Storytelling Sing Along

From the initial stages of set construction to the many dress rehearsals leading up to the opening night performance, putting together an opera is an extensive production. For those who have been to the opera, it's definitely a worthwhile experience; for those who still remain skeptical, however, it's easier to appreciate the show knowing the work that goes into making it possible. It involves acting, music, design, lighting — things that embody the best of the performing arts.

Rigoletto, which recently played three shows in Edmonton at the end of October, is a production that is unique because of the haunting music and the authentic portrayal of human emotion. The action on the stage constantly draws your eyes and leaves you sitting on the edge of your seat, shocked by what you're seeing. In order to make this all possible, though, it takes many talented individuals and months worth of prep work in order to bring such a compelling story to life on the stage.

THE DESIGNER AND HER STAGE

The set of Edmonton Opera’s production of Rigoletto is an unusual one. Designed by Bretta Gerecke — who earned her Masters of Fine Arts in theatre design at the University of Alberta — the stage of the Jubilee has been transformed into a giant cage. The upper deck, constructed out of scaffolding, houses the Duke’s court. A trap door reveals a small staircase, which leads down into a world where anything goes.

“The Duke’s palace is on the upper level and the underworld is down below, and that’s where dark and seedy events occur,” Gerecke said.

The inspiration for the set came from the story itself, in that all of the characters are prisoners of their situations in life, especially the character of Rigoletto.

“We took the metaphor of the cage or restraint and blew that up and turned it into a giant steel cage structure,” Gerecke said.

Gerecke was commissioned by the Calgary Opera to build a new set for Rigoletto in 2007. From there, the set moved to Vancouver for the 2008 season, and this year, the show is making its debut in Edmonton.

“We sketch the world of the show and then we go through a process of having it built and bringing on experts that are technical, and engineers, and there’s a whole team of us to figure out how this will get built. It gets built and it’s just in storage for a time before it actually comes out and makes its debut,” Gerecke said.

In addition to set designer, Gerecke also designed the costumes for this particular production. They're not flamboyant, but their simplicity complemented the overwhelming emotions of the characters.

“Ultimately, my responsibility is to make the visual world work,” Gerecke said.

Gerecke was also recently shortlisted for the prestigious Elinore & Lou Siminovitch Prize, which recognizes designers across Canada for their creativity, originality, and an ability to inspire young artists.

“I was thrilled — it’s a huge honour. There are six of us from across the country and I feel very lucky to be on that shortlist. I’m just enjoying it,” Gerecke said.

Gerecke enjoys working on Rigoletto because of the epic nature of the story and the capacity for imagination when working on such a large-scale production.

“It's a universal story of love and loss, and in many ways about power and debauchery, and how ultimate power corrupts,” Gerecke said.

THE DIRECTOR

David Adams has been the resident assistant director at the Vancouver Opera for the past five years. He directed last season’s production of Rigoletto in Vancouver, and when the time came for the set to move to Edmonton, Adams decided to tag along.

“The people that work for Edmonton Opera are people who are really passionate about the art form, and they love their work and it really shows, so I feel like I’ve got great support here,” Adams said.

As director, Adams is responsible for making sure that all the pieces of production fit together, but he also has to look at smaller, more intricate details, like where certain things need to be placed in any particular scene, and what makes certain characters tick.

“We explore the psychology of these people: why would they sit down here, and why would they pick up this wine bottle here, and why would they hug their dad there,” Adams said.

Adams was attracted by this particular opera because of the magnitude of the production, similarly to Gerecke. He also contends, though, that each character’s personalities contain small details that make them real to an audience.

“The huge emotions that people have, like murder, and love, and lust, and vengeance versus the intimate moments that people have, like thinking about their own insecurities [...] really flushes out these characters so that they become complex, contradictory — people that you are really intrigued and compelled by,” Adams said.

Personally, Adams connects to Rigoletto’s character because he shares the experience of fatherhood.

“I understand what [Rigoletto] goes through in terms of wanting to be protective, so for me, working on the opera is a chance to find a way that I can make it personal, so that I could put my own personal stamp on it in terms of the humanity of the piece,” Adams said.

THE MUSIC

Giuseppe Verdi, an Italian composer of the 19th century, composed Rigoletto in 1853, and since then it has become one of the most popular operas in the world. The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra accompanied the production, and Conductor Robert Tweten made his Edmonton Opera debut with Rigoletto.

“The story is a very engaging story, and it has all of the highs and lows of human emotion and because it has great music; it’s always been a favourite of opera companies around the world,” Adams said.

However, Edmonton Opera’s production does not provide the same experience as every other Rigoletto, according to Gerecke.

“I think we’ve really gone for it, from the visual end of the production. It’s quite gothic and out there and decadent,” Gerecke said.

Even in its time, Rigoletto was considered quite "out there," and often scandalized its audiences with the subject matter. However, perhaps not much has changed in that way, either; gasps were heard inside the Jubilee at some particularly immodest scenes.

Apart from its scandalous content, Rigoletto also contains memorable music. According to Adams, Verdi would not allow the members of his original cast to sing one particular aria outside of rehearsals. If you’ve seen a Delissio pizza commercial lately, then you most likely know the famous song, which is called “La donna è mobile" — play it on YouTube and you might recognize it.

THE ACTORS

Rigoletto is a bitter character that tugs on the audience’s heartstrings; we see him as the new Phantom of the Opera — misunderstood and abused. The actor playing the hunchbacked court jester in this production is internationally renowned baritone Theodore Baerg.

“To entertain the court, he picks on people and makes fun of them [...] People laugh and underneath they really hate him and want to get back and him,” Adams explained.

The Duke of Mantua is what we would call a womanizer in modern times. He steals other courtier’s wives from under their noses, than laughs as Rigoletto mocks them. And he gets away with all of it. This character is played by tenor Robert Breault.

“The duke is a bit of a scoundrel [...] he goes through women like Kleenex — uses them then tosses them away,” Adams described.

After going through countless women, the Duke sings a memorable aria about the fickleness of women, an ironic statement for such a character.

Rigoletto’s daughter, Gilda, is kept locked in a cage for her own safety, but that doesn't stop her from falling in love with the Duke. The audience sees her transformation from a chaste girl to a passionate woman. Gilda is played by international star Tracy Dahl, who recently received the 2009 Opera Canada Award for her career.

THE STORY

The opera opens with a scene of the Duke of Mantua’s court, but there’s no stuffiness or formality to this court. Instead, there’s a stilt walker, a trapeze artist, and Rigoletto even gets on a clown bicycle and rides in circles around the stage. It’s an atmosphere of revelry — if only things could remain this whimsical.

Rigoletto’s jests offend the courtiers, especially one named Monterone, who declares a curse on both the Duke and Rigoletto. Whether or not you believe that the curse is responsible for what happens next or that Rigoletto creates his own fate, things start to go downhill from here.

Rigoletto’s only vulnerable spot is his daughter, who he keeps hidden away in a cage at home. Little does Rigoletto know, but Gilda and the Duke have fallen in love after seeing each other at church, the only time she is allowed out. Inadvertently, the resentful courtiers prey on the object of both Rigoletto’s and their Duke’s affections.

As the story progresses, the characters undergo a wide range of emotions, from bitterness to love to vengeance, and the audience is dragged along with them.

“It’s very dramatic — I think people will really enjoy it in terms of the emotional roller coaster that you’re going to ride on, experiencing all the permutations of the human psyche,” Adams said.

Since it contains all these variations of emotion, it’s easy for an audience to relate to something that they see in the performance, making it real to almost everyone.

“The story is timeless, the same things happen 100 years ago that happen today [...] even though this is written about a Duke in Mantua in Italy, it really is transferable to most any situation,” said Adams.

At the same time, the story depicts unbelievable corruption that we hope no longer happens in our society. We have the authorities to enforce the law, but Rigoletto needs to do that himself. When asked the names of himself and the Duke, he answers, “His is Crime. Mine is Punishment.”

“The duke suffers no consequences to his actions, so we’re sort of going on that possibility: if you could have no consequences, what would you do?” said Gerecke.

For the characters in this play, the answer to the question of "what would you do?" is "anything."

As the plot progresses, this recklessness becomes more evident. Although the character of Rigoletto becomes predictable, it is irrelevant. Rigoletto begs for mercy from the courtiers and they turn their backs on him. At the same time, he begs sympathy from the audience and our feelings become inexplicably tied to his.

As predictable as Rigoletto is, his daughter Gilda is equally as unpredictable. At home in her cage, she wears a virginal white dress, but at court, she wears the same dress in blood red. The Duke has changed her, and Rigoletto cannot regain his loyal daughter.

Rigoletto depicts a descent from order to chaos, and Gilda’s ultimate choice leaves the audience haunted and torn between Rigoletto’s anguish and the Duke’s need for salvation.