Rigoletto Royal Opera House London November 2023, Simon Keenlyside

Royal Opera House, London

| 13 November 2023 | 16 November 2023 | 20 November 2023 | 23 November 2023 | 28 November 2023 |

Curtain Call 13.11.2023

Composer : Giuseppe Verdi

Director : Oliver Mears

Set Design : Simon Lima Holdsworth

Costume Design : Ilona Karas

Lighting : Fabiana Piccioli

Movement Director : Anna Morrissey

Conductor : Renato Balsadonna

Chorus : Chorus of the Royal Opera

Orchestra : Orchestra of the Royal Opera House

Performers

Duke of Mantua : Saimir Pirgu

Rigoletto : Simon Keenlyside

Gilda : Erin Morley

Sparafucile : Goderdzi Janelidze

Maddalena : Elena Maximova

Count Monterone : Bogdan Talos

Giovanna : Veena Akama-Makia

Marullo : Josef Jeongmeen Ahn

Borsa : Ryan Vaughan-Davies

Count Ceprano : Jamie Woollard/Eugene Dillon-Hooper (16.11, 20.11)

Simon returns to the Royal Opera House to sing the title role in five performances of Verdi's great opera 'Rigoletto'

SOUNDBITES

Spectator, 02.12.2023, Richard Bratby

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"...And two performances were notably fine. Simon Keenlyside – in noble voice – made an upsettingly relatable Rigoletto and Erin Morley was an all-too-vulnerable Gilda, singing with heartbreaking sweetness and purity...."

Opera magazine, February 2024, Hugh Canning

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"...This last performance of this season's second cast brought Simon Keenlyside back to a role he sang here in 2014.....with the best will in the the world, I find his jester no more satifactorily sung now than it was nine years ago...Keenlyside, however, got through the role by dint of sheer determination, his solid vocal technique and his histrionic ability, but by the final scene he sounded tired and the legato didn't really flow. As the fine actor he is, he made his rough vocal state at the end integral to his portrayal of the tragically unwitting, outwitted jester...."

Das Opernglas, January 2024, M Lehnert

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"...Simon Keenlyside in der Titelpartie gelang eine höchst intensive Gestaltung, die nicht nur von der Bühnenpräsenz her und ihrer dosiert nervösen Bewegungssprache ständige emotionale Hochspannung der Figur transportierte, sondern sag auch auf einsam hohen Niveau. Ausdruck und Gesangslinie weiß er höchst kunstvoll zu verbinden, ounktete mit perfektem italienischem Legato und Kondition (cortigiani!), weiß einfach um die Akzente, die gesetzt werden müssen. Ein großer Erfolg für ihn..."

"...Simon Keenlyside in the title role achieved a highly intense performance, which not only conveyed the character's constant emotional tension in terms of stage presence and its measured, nervous movement language, but also sang at a uniquely high level. He knows how to combine expression and vocal line with great artistry, scored with perfect Italian legato and stamina (cortigiani!) and simply knows how to set the right accents. A great success for him..."

Photo Gallery

Curtain Call 13.11.23 ©SKInfo

Curtain Call 16.11.23 ©SKInfo

Curtain Call 20.11.23 ©SKInfo

Curtain Call 23.11.23 ©SKInfo