Conductor Mark Elder is marking a remarkable milestone this spring: 50 years since his debut at The Royal Opera. And he’s celebrating the way he began – with Verdi’s Rigoletto.
The production runs on the Main Stage from 25 March to 23 April, with Elder conducting every performance.
Elder first stepped into the Covent Garden pit in 1976 with Rigoletto. Five decades later, he returns not as a newcomer, but as one of the House’s most respected musical figures. Over the years, he has led a vast repertoire here – Verdi, Wagner, Puccini, Strauss, Rossini – creating performances that have defined generations of opera-goers.
Now he comes back to the opera that started it all.
A dark, modern Rigoletto
Director Oliver Mears presents Verdi’s tragedy as a sharp-edged morality tale. Power collides with innocence. Corruption seeps through every corner of the stage.
Simon Lima Holdsworth’s set and Ilona Karas’s costumes bring the story firmly into the present, while Fabiana Piccioli’s lighting and Anna Morrissey’s movement direction heighten the tension. The result is a production that feels immediate and unsettling.
Two casts, one landmark run
Elder leads two international casts across the run.
Opening night sees George Petean as the tormented court jester Rigoletto and Aida Garifullina as his daughter Gilda. The performance also introduces several Royal Opera debuts: Peruvian tenor Iván Ayón Rivas as the Duke of Mantua, British bass William Thomas as Sparafucile, and American mezzo-soprano Anne Marie Stanley making her Main Stage debut as Maddalena. Blaise Malaba appears as Count Monterone.
From 11 April, Daniel Luis de Vicente makes his House debut in the title role. Gilda is shared by Rosa Feola and Robyn Allegra Parton, with Liparit Avetisyan as the Duke, Alexander Köpeczi as Sparafucile, Elena Maximova as Maddalena and Willard White as Count Monterone.
Opera for everyone
All performances are audio described. A touch tour is available on Wednesday 8 April, and a live BSL-interpreted performance takes place on Wednesday 15 April.
Fifty years after his first downbeat at The Royal Opera, Elder returns to the score that introduced him to Covent Garden audiences. The music is as sharp as ever.
Tickets are available here
