Germany Verdi, Rigoletto: Soloists, Refrain of Cologne Opera, Gürzenich Orchestra / Matteo Beltrami (conductor). Cologne Opera, 17.10.2026. (SRT)
The great burghers of Cologne have been with out their opera home for the final 14 years, the home on Offenbachplatz having been shut for refurbishment at a rumoured value of 1.5 billion euros. It reopened final month to a reasonably ghastly new manufacturing of Der Rosenkavalier, whose musical virtues didn’t make up for an ill-fated Konzept staging. Nevertheless, it runs in tandem with this revival of their 2019 Rigoletto, and that is the one to see. The truth is, there’s extra drama in a single scene of Verdi’s opera than there was in almost 5 hours of Richard Strauss’s.
That’s as a result of this Rigoletto is constructed round a towering central efficiency of the title position. Korean baritone Insik Choi could be very younger for the half – too younger, in fact, to have a daughter Gilda’s age – however that very youth is what makes Choi’s Rigoletto so fascinating. He lacks the world-weary bitterness that extra skilled baritones deliver to the half, however in its stead he brings vigour, energy and whole identification with the position. The duality of the loving father and the merciless jester takes him to extremes within the first act, and the pity that he summons up in entrance of the courtiers in Act II is terrifying. The manufacturing correctly steers away from any overt Oedipal connotations with Gilda, however they might be there to probe if a director selected to.
Gilda herself is sung with delicacy and fragility by Enkeleda Kamani, whose solos err on the facet of security, swerving among the most uncovered coloratura in Caro nome, however she is marvellous within the father/daughter duets, summoning up heartfelt pathos in Act I in addition to doomed company in Act III. Filip Filipović’s tenor isn’t a delicate instrument, and he sings most of his numbers like a bull at a gate, however all of the notes are there, and he makes the love duet sound unusually thrilling. Adriana Bastidas-Gamboa honks her method by means of Maddalena’s music with an alarming lack of nuance, however William Thomas booms convincingly as a black-voiced Sparafucile, and I like the way in which he emerged from and returned to the orchestra pit in his first look.
Katharina Thalbach’s manufacturing largely performs it straight, with the Duke’s palace given topsy-turvy units to replicate the reverse morality of the court docket. Rigoletto’s home couldn’t be clearer, nevertheless, and Sparafucile’s multi-level hut has a convincing riverside setting. For the ultimate duet, the whole set disappears leaving solely Rigoletto and Gilda alone within the void; the impact is overwhelming.
The Gürzenich Orchestra play with forthright vitality, and Matteo Beltrami conducts the rating with Italianate vigour whereas bringing loads of gentle and shade to bear within the assist of his singers. The refrain sing with energy all through.
So with nice singing, simple storytelling and vigorous dramatic energy, this can be a hit and deserves to be round for a lot of extra revivals.
Simon Thompson
Featured Picture: Insik Choi (Rigoletto), Enkeleda Kamani (Gilda), Adriana Bastidas-Gamboa (Maddalena) and Ioan Hotea (Duke) © Matthias Jung
Manufacturing:
Director – Katharina Thalbach
Set and Costume designs – Ezio Toffolutti
Lighting design – Andreas Grüter
Choreography – Nadine Schori
Refrain grasp – Rustam Samedov
Solid:
Duke – Filip Filipović
Rigoletto – Insik Choi
Gilda – Enkeleda Kamani
Sparafucile – William Thomas
Maddalena – Adriana Bastidas-Gamboa
Giovanna – Regina Richter
Depend Monterone – Christoph Seidl
Marullo – Tobias Lusser
