Arizona Opera's 'Rigoletto': Ridiculous, glorious

Any classical purists who arched a brow at Arizona Opera's decision to open its season with the newfangled, mariachi-powered "Cruzar la Cara de la Luna" should be mollified by this weekend's return to traditional grand opera with "Rigoletto" at Symphony Hall in Phoenix.

That means towering realistic sets, opulent period costumes, gorgeously intricate harmonies and, in this case, one of the most preposterous plots in all operadom, which is saying something.

The company's general director, Ryan Taylor, seems to acknowledge a philosophical split among patrons in his program notes for the show, which explain why he and stage director Fenlon Lamb chose to forego a reinterpretive setting, a la last season's Hollywood-themed "Don Pasquale," for Verdi's tragedy about a libertine duke and his embittered, hunch-backed court jester.

Now, normally I would vote for a fresh take, but "Rigoletto" would make no sense transplanted to a noncanonical time and place, because it already makes so little sense in 16th-century Italy.

First performed in 1851, the opera is based on a Victor Hugo play titled "Le roi s'amuse," or "To Amuse the King." It opens at a palace party where the Duke of Mantua boasts about his amorous exploits while Rigoletto, the jester who helps procure his conquests, taunts the furious courtiers whose wives' honor has been besmirched. One of them ends up arrested for his loud objections and loudly calls on heaven and hell to curse his tormentors.

Rigoletto has a beautiful daughter named Gilda, and, well aware that karma can be a, um, bitter enemy, he has kept the girl's existence a secret, allowing her to leave home only to attend church. Alas, his flower's sheltered life makes her easy plucking for the duke, who poses as a poor young scholar to win her naïve heart. She will, of course, pay the ultimate price for the sins of the men of Mantua, thanks to a series of plot machinations and out-of-character choices that stretch credulity well past the breaking point.

But if Verdi's taste in literary inspiration is suspect here, "Rigoletto" also finds him at the height of his musical prowess, and Arizona Opera's cast delivers in glorious fashion.

One transcendent moment comes in the aria "Caro nome," when the orchestra fades to silence and soprano Sarah Coburn, as Gilda, beautifully embodies the rise and sigh of first love. Then, as the sordid parable winds toward its climax, a rumble of excited recognition shakes the audience as the fickle duke (Jason Slayden) muses ironically on the fickleness of women in "La donne è mobile."

Finally arrives the magnificent quartet with the duke sweet-talking his latest paramour while Rigoletto and Gilda bemoan his betrayal from their hiding place. Singing the title role, baritone Michael Corvino infuses each Italian syllable with maximal passion and pathos.

Though the tragic tale is laughably overwrought, the music makes it impossible to remain unmoved.

Reach the reviewer at kerry.lengel@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-4896.

Arizona Opera: 'Rigoletto'

Reviewed Friday, Nov. 14. Remaining performances: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 15 (with Anthony Kalil, Joshua Jeremiah and Andrea Shokery singing the roles of the Duke, Rigoletto and Gilda, respectively), and 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 16. Symphony Hall, 75 N. Second St., Phoenix. $25-$135. 602-266-7464, azopera.org. At Tucson Music Hall: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 22, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 23.