Rigoletto in Dallas

On October 8, 12, 14, and 16, René Barbera returns to The Dallas Opera as The Duke of Mantua in Giuseppe Verdi’s Rigoletto which opens TDO’s 65th anniversary season. A native of Texas, Mr. Barbera made his company debut as Alfredo in La Traviata and was last seen in Dallas as Nadir in Georges Bizet’s Les pêcheurs de perles this past spring.

In this co-production between The Dallas Opera, Houston Grand Opera, and The Atlanta Opera, director Tomer Zvulum places the drama in fascist Italy with lavish period sets designed by Erhard Rom. Mr. Barbera will share the stage with George Gagnidze as Rigoletto, Madison Leonard as Gilda, Nicholas Newton as Count Monterone, Raymond Aceto as Sparafucile, Nadia Krasteva as Maddalena, Erik Earl Larson as Marullo, Julius Ahn as Matteo Borsa, Alison Bolshoi as Giovanna, Malcolm Payne Jr. as Count Ceprano and Jocelyn Hansen as Countess Ceprano. The company’s music director, Emmanuel Villaume, leads from the podium.