This March, join The Royal Opera for Rigoletto, broadcast from London to 779 cinemas in 17 countries across the world.
Verdi’s masterpiece, featuring immediately recognisable music conducted here by Music Director of The Royal Opera Antonio Pappano, is a tragic story of vengeance, set in a pitiless world of luxurious decadence, corruption and social decay. The production – starring world-renowned baritone Carlos Álvarez in the title role, internationally celebrated soprano Lisette Oropesa as Gilda, and acclaimed tenor Liparit Avetisyan as the Duke of Mantua – premiered last year at the Royal Opera House, London, to great acclaim, opening the 2021/22 Season and receiving standing ovations and 5-star reviews. Critics, commending ‘signature command’ by Pappano, and ‘utterly compelling’ interpretations by an ‘outstanding cast’, were overwhelmingly positive. The production is Oliver Mears’ first since becoming Director of The Royal Opera in 2017.
Rigoletto was performed, and filmed, in September 2021. It will be screened in over 700 cinemas on Thursday 10 March 2022 – the same month that the opera first premiered in a sold-out La Fenice, over 170 years ago – and will receive encore screenings from Sunday 13 March 2022.
The ROH cinema programme launched in 2008 and has, since then, brought world-class opera and ballet to audiences around the world. This year, 6 major works from our 2021/22 Season are being broadcast to cinemas around the world, offering audiences the best seat in the house for each performance, and including exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, interviews, and rehearsal insights. The programme forms an integral part of our plan to secure our future, expand audiences and help facilitate the vital recovery of cinema domestically and internationally.
Oliver Mears, Director of The Royal Opera, said:
‘It was hugely exciting to work with Antonio Pappano and to open the Royal Opera House’s 2021/22 Season – its first full Season since 2019 – with a brand-new production of Rigoletto. Verdi’s opera has remained a firm favourite since its triumphant premiere in 1851, and it is a real pleasure to be able to share it, in full splendour, with audiences beyond Covent Garden and across the world this year.’
The Royal Opera Cinema Season will also include a live broadcast of La traviata, scheduled for Wednesday 13 April 2022. For more information, and to book, please visit roh.org.uk/cinemas.
By: Cem Kaplan