Count Monterone’s paternal grief. In seeking cruel revenge on the Duke, who has dishonoured his daughter, Rigoletto inadvertently becomes the cause of Gilda’s death.

The opera’s musical dramaturgy highlights the contrast between the carefree, hedonistic ruler – the Duke of Mantua – and the tormented jester. These opposing characters are vividly and psychologically nuanced in Verdi’s score.

At the Astana Opera House, stage director Arnaud Bernard places the Duke at the core of the dramatic narrative, offering his own interpretation of the character. He sees in him a noble and courageous man – highly intelligent, refined and deeply connected to his era, the Renaissance, a time when the human being, with all their physicality, intellect and inner world, became the focus of exploration. It was an age of discovery, study and reinterpretation of classical antiquity. The Duke is portrayed as insatiable, impatient, always in motion, inventive and full of curiosity.

The premiere of Rigoletto took place on 11 March 1851. The production was a tremendous success, and the Duke’s song – just as the composer had anticipated – caused a real sensation: audiences left the theatre singing and whistling its playful melody. After the premiere, Verdi said, “I am pleased with myself and think I shall never write anything better.”

PRODUCTION TEAM

Conductor – Alan Buribayev, Honoured Worker of Kazakhstan, State Prize Laureate of the Republic of Kazakhstan Assistant Conductor – Elmar Buribayev Stage Director – Arnaud Bernard Assistant Stage Directors – Yamala Irmichi, Yerenbak Toikenov Set Designer – Riccardo Massironi Assistant Set Designer – Gulmira Issemgaziyeva Costume Designer – Anna Verde Assistant Costume Designer – Dariga Taishikova Video Designer – Sergio Metalli Assistant Video Designer – Azamat Kuttyguzhin Lighting Designer – Jacopo Pantani Assistant Lighting Designer – Karim Ramash Technical Project Manager – Victor Carare Opera Company Director – Talgat Mussabayev, Honoured Worker of Kazakhstan

CHORUS, EXTRAS AND ASTANA OPERA ORCHESTRA

Tickets purchased at the Astana Opera are exchangeable and refundable only in cases of cancelled or postponed performances. In all other cases, no refunds and exchanges are possible.