Dates

2-29 September 2024

Location

Dutch National Opera & Ballet, Main Stage

Running time

TBA

Tickets

From € 30

Scene from Rigoletto

A father’s obsessive love

Can you go too far in protecting your child from worldly dangers? Verdi’s Rigoletto tells the story of a father who locks his daughter away in an attempt to protect her from his abusive employer, the Duke of Mantua, a womaniser who regularly oversteps the mark. All of Rigoletto’s efforts, however, turn out to be in vain.

A father’s obsessive love

In selecting Le roi s’amuse by Victor Hugo (1832), a play that was banned after the first performance, the socially engaged composer Giuseppe Verdi once again chose an edgy, topical subject for an opera. Verdi shows us a degenerate milieu where transgressive behaviour is the rule rather than the exception. When the cynical court jester Rigoletto is cursed by the father of one of the Duke’s victims, he is gripped by paranoia. Eventually, his worst fears come true.

Focus on Rigoletto’s psyche

Damiano Michieletto, who previously directed Rossini’s Il viaggio a Reims (2015) and Raskatov’s Animal Farm (2023) for Dutch National Opera, focuses on the nervous, broken character of Rigoletto. The tortured man finds himself in a psychiatric institution, where he relives the events of his life in the form of flashbacks. Michieletto’s interpretation already made a deep impression on audiences and the press at the Amsterdam premiere in 2017. Some key changes to the production were made for a recent performance run in Venice. Now, Rigoletto will return to Dutch National Opera in this revised, sharpened version.

The energetic young conductor Yi-Chen Lin will be leading the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra in her debut with Dutch National Opera. She can rely on an impressive cast of singers: baritone Roman Burdenko is returning to Amsterdam as Verdi’s tormented father after his powerful interpretation of Tonio in Cavalleria rusticana. Tenor René Barbera, acclaimed for his ringing voice, will sing the role of the wayward Duke of Mantua and up-and-coming soprano Aigul Khismatullina will make her Amsterdam debut as Gilda.

Ticket sales

Don’t want to miss this performance? From 11 to 24 April, you can already order tickets for Rigoletto as part of a season package. You will then have access to all seats and dates of performances from the upcoming season before single ticket sales. You can already order a season package that includes Rigoletto and one other performance of your choice!

Performance information

Opera in three acts

Sung in Italian

Libretto  Francesco Maria Piave

Musical direction  Yi-Chen Lin 
Stage director  Damiano Michieletto
Set designer  Paolo Fantin
Costume designer  Auguste Cavalca
Video designer  Roland Horvath

Il Duca di Mantova  René Barbera
Rigoletto  Roman Burdenko
Gilda  Aigul Khismatullina
Sparafucile   Alexander Köpeczi
Maddalena  Maya Gour
Giovanna  Eva Kroon
Il Conte di Monterone  Frederik Bergman
Marullo  Martin Mkhize

Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra

Chorus of Dutch National Opera
Chorus master Edward Ananian­-Cooper

Order tickets

Don’t want to miss this performance? From 11 to 24 April, you can already order tickets for Rigoletto as part of a season package. You will then have access to all seats and dates of performances from the upcoming season before single ticket sales. You can already order a season package that includes Rigoletto and one other performance of your choice! More information on the season packages.

Single ticket sales for Rigoletto start on 7 May 2024 at 12:00 (pm). Don’t want to miss this on-sale moment? Sign up for our ticket alert and receive a notification when the single ticket sales open.

loading Loading tickets...
Lorenzo Viotti and Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra

Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra

The Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra and Netherlands Chamber Orchestra have been the main orchestral partners of Dutch National Opera since they were established in 1985. The two orchestras, with the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam as their main base, are regarded as among the best opera orchestras in the world.

Photo: Melle Meivogel

Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra

The Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, with chief conductor Lorenzo Viotti at the helm, concentrates on the large-scale symphonic repertoire while the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra is a smaller, more intimate orchestra with 25 to 45 musicians led by concertmaster and artistic director Gordan Nikolić. Both orchestras present their own programmes and regularly work with internationally renowned guest conductors and soloists, as well as with the new generation of up-and-coming top musicians. The orchestras perform at numerous venues, bringing people together through their music and giving both classical music aficionados and new audiences a musical experience to remember. With their welcoming home base NedPhO-Koepel, located in east Amsterdam’s Indische Buurt neighbourhood, the orchestras are firmly embedded in the community. In the 2024 – 2025 season, the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra will be performing the operas Rigoletto, Peter Grimes, Die Fledermaus and Die Frau ohne Schatten.