IN Series’ long-awaited production of Giuseppe Verdi’s Rigoletto has finally opened to boisterous applause and standing ovations. Originally scheduled for the 2019/20 lineup, the show was one of many to be suspended due to COVID but is now showing at the Aaron & Cecile Goldman Theater in the Edlavitch DC Jewish Community Center.
Verdi’s classic opera is being referred to as a “circus version,” so the action takes place in the ring rather than the palace of the Duke of Mantua. Instead of Italian, it has been adapted into English, with a new text by Bari Biern and a new orchestration by Timothy Nelson. The on-stage band, pared down from the usual orchestra, incorporates a taste of carnival into the score and is led by Music Director and Pianist Emily Baltzer.
The story, based on the play Le roi s’amuse by Victor Hugo, focuses on a jester, Rigoletto (meaning “to laugh”), in the court of a licentious and excessive Duke. At one of the Duke’s many orgies, Rigoletto mocks the husband of the Countess, whom the Duke is shamelessly pursuing. The other courtiers joke about the hunchbacked Rigoletto shockingly having a lover. And an elderly man curses both the Duke (for seducing his daughter) and Rigoletto (for mocking his pain). This opening scene, with many layers of debauchery and disrespect, is what motivates the rest of the storyline with separate yet interwoven vows of revenge.
Jonathan Dahm Robertson’s set design appears rather humble, yet perfectly suited for what can be expected of a circus tent. Blocks form a broken circle in the middle of the stage, serving as chairs, stools, or whatever the needs of the scene call for. A large curtain is upstage center, where many of the actors enter and exit, but also serves as a shadow screen, backlit to project scenes behind it or distort the size of a figure about to burst through onto the stage.
For a traditional cast of 13, not including a chorus to serve as courtiers and guests, this seven-actor ensemble is significantly smaller, but Costume Designer Donna Breslin helps to make the transition effective with the theme, using assorted capes, masks, hats, and even a muscle-man body suit to differentiate the characters. And, of course, the customary clown makeup, with exaggerated expressions, adds another layer of ambiguity to some of the performers.
Tenor Brian Arreola plays the shamelessly flirtatious scallywag Duke almost too well but is instead a mime in this iteration. He parades about the stage with comically puffed pride, oblivious to his effect on others. The Duke is far from a sympathetic role, but there is a level of charm required to avoid being labeled an absolute villain, and Arreola succeeds by embodying a playful, albeit careless, lover as he sings about the fickleness of women without a care in the world.
Chad Louwerse is Rigoletto, the fool of the bunch, who jokes with the Duke but is respected by no one. That is except for his daughter, Gilda (Teresa Ferrara), whom he keeps hidden away far from the rudeness of the court in order to protect her. Louwerse is the janitor of the circus, signifying the lowness of his position to performers of the troupe, comparable to that of a jester and courtier. Louwerse exhibits his versatility as Rigoletto, capturing his complexity when playing the joker, lamenting the curse, doting on his beloved Gilda, and railing in anger about her kidnapping.
Ferrara’s Gilda carries a single red balloon and displays childlike mannerisms with her posture and hesitance. She sings the infamous “Caro nome” and balances on top of the ring of boxes as if on a high wire. Ferrara and Louwerse’s interactions are touching and display a tenderness and genuine affection that is otherwise completely absent from the tragic opera.
Greg Sliskovich as Borsa and Henrique Carvahlo as Marulo are the clowns in the company but also fill in as guests. The pair more than compensate for the vast number of parts they represent with a menacing presence and booming voices. Along with the clown (and sometimes strongman), Andrew Adelsberger portrayed the murderous Sparafucile and Monterone, the father who issues the curse that sets the mayhem into action.
Elizabeth Mondragon is credited as Maddalena (who appears in the final act) but stands in for multiple parts, as well. Dressed like the ringmaster, she looms about the stage, silently but with an evil look and a sense of foreboding that always seemed to remind the audience that despite the festival aesthetic and occasional laughter, this event was indeed a tragedy.
And there were several amusing moments of levity amid the deception and doom. Arreola’s Duke disguises himself as Rigoletto’s maid, Giovanna, using a wrap and a strategically placed mophead to cover his face. Ferrara’s Gilda pretends to inhale the helium from her little red balloon to help hit a particularly high note of her aria. And Sliskovich’s Borsa appears to meander onstage with a cigar in one hand and a balloon on a dog leash in the other, as one does when in a circus act.
IN Series’ Rigoletto is far from the norm for regular opera goers, but the reduced size of the show, both visually and sonically, did minimize the intimidating aspect of the genre that often keeps opera virgins away. The adapted music was still gorgeously played with the occasional circus-esque accent and trained voices executing Verdi’s trimmed masterpiece well.
And the powerful moral of the material hit as harshly as ever, cautioning against the dark and disturbing ways that vengeance corrodes the soul and more often creates further pain rather than peace or healing.
I don’t know whether the choice to shrink the cast, translate the lyrics into English, and change the set to the familiar setting of an American circus was done with the intention of making opera more accessible, easier to understand, and more relatable to the common theatergoer, who may otherwise shy away, but that is indeed what has been done.
Overall, the production was wonderfully acted and sung. And while I may not understand every creative choice, I can recognize the skill and talent involved in taking a well-known work and molding it into something else — still beautiful, staying true to the meat of the storyline, and adding a personal modern touch. I would love to see it again to see if I can catch some other more subtle alterations that may have gone unnoticed. Or just to sit and enjoy a wonderful piece of live theater.
Rigoletto is the second of IN Series’ 2024/25 season, aptly titled “Illicit Opera,” showcasing art that was originally banned due to political and socially motivated censorship: a neutral word for the oppression of new or different voices in creativity that we are again facing in our world today. The next installment of IN Series’ “Illicit Opera” season will be Monteverdi’s Poppea and is scheduled to open in March 2025.
Running Time: Approximately two hours and 30 minutes, with one 15-minute intermission.
Rigoletto plays through December 15, 2024, presented by IN Series performing at the Aaron & Cecile Goldman Theater in the Edlavitch DC Jewish Community Center, 1529 16th Street NW, Washington, DC. Purchase tickets ($72 for reserved seating, $57–4$2 for general seating, and $35 for students) online or by calling 202-204-7763.
Rigoletto also plays December 11 and 12, 2024, at the Baltimore Theatre Project, 45 West Preston St., Baltimore, MD. Purchase tickets ($20–$30) online or by calling 410-752-8558.
Rigoletto
Music by Giuseppe Verdi
New English Text by Bari Biern
CAST
Brian Arreola: The Duke; Teresa Ferrara: Gilda; Elizabeth Mondragon: Maddalena; Chad Louwerse: Rigoletto; Andrew Adelsberger: Sparafucile/Monterone; Greg Sliskovich: Borsa; Henrique Carvahlo: Marulo
PRODUCTION TEAM
New Orchestration: Timothy Nelson; Stage Director: Timothy Nelson; Music Director/Pianist: Emily Baltzer; Set Designer: Jonathan Dahm Robertson^; Costume Designer: Donna Breslin; Lighting Designer: Paul Callahan^; Production Manager: Tori Schuchmann; Technical Directors: Willow McFadden and Megan Amos; Stage Manager: Hannah Blaile
^: Member of United Scenic Artists
INSTRUMENTALISTS
Patrick Crossland; Kaitlin Gimm; Cheryl Hill; Carrie Rose; Jeff Thurston; Maxfield Wollam-Fisher
SEE ALSO:
IN Series to present circus version of censored Verdi’s ‘Rigoletto’ (news story, October 18, 2024)
