Elisa Haberer / OnP

Elisa Haberer / OnP

Opera

Rigoletto

Giuseppe Verdi

Opéra Bastille

from 01 December 2024 to 12 June 2025

from €15 to €200

2h45 with 1 interval

Rigoletto

Opéra Bastille - from 01 December 2024 to 12 June 2025

Synopsis

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“It’s a magnificent, grandiose subject, featuring one of the most extraordinary characters ever created in the theatre and in the world”. With these words, Verdi asked Francesco Maria Piave to write a libretto inspired by Victor Hugo’s Le roi s’amuse. A paradoxical character, Rigoletto is both a deformed buffoon, serving the Duke of Mantua in his seductive endeavours, and the embodiment of fatherly love for his daughter Gilda.

With its wealth of contrasts, the theme of the curse and its unforgettable arias, the opera, premiered at La Fenice in Venice in 1851, became the first of Verdi’s great popular successes alongside Il Trovatore and La Traviata. Claus Guth has conceived his staging as a long flashback in which Rigoletto, wracked with remorse, relives the death of his daughter, to which he unwittingly contributed.

Duration : 2h45 with 1 interval

Language : Italian

Surtitle : French / English

Show acts and characters

CHARACTERS

The Duke of Mantua: A cynical libertine and womaniser
Rigoletto: The Duke of Mantua’s jester
Gilda: Rigoletto’s daughter
Sparafucile: Hired killer
Maddalena: Sparafucile’s sister
Giovanna: Rigoletto’s servant
The Count of Monterone: Courtier whose daughter has been seduced by the Duke of Mantua
Marullo: Courtier at the Court of Mantua
Matteo Borsa: Courtier at the Court of Mantua
Le comte de Ceprano: Courtier at the Court of Mantua
La comtesse de Ceprano: Count Ceprano’s wife, wooed by the Duke

First part

Act 1
The Duke of Mantua is throwing a fancy dress party. He tells Matteo Borsa, a courtier, about an unknown young girl he has set his sights on after having observed her at church. Meanwhile he enjoys the company of the beautiful ladies at the party. Tonight, he is particularly attracted by the Countess Ceprano. Rigoletto,the duke’s jester, scorns the husband who fiercely tries to prevent the duke from seducing his wife. Marullo bursts in with the news that Rigoletto, the outcast, has a young and good looking lover. After the duke has failed to separate Count Ceprano from his wife, Rigoletto encourages his master to abduct the Countess.

When he bluntly suggestsexiling or even beheading the count, Ceprano appeals to the other courtiers who rally behind him; they all plot to take revenge on Rigoletto that same night by abducting the girl he is hiding away at his home. The festivities are interrupted by the sudden arrival of Count Monterone denouncing the duke as the seducer of his daughter. Taking the place of the duke, Rigoletto confronts him and mocks him cruelly. Monterone calls down a curse on the duke and his jester. Rigoletto recognises that he has struck himself by ridiculing an outraged father. Rigoletto returns home. An unsettling character approaches him, introducing himself as the professional killer Sparafucile. Rigoletto refuses his services for now, but takes note of his proposition.

At his house, Rigoletto meets his beloved daughter Gilda, whom he keeps concealed from the world leaving her in the custody of a woman named Giovanna. Despite Gilda’s pressing questions, Rigoletto does not fully reveal his own identity and profession to her. However, he tells her about her mother who died after her birth. Before leaving, Rigoletto exhorts Giovanna to guard the young girl well and prevent any contact with whomsoever. But the supposed watchdog has been bribed by the duke who clandestinely sneaks into the house just as Rigoletto is leaving. Giovanna encourages Gilda to overcome the remorse she is feeling because she did not tell her father about the young man she has met at church and with whom she has fallen in love.

She dreams of him as a poor student not knowing that he is in fact the Duke of Mantua. When he approaches, at first she is terrified. But then she gives in to his declaration of love made under a false name and appearance. Footsteps are heard outside, and Giovanna urges the duke to depart. Alone again, Gilda dreams of the young stranger. Marullo, Borsa, Ceprano and other courtiers appear in order to abduct the woman they believe to be the jester’s mistress. When Rigoletto suddenly returns in the darkness he runs into Marullo, who tricks him into believing they have come to abduct Countess Ceprano and suggests he join them. On the pretext that he needs to be masked, he blindfolds him and gets him to hold a ladder. When Rigoletto, alerted by Gilda’s cries, rips off his mask, it is too late: the conspirators have made off with the young girl. Monterone’s curse has struck.  

Second part

Act 2
Next morning: in his palace the duke is worried about Gilda’s fate; the previous night he returned to her home to find it empty. He is happy when he learns from the courtiers that they have abducted the young girl. She is brought to him, and he reveals his true identity to her. Rigoletto tries to entertain the courtiers as usual, at the same time desperately searching for his daughter.

A page of the duchess inadvertently transforms his doubts into certainty: Gilda is with the duke. The jester attacks the courtiers and finally begs them to give him back his daughter. Gilda is returned to her father, and they are left alone. Full of shame, she confesses how the duke gained her confidence and with the involuntary help of the courtiers succeeded in making her his mistress. Rigoletto swears vengeance.

Act 3
A month has passed, but Gilda is still in love with the duke. In order to make her understand the true nature of his character, Rigoletto has taken her to Sparafucile’s tavern. He urges his daughter to watch the duke making advances to Sparafucile’s sister, Maddalena, who has served as a decoy to lure him into the trap. Rigoletto asks Gilda to put on men’s clothes and travel to Verona, where he will join her the next day.

He then hires Sparafucile who promises to murder his guest whom he does not recognise as the duke since he has come incognito. Rigoletto requires that the corpse be delivered to him and they agree to meet again after midnight. While a storm is breaking and the duke has fallen asleep, Maddalena, seduced by the handsome young man, seeks to persuade her brother to spare him. Sparafucile proposes to kill in his stead the first man who shall knock at their door. Gilda, dressed as a man, has come back and overhears this conversation.

She decides to sacrifice her life for the duke. When Rigoletto comes back, he takes the corpse Sparafucile delivers to him for the duke’s. The jester prides himself on having taken deadly revenge on the mighty man when he suddenly hears his master’s voice. Discovering Gilda, he must learn that he has killed his own daughter: the curse has fully been executed.

Artists

Melodramma in three acts (1851)

After Victor Hugo, Le roi s'amuse

Creative team

Cast

The Paris Opera Orchestra and Chorus

Media

[TRAILER] RIGOLETTO by Giuseppe Verdi
[TRAILER] RIGOLETTO by Giuseppe Verdi
  • Imaginary Rigoletto

    Imaginary Rigoletto

    Watch the video

  • Draw-me Rigoletto

    Draw-me Rigoletto

    Watch the video

  • Rigoletto’s cardboard box

    Rigoletto’s cardboard box

    Read the article

Imaginary Rigoletto

Watch the video

A repertoire work narrated in a visual poem born of popular culture

1:35 min

Imaginary Rigoletto

By Marc de Pierrefeu

Draw-me Rigoletto

Watch the video

Understand the plot in 1 minute

1:42 min

Draw-me Rigoletto

By Matthieu Pajot

© Christophe Pelé/OnP

Rigoletto’s cardboard box

Read the article

A performance, a recollection

04 min

Rigoletto’s cardboard box

By Jean-Yves Dary

In his production of Rigoletto, currently running at the Opéra Bastille, Claus Guth sets the opera’s action inside an immense cardboard box which evolves along with the plot… An opportunity for us to discover a department that is little known to the general public but essential to the Paris Opera: the design office. As part of the Technical Department, it is indispensable to the realisation of productions at Bastille and Garnier. Department head Frédéric Crozat, deputy head Benoît Dheilly, and artist and “project designer” Jean-Yves Dary talk to us about their work and the creation of that impressive box.    

Frédéric Crozat, Benoît Dheilly and Jean-Yves Dary :

When the scenographer’s model arrives at the design office, our mission is to respect it scrupulously so that it can become a physical reality: we then evaluate what is feasible or not and draw up the set plans, taking into account the mechanical constraints and general safety considerations specific to each of the two theatres.
First, we need to ensure that the sets as conceived can actually work on stage. Two people whom we call the “implanters” verify the feasibility of the set, tableau by tableau, with the aid of models that show how the elements of the set will move on stage as the story progresses. This work will condition the construction of the set elements. For Rigoletto’s box we asked ourselves all sorts of questions: at the end of the performance, how is it packed away? During a performance is it fixed or is it mobile? How many artists will be standing on it? If all sets are unique in their genre, those for Rigoletto posed several problems: there were numerous mechanical elements that had to be set in place since the cardboard box does not stop changing, opening, growing and shrinking throughout the entire opera… 

Rigoletto, Opéra national de Paris, 2016
Rigoletto, Opéra national de Paris, 2016 © Monika Rittershaus

During the second stage, the artists and project designers in the design office create the building plans for the sets for each of the workshops. Beyond the highly technical aspect of our job, the aesthetic quality of our work is essential: a set is, above all, “the art of deception”. It is always a highly precise approach. The funny thing with Rigoletto was that the model we were given was already made out of cardboard. So, we used it to measure the corrugations in the material to recreate them as realistically as possible. Then it was a question of finding the right material: here, as often, it was polystyrene covered in fiberglass. Finally, the paint workshop set about finding the right colour tones to best recreate the appearance of cardboard. In this way, we were able to make swatches which we showed to the set designer prior to them being chosen.

We never judge a director’s aesthetic choice: our freedom only extends to the choice of techniques that we use. However, it is interesting to know the spirit of a production; here, the scenographer explained to us that the cardboard box was meant to translate the hero’s psychological confinement: the spectator lives the drama through the eyes of a broken Rigoletto reliving the tragedy that caused the death of his daughter Gilda.

Each set is unique, and to see the end result of our work, from the model as it was initially designed through to the real life set, is particularly gratifying, all the more so given that it all occurs over a very short period of time. Each season, we’re left with wonderful memories and Rigoletto was a beautiful adventure.

Interviewed by Juliette Puaux

  • Rigoletto (saison 21/22) - Acte I (Ludovic Tézier, Nadine Sierra)

  • Rigoletto (saison 21/22) - Acte II (Ludovic Tézier et Nadine Sierra)

  • Rigoletto (saison 21/22) - Acte III (Ludovic Tézier, Nadine Sierra, Dmitry Korchak)

  • Rigoletto (saison 21/22) - Acte I (Ludovic Tézier)

  • Rigoletto (saison 21/22) - Acte II(Dmitry Korchak)

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Rigoletto


Watch online the recording from season 15/16 on Paris Opera Play, with Quinn Kelsey, Olga Peretyatko, Michael Fabiano, Rafal Siwek...

WATCH Free trial 7 days

Access and services

Opéra Bastille

Place de la Bastille

75012 Paris

Public transport

Underground Bastille (lignes 1, 5 et 8), Gare de Lyon (RER)

Bus 29, 69, 76, 86, 87, 91, N01, N02, N11, N16

Calculate my route
Car park

Q-Park Opéra Bastille 34, rue de Lyon 75012 Paris

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Imagined as benchmark, richly illustrated booklets, the programmes can be bought online, at the box offices, in our shops, and in the theatres hall on the evening of the performance.  

BUY THE PROGRAM
  • Cloakrooms

    Free cloakrooms are at your disposal. The comprehensive list of prohibited items is available here.

  • Bars

    Reservation of drinks and light refreshments for the intervals is possible online up to 24 hours prior to your visit, or at the bars before each performance.

  • Parking

    You can park your car at the Q-Park Opéra Bastille. It is located at 34 rue de Lyon, 75012 Paris. 

    BOOK YOUR PARKING PLACE.

In both our venues, discounted tickets are sold at the box offices from 30 minutes before the show:

  • €35 tickets for under-28s, unemployed people (with documentary proof less than 3 months old) and senior citizens over 65 with non-taxable income (proof of tax exemption for the current year required)
  • €70 tickets for senior citizens over 65

Get samples of the operas and ballets at the Paris Opera gift shops: programmes, books, recordings, and also stationery, jewellery, shirts, homeware and honey from Paris Opera.

Opéra Bastille
  • Open 1h before performances and until performances end
  • Get in from within the theatre’s public areas
  • For more information: +33 1 40 01 17 82

Opéra Bastille

Place de la Bastille

75012 Paris

Public transport

Underground Bastille (lignes 1, 5 et 8), Gare de Lyon (RER)

Bus 29, 69, 76, 86, 87, 91, N01, N02, N11, N16

Calculate my route
Car park

Q-Park Opéra Bastille 34, rue de Lyon 75012 Paris

Book your parking spot
super alt text
super alt text
super alt text
super alt text


Imagined as benchmark, richly illustrated booklets, the programmes can be bought online, at the box offices, in our shops, and in the theatres hall on the evening of the performance.  

BUY THE PROGRAM
  • Cloakrooms

    Free cloakrooms are at your disposal. The comprehensive list of prohibited items is available here.

  • Bars

    Reservation of drinks and light refreshments for the intervals is possible online up to 24 hours prior to your visit, or at the bars before each performance.

  • Parking

    You can park your car at the Q-Park Opéra Bastille. It is located at 34 rue de Lyon, 75012 Paris. 

    BOOK YOUR PARKING PLACE.

In both our venues, discounted tickets are sold at the box offices from 30 minutes before the show:

  • €35 tickets for under-28s, unemployed people (with documentary proof less than 3 months old) and senior citizens over 65 with non-taxable income (proof of tax exemption for the current year required)
  • €70 tickets for senior citizens over 65

Get samples of the operas and ballets at the Paris Opera gift shops: programmes, books, recordings, and also stationery, jewellery, shirts, homeware and honey from Paris Opera.

Opéra Bastille
  • Open 1h before performances and until performances end
  • Get in from within the theatre’s public areas
  • For more information: +33 1 40 01 17 82

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3 min

Rigoletto

Rigoletto: the true/false story

A big-hearted buffoon who would give anything to save his daughter...Can you sort out the real from the fake? It's up to you!

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