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Rigoletto
In the court of the Duke swirls a storm of intrigue, lust and betrayal. Rigoletto the jester struggles in vain to keep his daughter from the Duke’s relentless desires. Vowing vengeance, he takes matters into his own hands only to become the unwitting punchline of a darker force.
Synopsis
Act I
The Duke’s palace. Amidst a palace fête, courtiers and pages whirl by. The libertine Duke sings of a new beauty whose identity he must discover, then flirts with the Countess Ceprano. The jester Rigoletto turns his acid tongue on Count Ceprano, then sidles off in search of other targets. Marullo tells the nobles that Rigoletto has a mistress, and the embittered Ceprano tells the others to meet the next night to carry her off. Old Count Monterone bursts in and curses the Duke, who dishonored his daughter, and Rigoletto, who eggs his master on. Rigoletto is terror-stricken by the curse of a father.
Brooding on his way home, Rigoletto meets the assassin Sparafucile, who offers his services in ridding clients of rivals. Both stab to the heart, Rigoletto muses: he with words, and the assassin with a blade. He enters and his daughter Gilda throws herself into his arms. He cautions her about going out, and she says she only goes to church. He warns her nurse Giovanna not to let anyone in. As he is leaving again, they hear footsteps outside. Rigoletto goes, and Giovanna lets the disguised Duke in to hide. As Gilda recalls the beautiful young man she saw in church, the Duke sweeps in and professes his love. He tells her he is a poor student named Gualtier Maldé. When he leaves, she contemplates his name and her heart’s flowering.
The kidnappers are struck by Gilda’s beauty, but they are ready to get to work. Rigoletto encounters them on his way back home, and they tell him they are kidnapping the Countess Ceprano, whose mansion is next door. He is eager to hold the ladder. They blindfold him and leave him while they carry Gilda away. She calls out desperately for her father. He rips off the blindfold. “The curse!” he cries.
Act II
The Duke’s palace. The Duke is distraught. He has gone back to Rigoletto’s house and his beloved is nowhere to be found. The courtiers run in and tell him they have abducted Rigoletto’s mistress. He realizes what has happened and exults, then goes into his apartments to meet her. Rigoletto enters darkly and has a brief exchange with the assembled men, rails against them, then implores them to tell him what they have done with his daughter. She emerges, covered in shame. Rigoletto orders everyone out of sight, and she tells him how she met a beautiful student, then discovered that he was the Duke in disguise. Monterone passes by, being led to his execution for denouncing the Duke. Rigoletto swears vengeance for himself and the old man, and Gilda begs forgiveness for herself and for her lover.
Act III
The city outskirts. Rigoletto has brought Gilda to a lonely spot by a dilapidated inn, in hopes of showing her the faithlessness of her seducer. Sparafucile and his sister Maddalena can be seen making preparations for the evening’s guests. The Duke enters and sings of women’s fickleness. Maddalena joins him for the customary overtures and rebuffs. Gilda is stricken. Rigoletto is muttering. Sparafucile comes out and Rigoletto pays him half the fee to murder the Duke, the other half to be paid when the body is delivered. Rigoletto leaves, sending Gilda home to dress herself as a boy and leave for Verona to avoid danger.
She returns to hear Maddalena, who is quite taken with the Duke, proposing a solution to her brother: if they find a substitute victim, they can save the Duke. Sparafucile reluctantly agrees. A storm rages. Gilda seizes the moment, knocks on the door, presents herself–and is stabbed to death. When Rigoletto returns, Sparafucile shows him the body bag, and Rigoletto insists on disposing of it himself. He hears the Duke singing in the distance and is aghast to discover his dying daughter in the bag. She begs his forgiveness as she dies in his arms. The curse is fulfilled.
Artists
![Gerardo Bullon](https://images.santafeopera.org/uploads/2024/04/Gerardo-Bullon.jpg?resize=7%2C7&gravity)
Gerardo Bullón
Baritone
Rigoletto
Gerardo Bullón
Hometown: Madrid, Spain
2025 Season:
Rigoletto, Rigoletto (SFO Debut)
![Elena Villalon](https://images.santafeopera.org/uploads/2021/10/Elena-Villalon-375x375-use-this-one.jpg?resize=7%2C7&gravity)
Elena Villalón
Soprano
Gilda
Elena Villalón
Hometown: Austin, TX
2025 Season:
Gilda, Rigoletto
SFO Debut:
Nanetta, Falstaff, 2022
Past Seasons:
Sheila, The Righteous, 2024
![Duke Kim](https://images.santafeopera.org/uploads/2024/04/Duke-Kim.jpg?resize=7%2C7&gravity)
Duke Kim
Tenor
Duke
Duke Kim
Hometown: Seoul, Republic of Korea
2025 Season:
Duke, Rigoletto
Past Seasons:
Lysander, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 2021
The Lord of Cries, 2021
A Street Vendor, La bohème, 2019
Santa Fe Opera Apprentice: 2019, 2021
![Stefano Park](https://images.santafeopera.org/uploads/2024/04/Stefano-Park.jpg?resize=7%2C7&gravity)
Stephano Park
Bass
Sparafucile
Stephano Park
Hometown: South Korea
2025 Season:
Sparafucile, Rigoletto (SFO Debut)
![Marcela Rahal](https://images.santafeopera.org/uploads/2024/04/Marcela-Rahal.jpg?resize=7%2C7&gravity)
Marcela Rahal
Mezzo-soprano
Maddalena
Marcela Rahal
Hometown: Bauri, Brazil
2025 Season:
Maddalena, Rigoletto (SFO Debut)
![Le Bu](https://images.santafeopera.org/uploads/2024/04/Le-Bu.jpg?resize=7%2C7&gravity)
Le Bu
Bass-baritone
Monterone
Le Bu
Hometown: Yancheng, China
2025 Season:
Monterone, Rigoletto
SFO Debut:
5th Pastore/2nd Spirit, Orfeo, 2023
Santa Fe Opera Apprentice: 2023
Past Seasons:
The Flying Dutchman, 2023
Rusalka, 2023
![Carlo Montanaro](https://images.santafeopera.org/uploads/2024/04/Carlo-Montanaro.jpg?resize=7%2C7&gravity)
Carlo Montanaro
Conductor
Carlo Montanaro
Hometown: Cecina, Italy
2025 Season:
Rigoletto (SFO Debut)
![Julien Chavaz](https://images.santafeopera.org/uploads/2024/04/Julien-Chavaz2.png?resize=7%2C7&gravity)
Julien Chavaz
Director
Julien Chavaz
Hometown: Bern, Switzerland
2025 Season:
Rigoletto (SFO Debut)
![Jamie Vartan](https://images.santafeopera.org/uploads/2024/04/Jamie-Vartan.jpg?resize=7%2C7&gravity)
Jamie Vartan
Scenic Designer
Jamie Vartan
Hometown: Stansted, England
2025 Season:
Rigoletto (SFO Debut)
![Jean Jacques Delmotte headshot](https://images.santafeopera.org/uploads/2020/11/Jean-Jacques_Delmotte375x375.jpg?resize=7%2C7&gravity)
Jean-Jacques Delmotte
Costume Designer
Jean-Jacques Delmotte
Hometown: Paris, France
2025 Season:
The Marriage of Figaro, Rigoletto
SFO Debut:
Cendrillon, 2006
Past Seasons:
The Marriage of Figaro, 2021
Candide, 2018
La traviata, 2009
![Rick Fisher headshot](https://images.santafeopera.org/uploads/2021/07/Rick-Fisher-375x375-1.jpg?resize=7%2C7&gravity)
Rick Fisher
Lighting Designer
Rick Fisher
Hometown: Philadelphia, PA
2025 Season:
Rigoletto
SFO Debut:
The Egyptian Helen, 2001
Past Seasons:
Eugene Onegin, 2021
The Pearl Fishers, 2019
Madame Butterfly, 2018
Daughter of the Regiment, 2015
Rigoletto, 2015
Salome, 2015
The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein, 2013
The Pearl Fishers, 2012
La bohème, 2011
The Last Savage, 2011
Wozzeck, 2011
Madame Butterfly, 2010
Albert Herring, 2010
Billy Budd, 2008
Radamisto, 2008
La bohème, 2007
Tea: A Mirror of Soul, 2007
Daphne, 2007
Peter Grimes, 2005
La sonnambula, 2004
Intermezzo, 2003
Madame Mao, 2003
La clemenza di Tito, 2002
La Traviata, 2002
Wozzeck, 2001
![Nicole Morel](https://images.santafeopera.org/uploads/2024/04/Nicole-Morel.jpg?resize=7%2C7&gravity)
Nicole Morel
Movement Director
Nicole Morel
Hometown: Fribourg, Switzerland
2025 Season:
Rigoletto (SFO Debut)
![Susanne Sheston headshot](https://images.santafeopera.org/uploads/2022/06/Susanne-Sheston-375x375-1.jpg?resize=7%2C7&gravity)
Susanne Sheston
Chorus Master
Susanne Sheston
Hometown: Salt Lake City, UT
2025 Season
SFO Debut:
2008 Season
Past Seasons:
2024 Season
2023 Season
2022 Season
2021 Season
2019 Season
2018 Season
2017 Season
2016 Season
2015 Season
2014 Season
2013 Season
2012 Season
2011 Season
2010 Season
2009 Season