Dark tragedy of passion, betrayal and revenge, Rigoletto is centered on the dramatic figure of the hunchbacked court buffoon. The opera is a deep study of man. The question of deformity binds inextricably to guilt, referring to the thousand-year-old contrast between ugliness as disharmony and moral disproportion opposite to the ideal of physical perfection as symmetrical concurrence with a natural order. Rigoletto is crippled, and at that time having a malformation meant to be marked from birth by faults that the parents had committed; Rigoletto carries faults not his own. The real curse is to become a killer.

This production of Verdi’s Rigoletto is the fruit of an exceptional collaboration between the Muscat Royal Opera House, the Zeffirelli Foundation and the Verona Arena Foundation. The ironic story of a cruel court jester who becomes a victim of his own crimes, exposing the harsh challenges of the father-daughter relationship, is a masterpiece that demonstrates Verdi’s astonishing brilliance in characterization and musical composition. This production was supposed to be released by Zeffirelli in the summer of 2019 but he passed away five days before the first performance.

Period costumes recreated by designer Maurizio Millenotti, taking inspiration from Franco Zeffirelli, enhance an energetic and dramatic production. Ambrogio Maestri, Dmitry Korchak, Giuliana Gianfaldoni, Ricardo Zanellato and the Fondazione Arena di Verona chorus and orchestra  performed together with the Omani Opera Choir Group under the baton of Jan Latham-Koenig.