Opera Australia’s winter season is in full swing and its production of Rigoletto marked a very special occasion as it celebrated the company’s 70th birthday. The milestone was commemorated on the night with a wonderful moment where Head of Music Tahu Matheson conducted the audience in a spontaneous rendition of Happy Birthday, allowing them to leave in joyous spirits reflecting on the magnitude of the occasion.

Before that, however, they were treated to an exceptional performance of Verdi’s Rigoletto, one of the staples of Opera Australia’s repertoire and one of the composer’s best-known operas. While many audience members will be familiar with the work through the classic aria “La donna è mobile”, there is quite a bit of substance to this opera that is not always immediately apparent nor present in many of its contemporaries. It features a twisting Machiavellian plot in which the Duke of Mantua covets a mysterious young woman, who turns out to be Gilda, the daughter of Rigoletto, the Duke’s hunchbacked court jester. The Duke and Gilda ultimately fall in love, but Rigoletto believes the Duke has assaulted her, leading him to hire an assassin to kill the Duke. Chaos ensues and nothing unfolds as intended, resulting in tragedy for all involved.

In this production, both Kang Wang and Gemma Nha, as the Duke of Mantua and Gilda respectively, were stunning in their roles, with Wang bringing real character and force to his interpretation of the Duke while delighting the audience with “La donna è mobile”. His richness in tone and interpretation has already been seen on the Opera Australia stage in La Bohème and it is an absolute coup that the company has brought him back as he really is one of the finest dramatic tenors performing today and this was no exception. In her Opera Australia debut, Sydneysider Gemma Nha was also exceptional, receiving deservedly rapturous ovations throughout the production as her stunning soprano showcased both technical expertise and a great deal of character and lyricism to captivate the audience.

David Parkin was an excellent Sparafucile, playing very much into the kind of repertoire that the Opera Australia stalwart is so strong in, while Sian Sharp was also excellent as Maddalena. In the titular role, Dalibor Jenis gave a strong performance, however, he was perhaps not quite as vocally assured as some of his co-stars in terms of tone and timbre meaning although his commanding stage presence suited the role well, the impact of his performance was not felt perhaps as vociferously as it could have been.

Despite the strength of the storyline, there was a sense that the performance dragged a little at times, with slightly less energy and intensity in the ensemble scenes, resulting in a somewhat plodding feeling across the three acts. However, as always, the sets were absolutely gorgeous, with Michael Yeargan doing an incredible job through the use of a revolving stage to depict everything from Rigoletto’s dressing room to the grand palace, creating yet another ornate Opera Australia set. The orchestra was excellent as always under the baton of Sesto Quatrini, bringing a richness to Verdi’s beautiful score that sang through the Joan Sutherland Theatre.

Overall, this was an exceptional performance that showcased some of Opera Australia’s finest talent, with the performances of Nha and Wang proving to be the highlights. While the performance did drag a little at times, Rigoletto will always remain one of Opera Australia’s favourites and this production lived up to the hype, earning deservedly rapturous applause before the audience joined together in song for the company’s 70th birthday celebration. It was an occasion befitting both the performance and the milestone and another success for Opera Australia.

Rating: ★★★★

Rigoletto plays at the Joan Sutherland Theatre until 21 August. For more information, click here. 

All photo credits: Keith Saunders