Giuseppe Verdi: Rigoletto
Teatro Regio, Turin
Teatro Regio Orchestra and Chorus
Daniele Rustioni, conductor
CAST: Giovanni Meoni (Rigoletto); Désirée Rancatore (Gilda); Piero Pretti (Duke of Mantua); Alessandro Guerzoni (Sparafucile); Irini Karaianni (Maddalena); Maria Di Mauro (Giovanna); Davide Motta Fré (Ceprano); Ziyan Atfeh (Monterone)
In this sensational drama, Verdi reveals his lifelong affinity for touching, father-daughter relationships, yet does so in a story that also serves up over-the-top passion and appalling violence -- all conveyed in music that careens vividly through its characters' wildly contrasting emotions.