Giuseppe Verdi's Rigoletto (seen Mar. 14) has not been heard locally since 2003. This staging by the New Orleans Opera Association offered several company debuts, and the welcome return of a much-admired singer.

Dominating the proceedings was baritone Mark Rucker, who last sang Rigoletto in New Orleans eleven years ago. In a recent interview he stated that he is approaching his 400th performance of the role. It was wonderful to witness a singer whose great experience made every moment count dramatically, and whose rich voice soared in Verdi's climactic vocal passages. He was particularly electrifying in the final scene, wherein Rigoletto's despair and rage at the death of his daughter was almost palpable.

Lisette Oropesa's role debut as Gilda was greatly anticipated and she did not disappoint the audience. A member of the Met's Lindemann Young Artist Development program and a graduate of Louisiana State University, the soprano previously had sung with the company in concert. She had all the requisites for the role and scored a triumph: her Gilda was vocally secure, possessed lovely tone (particularly in the lyric passages), a facile coloratura technique and a good trill! Oropesa also achieved a fine musical and dramatic rapport with Rucker. Their father–daughter duets were among the highlights of the evening, culminating in a memorable "Lassù in cielo."

Bruce Sledge, an elegant Duke of Mantua, made another and most welcome company debut. Verdi's often treacherous vocal writing for this role held no terrors for the tenor, as he sailed through the score's most difficult moments with liquid ease. And while Sledge may not have portrayed the Duke as the most ardent of libertines, his restraint was actually welcome and perhaps lent a more sympathetic air to a rather unlikable character.

The other cast members were all more than adequate, with the Maddalena of Kendall Gladen offering a rich chest voice and John Marcus Bindel singing an unusually powerful Monterone. The only real flaw in a most enjoyable evening was the direction of Henry Akina. Stage groupings were awkwardly handled, and the director's habit of frequently having chorus and principals exit through the audience was not only distracting but eventually proved a source of laughter, unfortunately at key dramatic moments.

Robert Lyall's conducting held the show together quite well. Particularly welcome was the fact that the opera was given virtually complete, with many traditional cuts reopened, thus allowing the audience to savor even more of Verdi's magnificent music. The Louisiana Philharmonic played beautifully, and G. Alan Rusnak once again provided an attractive set that made good use of the McAlister Auditorium stage, although the lighting was rather dim. The chorus, under the direction of Carol Rausch, not only sounded wonderful but looked terrific in their period costumes.

GEORGE DANSKER
 

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