> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.ioco.de/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # London, London Coliseum, RIGOLETTO - G. Verdi, IOCO - URL: https://www.ioco.de/london-coliseum-opera-rigoletto-g-verdi-ioco/ - Published: 2024-11-19T13:01:54.000Z - Updated: 2026-06-23T09:47:28.000Z - Description: COLISEUM - London: RIGOLETTO: When Jonathan Miller’s Rigoletto first opened at English National Opera in 1982, his setting of the opera in a different time and place – Little Italy, New York, in the 1950s - broke with conventionand caused heated controversy. Now in its 14th revival ....... - Author: Janet Banks - Tags: Kritiken, Oper & Operette, London Rigoletto von Giuseppe Verdi, London Coliseum, London, November 14, 2024. **November 14, 2024 - English National Opera, London Coliseum - Richard Farnes - Giuseppe Verdi: Rigoletto - Libretto Francesco Maria Piave, English translation James Fenton** by **Janet Banks** *Tucked away on St Martin's Lane, near London's Trafalgar Square, the *London Coliseum,* which opened in 1904, has been the home of *English National Opera* (ENO) since 1968\. Not for much longer, though - it was announced last year that *ENO's* headquarters will move to Manchester in the next few years. *IOCO´s* UK correspondent *Janet Banks* visited it for an iconic production of* **Verdi's *Rigoletto* *, groundbreaking when it debuted in 1982.*** ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/38/f5/38f5739d-f8a2-4e7b-96ed-d56cfbedb61b/content/images/2024/11/Giuseppe-Verdi-NeuKLEIN3-2-1.jpeg) ****Giuseppe Verdi** in Milano, Italy @ IOCO When **Jonathan Miller’**s ***Rigoletto*** first opened at **English National Opera** in 1982, his setting of the opera in a different time and place – Little Italy, New York, in the 1950s - broke with convention and caused heated controversy. Now in its 14th revival, this iconic production in London can be said to have proved its point. Following **Miller’s** death in 2019, **Elaine Tyler-Hall** returns as *revival director,* with a truly consummate conductor**, Richard Farnes,** formerly music director for Opera North, and the three principal soloists all making their **ENO (English National Opera)** debuts. ****Jonathan Miller - Rigoletto** youtube WEB STORIES OF REMARKABLE PEOPLE ***Rigoletto,*** no longer a jester, is a wisecracking barman at the mafia headquarters hotel in this production. American baritone **Weston Hurt**, a regular guest soloist in American opera houses, shone in tthis, his first role in the UK. Wearing a white waiter’s jacket with one sleeve loose and pinned up, his burly figure dominated the stage as he made fun of first ***Ceprano*** and then ***Monterone,*** widening his eyes so the whites showed all round, to comic effect. His acting was always convincing: in Act I Scene 2 his private side was to the fore with a tenderness and anxiety in his voice as he remonstrated with his daughter ***Gilda,*** and the desperate emotion in his baritone as he pleaded with ***Marullo*** (**Patrick Alexander Keefe**) to tell him where she is, trying to appeal to their former friendship, was hard to bear. The ***Duke*** a mafia boss, is sung by Chinese tenor **Yongzhao Yu,** who made his **Metropolitan Opera** debut last year. There is a penetrating edge to his voice which carries well and was perfectly suited to the callousness of his character. His love aria at the opening of Act II was more mellifluous. **Yu** holds the stage well when performing his arias. but his acting was less convincing. The memorable moment in Act III when he taps the jukebox to get it to play *La Donna è mobile* (or *Women Abandon Us,* in **Fenton’s** translation) got its usual laugh, but the aria itself, though admirably delivered, still lacked the *tingle* factor for me. Undoubtedly the star of the show was British soprano **Robyn Allegra Parton**, a regular performer with the **Theatre Munster (Münster)** in Germany. The freshness of her voice was perfect for the innocent ***Gilda,*** with her highest notes pure and unforced and a beautiful crescendo up from pianissimo on the longest and most expressive ones. Her first duet with her father in Act I Scene 2 was exquisitely performed with perfect ensemble, and her top notes when the ***Duke*** lightly touched her arms for the first time were breathtakingly rapturous. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/38/f5/38f5739d-f8a2-4e7b-96ed-d56cfbedb61b/content/images/2024/11/Weston-Hurt--David-Kempster--ENO-s-Rigoletto-2024---Tristram-Kenton-X2-1-1.jpg) Weston Hurt, David Kempster - ENO’s Rigoletto 2024 © Tristram Kenton British bass **William Thomas** was suitably sinister as the hitman ***Sparafucile,*** his wonderfully deep tones sounding on even after he left the stage after his first night-time encounter with ***Rigoletto***, and **Amy Holyland** was a persuasive ***Maddalena*** in Act III. **Richard Farnes’** expert direction of the orchestra was pivotal to the musical excellence of the production. The brooding colours he drew from them in the overture, with its low strings and ominous drum rolls effectively set the scene for a brutal tragedy, and the singers were always well supported without being swamped. Designers **Patrick Robertson** and **Rosemary Vercoe** must have relished the set-piece of Act I Scene 1, with its 1950s costumes, the women in beautifully coutured party frocks, men of the chorus in dark glasses and the ***Duke*** in a shiny silver suit, and the seediness of the alley where ***Rigoletto*** and ***Gilda*** live with its metal grilled security gates and staircase highlighted the contrast between ***Rigoletto’s*** public and private personas. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/38/f5/38f5739d-f8a2-4e7b-96ed-d56cfbedb61b/content/images/2024/11/The-Cast-of-ENO-s-Rigoletto-2024---Tristram-Kenton--2--X2.jpg) ENO’s Rigoletto 2024 © Tristram Kenton **English National Opera** go all out to make this production accessible, with their trademark English translations, surtitles, and free tickets for under-21s. Let us hope it bears fruit in providing audiences for the future. ## [***RIGOLETTO* \- Coliseum London - Dates, Tickets - link HERE!**](https://www.eno.org/whats-on/rigoletto/?ref=ioco.de) ### Mehr bei IOCO [„Rigoletto“ in München](https://www.ioco.de/munchen-staatsoper-rigoletto-giuseppe-verdi-ioco/) · [„Rigoletto“ in Essen](https://www.ioco.de/essen-aalto-theater-rigoletto-giuseppe-verdi-ioco/) · [„Rigoletto“ in Stralsund](https://www.ioco.de/stralsund-theater-vorpommern-rigoletto-g-verdi-ioco/) ## Wer überzeugte in dieser Rigoletto-Aufführung am meisten? Die britische Sopranistin Robyn Allegra Parton war als unschuldige Gilda mit ihrer frischen Stimme und reinen Höhen der unbestrittene Star des Abends.