Vienna, VA (July 25, 2018) Wolf Trap Opera’s 2018 season comes to a close on Friday, August 3, 2018 with a new production—and the company premiere—of Giuseppe Verdi’s Rigoletto with the National Symphony Orchestra at the Filene Center. See below for complete casting and ticketing information. High resolution production images are available upon request.
“We’re thrilled that our sixth consecutive season of grand opera with the National Symphony Orchestra comes in the form of the Wolf Trap Opera debut of Verdi’s Rigoletto,” said Kim Pensinger Witman, Vice President, Opera and Classical Programming at Wolf Trap Foundation. “With the increasing level of experience and sophistication demonstrated by WTO’s Filene Artists comes the opportunity to branch out into late 19th-century repertoire, allowing us to participate in the careers of singers with developing dramatic voices.”
The cast of Rigoletto, featuring Filene Artists in every lead role, includes baritone Kidon Choi (Rigoletto), tenor Piotr Buszewski (Duke of Mantua), soprano Mané Galoyan (Gilda), bass Patrick Guetti (Sparafucile), mezzo-soprano Zoie Reams (Maddalena), tenor Nicholas Nestorak (Matteo Borsa), baritone Joshua Conyers (Count Monterone), and baritone Johnathan McCullough (Cavaliere Marullo), among others. A number of singers in the Wolf Trap Opera Studio will round out the cast as members of the court. Wolf Trap Opera’s elite group of young singers is chosen through an annual highly selective nationwide audition tour. See complete casting below.
The plot of Rigoletto was based upon Victor Hugo’s play Le roi s’amuse (The King Amuses Himself), first staged in France in 1832. Rigoletto, jester in the court of the Duke of Mantua, willingly procures women for the pleasure of the Duke and mocks their frustrated and helpless fathers. When his own daughter Gilda eventually falls victim to the Duke’s predatory charm, Rigoletto embarks on a quest for revenge – with tragic consequences. Verdi, like Hugo, saw their art as a vehicle for social commentary, and in today’s era of #MeToo and #TimesUp, Rigoletto’s themes have uncomfortable resonance. “There is no explanation as to why the Duke behaves as he does, but his actions are very much in line with men who use their power for self-gratification,” says director Crystal Manich. “This opera is not, therefore, about superficial forces at work, but rather about the fallibility of humanity and the domino effect of choice and circumstance.”
Rigoletto is directed by Crystal Manich, and Grant Gershon conducts the National Symphony Orchestra. Scenic design is by Erhard Rom, costumes by Court Watson, wigs and makeup by Anne Nesmith, lighting by Mark Stanley, and video projections by S. Katy Tucker. David Hanlon is assistant conductor/chorusmaster, and Andreas Hager is assistant director.
Special thanks to Dan and Gayle D’Aniello, Wolf Trap 2018 Season Underwriters,
and Virginia McGehee Friend, Performance Sponsor
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Wolf Trap Opera is a program of Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, produces and presents a full range of performance and education programs in the Greater Washington area, as well as nationally. Wolf Trap features three performance venues: the outdoor Filene Center and Children’s Theatre-in-the-Woods, both located at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, and The Barns at Wolf Trap, located down the road from the national park and adjacent to the Center for Education at Wolf Trap. The 7,028-seat Filene Center is operated in partnership with the National Park Service and annually showcases an extensive array of diverse artists, ranging from pop, country, folk, and blues to classical music, dance, and theatre, as well as multimedia presentations, from May through September. The Barns at Wolf Trap is operated by the Wolf Trap Foundation year-round, and during the summer months is home to the Grammy-nominated Wolf Trap Opera, one of America’s outstanding resident ensemble programs for young opera singers. Wolf Trap Foundation’s education programs include the nationally acclaimed Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts, Children’s Theatre-in-the-Woods, a diverse array of arts education classes, grants, and a nationally recognized internship program.
Media Information
(Please do not publish contact information)
Erick Hoffman, Director, Public Relations
703.255.1917 or erickh@wolftrap.org
Caroline Heaney, Bucklesweet
202.636.3503 or caroline@bucklesweet.com
Press passes and high-resolution production photos may be available upon request.