English-friendly
Verdi’s quest for the true essence of humanity is enhanced by British baritone Simon Keenlyside behind the mask of Rigoletto the clown.
Sung in Italian with French and English subtitles
"Tears of blood beneath the mask of a clown” sums up Rigoletto in Act III. Although the work opens on a licentious note with debauchery and lust, it ends in tears and bloodshed. Verdi’s opera, which was inspired by Victor Hugo’s play Le Roi s’amuse performed at the Comédie-Française in 1832, offers a jaundiced view of humanity. In this work penned in his mature years, the composer moves away for good from the patriotic embellishments of his youthful works, and delves into the human soul. Rigoletto is undoubtedly one of the most complex and tortured figures in the entire history of opera. Verdi was able to express in music the interplay of the full range of emotions from intense truculence to the most heart-rending lament. A powerful work and a title role imbued with enormous humanity.
Production Théâtre des Champs-Elysées
Sung in Italian with French and English subtitles
"Tears of blood beneath the mask of a clown” sums up Rigoletto in Act III. Although the work opens on a licentious note with debauchery and lust, it ends in tears and bloodshed. Verdi’s opera, which was inspired by Victor Hugo’s play Le Roi s’amuse performed at the Comédie-Française in 1832, offers a jaundiced view of humanity. In this work penned in his mature years, the composer moves away for good from the patriotic embellishments of his youthful works, and delves into the human soul. Rigoletto is undoubtedly one of the most complex and tortured figures in the entire history of opera. Verdi was able to express in music the interplay of the full range of emotions from intense truculence to the most heart-rending lament. A powerful work and a title role imbued with enormous humanity.
Production Théâtre des Champs-Elysées
Access plan Théâtre des Champs-Elysées
How to get to the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées
- Ligne 9 Alma-Marceau, Ligne 1 Franklin-Roosevelt
- Ligne C Pont de l'Alma
- 42, 63, 72, 80, 92
- Alma-Georges V
- Station en face du Théâtre des Champs-Elysées
