Orchestra conducted by the Music Director: William Bell
"This five-star production with its sumptuous costumes and brilliant effects promises to be the talk of Cheltenham...another triumph with this well-paced production of Verdi's masterpiece in Tom Boyd's vigorous new translation." The Gloucestershire ECHO "Bel Canto Opera Company's production of Verdi's Rigoletto is great art. And, perhaps more importantly, marvellous entertainment. One can praise and praise again and still not encapsulate the essence of a memorable evening...the perfection of the principals...the enchantment of a Tom Boyd libretto meshing seamlessly with Verdi's sublime score." The Wilts. & Gloucestershire STANDARD (click for full reviews)
CLICK ABOVE to see Rigoletto's meeting with Sparafucile, and the end of Act III
RIGOLETTO
- David Purcell THE
DUKE OF MANTUA - Michael Powell GILDA
- Maria Lancaster MADDALENA
- Susan Black SPARAFUCILE
- Edward Harper GIOVANNA
- Joan Self; MONTERONE - Peter
Wells; BORSA - Bob Cook; COUNTESS
CEPRANO - Jenny Abbott; COUNT CEPRANO -
John Sheen ; MARULLO - Tim
Cranmore
TOM
BOYD'S ENGLISH LIBRETTO OF
RIGOLETTO
available
for £5.00 sterling or $10.00 US + p & p
(click
here)
CLICK ABOVE to see the end of the opera xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx CLICK ABOVE to hear the Rigoletto Quartet
DUKE: (to
Borsa) I've a mission to help every damsel in
distress. They require love; I give them the love they
lack. They are grateful to me for my grande
largesse. And once they've sampled it...they always
come back. It's a service I offer to womankind, whether
ladies of rank or those of low birth. They are equal - to
me they're the same...a ravishing face, a figure of style
and grace, craving a night with me - whoever they may be
- all over the earth! DUKE: (to the
Countess Ceprano) My blood burns like fire
tonight. Dare I manifest my feeling? I yearn with
desire tonight...your beauty's too
appealing. COUNTESS: Please don't
go on. You shouldn't say these things to
me. DUKE: Your smile
preposessing, your blushes appealing, revealing,
confessing the passion that I'm feeling. (she
follows him off)
|
RIGOLETTO: (to Count Ceprano) The horns on your head are already expanding!
|
 RIGOLETTO: (to Monterone) You are presumptuous! You have conspired against our will, Signore! Is it some form of madness,,,or just plain badness that makes you prattle on about your daughter's honour? |
 RIGOLETTO: I feel the father's curse on me! Oh, humankind! Wicked nature! Witness the product of your vile creation; a hunchback - twisted, mailicious. A laughing stock - crippled and vicious. Damned at birth. Put on earth only to entertain! Have I not got a soul or feelings? Can I not shed tears? If I'm cruel and rude, you made me play the monster. |
|
SPARAFUCILE: I specialise in getting rid of foes and rivals. I’m sure there’s someone...a man you wish to dispose of. RIGOLETTO: (to himself) Assassin! (to Sparafucile) How much would be your fee for a grandee who’s titled? SPARAFUCILE: Nobles are somewhat dearer. |
 GILDA: I have no sister here, no kin nor brother. Am I to never know about my mother? |
 RIGOLETTO: Giovanna, guard this child of mine... this dearest jewel that I adore. Protect my angel...this flower divine...and keep her pure forever more. Day and night you must take care...be aware....keep her secure. The world is full of sin and dangers...evil strangers preying on the pure!
|
|
 DUKE: Love is the sunshine that lights up our loneliness, a shrine of holiness our spirit nourishes. Love is a flower that burgeons in wilderness... reprieving solitude...it blooms and flourishes. |
COURTIERS: She was the paramour of Rigoletto; she sang a soulful song and went inside. Then who should come along...but Rigoletto! Marullo said we'd come to fetch Ceprano's bride! The fool believed him...he's not too clever. We all decieved him. He joined the fun. We tied a blindfold so that he never could see or hear us...and all the time we made the climb he never heard a single word from anyone! |
 RIGOLETTO: Noble lords, forgive me for transgressions on my part. Offer pity upon an old man with a broken heart. In this life, she’s my only possession. Kindness would cost you nothing. She is all I live for. Return her to me. Take pity on this fool. You see, I’m at your mercy. My lords, take pity on me! |
 RIGOLETTO: Two lives so demolished in the course of one day. |
 MADDALENA: I have a plan that will make us both happy. You’ve already had half your fee from the hunchback...he’s coming at midnight to pay you the balance. You kill him...it’s easy. You take all his money. You have your full fee, so you won’t lose a thing. SPARAFUCILE: What can you be saying? That I kill my client? That I steal his money? You think I’m dishonest? I honour a cortract. My word is my bond! |
|
DUKE: Fairest daughter of the muse of love, I am taken prisoner by your charms...so imprison me within your arms and I will serve you as a slave for your every whim! MADDALENA: I have never had a client quite so desperate to flatter. I’ve had every kind of lover, but they don’t come here to chatter. You make me laugh, you really do. You joke with me...I’ll joke with you! Ah, men! GILDA:Ah, that he is speaking of loving this woman! To think he told me he would love me forever. RIGOLETTO; Quiet! There’s little point in crying. Now you know he was lying. |
 RIGOLETTO: Gilda! My Gilda! I’ve lost her. Ah! The curse of the father! (Rigoletto throws himself upon his child’s body as the curtain falls) |
REVIEWS OF RIGOLETTO