The NBR New Zealand Opera kicked off its 2012 season with a new production of Verdi's perennial favourite Rigoletto directed by the renowned Australian director Lindy Hume.

Hume had captivated audiences in 2007 with her spare and elegant Lucia di Lammermoor in a production that amply demonstrated that less was more. So would she give the same treatment to this Rigoletto? As the curtain went up on the Duke of Mantua's palace with a bunga bunga party in full swing it was clear that we were in for a very different sort of evening. What ensued was a highly theatrical production where visual spectacle combined with emotionally charged scenes to make this a Rigoletto to remember.

Updating the work to the present day allowed Hume to bring topical relevance to the production by turning the Duke into a Berlusconi type figure with his entourage of hangers on and the inevitable party girls. The production was underpinned by Richard Roberts' imaginative sets from the Duke's opulent palace to the seedier side of town where Rigoletto lived. Much use was made of the stage revolve (perhaps too much so on occasions) allowing for cinematic-like glimpses of interiors from different perspectives. Darkness pervaded the stage throughout adding a sense of depravity to the production, while Jason Morphett's atmospheric lighting added immensely in terms of mood. If there was a feeling that occasionally there was simply too much going on in this production this was dissipated in the final act when all the production elements came to together to bring the work to its emotional and tearful close.

The cast was uniformly excellent. Warwick Fyfe's commanding voice filled the theatre with his outpourings of anger, frustration and ultimately grief on discovering that it is Gilda that has been murdered and not the Duke. If his performance lacked subtlety he was nevertheless an imposing figure on stage. Emma Pearson does not have the purity of tone that other Gilda's offer, but she made up for this by fleshing out the character in a most convincing way. Her 'Caro nome' was heartfelt and emotional while not quite being a lesson in bel canto singing. Rafael Rojas was announced as indisposed during the interval which perhaps explained his somewhat gruff voiced Duke. However this wasn't altogether out of character with his bully boy interpretation of the role. Egyptian bass Ashraf Sewailam was a suitably sinister Sparafucile, while Kristin Darragh strutted her stuff both vocally and dramatically as Maddalena.

The smaller roles were strongly taken by New Zealand regulars - Rodney Macann as Monterone, James Clayton as Ceprano, Emma Fraser as Countess Ceprano, Derek Hill as Matteo Borsa, Wendy Doyle as Giovanna and Matthew Landreth as Marullo.

In the pit Wyn Davies and the Auckland Philharmonia brought Verdi's brilliant score to life matching the theatricality of what was going on onstage and bringing out the wide range of emotions in the music. Special praise also needs to be given to the male members of the Chapman Tripp Opera Chorus who offered a telling and sinister counterpoint to the tragic tale.

This was certainly one of the most theatrical performances that the NBR New Zealand Opera has given for some time. If it occasionally teeters on the brink of going over the top, it is nevertheless a memorable night of theatre.