Rigoletto by Verdi Is Dec. 17, 2022, Saturday Matinee Broadcast

Summary: Rigoletto by Verdi is the Dec. 17, 2022, Saturday matinee broadcast, airing as the second of the 2022-2023 season's 24 Saturday radio broadcasts.

Bashkir Russian coloratura mezzo-soprano Aigul Akhmetshina made her Met Opera debut as Duke of Mantua assassination averter Maddalena in the 2022-2023 season's first revival of Bartlett Sher's production (2021-2022) of Verdi's Rigoletto: Aigul Akhmetshina, via Facebook Nov. 17, 2022

Rigoletto by Verdi is the Dec. 17, 2022, Saturday matinee broadcast, airing at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time as the second of the 2022-2023 Met Opera season's lineup of 24 Saturday matinee opera broadcasts.

The 2022-2023 Met Opera season's performances of Rigoletto by Italian opera composer Giuseppe Verdi (Oct. 10, 1813-Jan. 27, 1901) mark the opera company's first revival of the Art Deco-inspired production that Bartlett Sher debuted in the previous, 2021-2022 season. The American theater director's production updates the opera's setting from 16th century Mantua, north central Italy, to 1920s Weimar Germany.

Rigoletto receives 14 performances in the 2022-2023 season. The Sher production's first revival opened Thursday, Nov. 10, at 7:30 p.m. The month's five additional performances took place Monday, Nov. 14, at 7:00 p.m.; Thursday, Nov. 17, at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, Nov. 20, at 3:00 p.m; Saturday, Nov. 26, at 1:00 p.m.; Tuesday, Nov. 29, at 8:00 p.m.

Eight performances are scheduled for December. The month's first three performances took place Saturday, Dec. 3, at 8:00 p.m.; Thursday, Dec. 8, at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, Dec. 11, at 3:00 p.m. The month's next five performances will be offered Wednesday, Dec. 14, at 8:00 p.m.; Saturday matinee broadcast, Dec. 17, at 1:00 p.m.; Tuesday, Dec. 20, at 7:00 p.m.; Friday, Dec. 23, at 7:00 p.m.; and closing night, Thursday, Dec. 29, at 8:00 p.m.

Rigoletto's 14 performances in the 2022-2023 season basically are shared by two casts. The second cast appears in the opera's Saturday matinee broadcast, Dec. 17.

Speranza Scappucci (born April 9, 1973) conducts all 14 performances of Rigoletto. The Italian conductor and pianist made her Met Opera debut in the revival's opening performance, Thursday, Nov. 10.

Luca Salsi sings the title role of Verdi's accursed jester in five of the season's last six performances, including the Dec. 17 Saturday matinee broadcast. The Italian baritone made his Met Opera debut Monday, Oct. 8, 2007, as Sharpless in the opera company’s 812th performance of Madama Butterfly by Italian opera composer Giacomo Puccini (Dec. 22, 1858-Nov. 29, 1924).

Lisette Oropesa sings Gilda, Rigoletto's beloved, infatuatedly self-sacrificing daughter, in the season's last seven performances, including the Dec. 17 Saturday matinee broadcast. The Cuban-American operatic soprano had made her Met Opera debut Thursday, Sept. 28, 2006, as a Woman of Crete in the opera company’s 60th performance of Idomeneo by Classical Era composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Jan. 27, 1756-Dec. 5, 1791).

Stephen Costello appears as the lecherous Duke of Mantua, in five of the season's last six performances, including the Dec. 17 Saturday matinee broadcast. The American operatic tenor had made his Met Opera debut Monday, Sept. 24, 2007, as Arturo in the opera company’s 558th performance of Lucia di Lammermoor by 19th-century Italian bel canto opera composer Gaetano Donizetti (Nov. 29, 1797-April 8, 1848).

John Relyea originally was scheduled to sing in all 14 Rigoletto performances as assassin-for-hire Sparafucile, who agrees to Gilda's besotted request to substitute her for the Duke of Mantua as his assassinee. The Canadian operatic bass-baritone had made his Met Opera debut Thursday, Feb. 24, 2000, as Alidoro in the opera company's 13th performance of La Cenerentola by Italian composer Gioachino Rossini (Feb. 29, 1792-Nov. 13, 1868).

Update: Per Metropolitan Opera's Thursday, Dec. 29, 2022, tweet, John Relyea has sung the first 13 performances as Sparafucile, but Julian Close assumes the role for the 14th, closing performance, Thursday, Dec. 29, at 8:00 p.m. The British bass had made his Met Opera debut Thursday, Nov. 5, 2015, in two roles as the Theater Manager and the Banker in the opera company's 37th performance of Lulu by Austrian composer Alban Berg (Feb. 9, 1885-Dec. 24, 1935).

Aigul Akhmetshina appears in all 14 performances as Sparafucile's sister, Maddalena, who besottedly convinces her father to spare the Duke of Mantua if a substitute appears before midnight. The Bashkir Russian coloratura mezzo-soprano's appearance in the opera's opening performance marked her Met Opera debut.

The 2022-2023 Met Opera season's lineup of Saturday matinee broadcasts continues with the Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, 2022, airing of the family friendly, English language version of Mozart's The Magic Flute. The fairy-tale opera is scheduled as the third of the season's 24 Saturday matinee opera broadcasts.

Speranza Scappucci's conductorship of the opening performance of the 2022-2023 season's first revival of Bartlett Sher's production of Verdi's Rigoletto marked the Rome-born, Italian conductor and pianist's Met Opera debut: Speranza Scappucci @speranzascapp, via Twitter Nov. 23, 2022

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Dedication

This post is dedicated to the memory of our beloved blue-eyed brother, Charles, who guided the creation of the Met Opera and Astronomy posts on Earth and Space News. We memorialized our brother in "Our Beloved Blue-Eyed Brother, Charles, With Whom We Are Well Pleased," published on Earth and Space News on Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021, an anniversary of our beloved father's death.

Image credits:

Bashkir Russian coloratura mezzo-soprano Aigul Akhmetshina made her Met Opera debut as Duke of Mantua assassination averter Maddalena in the 2022-2023 season's first revival of Bartlett Sher's production (2021-2022) of Verdi's Rigoletto: Aigul Akhmetshina, via Facebook Nov. 17, 2022, @ https://www.facebook.com/AigulAKMezzo/posts/pfbid023ag9hc6Wd5QgwKSkwsBMCSphezhQC9tRGgthMDMXNS2nazaAqoRKDyRkqfbw9TTol

Speranza Scappucci's conductorship of the opening performance of the 2022-2023 season's first revival of Bartlett Sher's production of Verdi's Rigoletto marked the Rome-born, Italian conductor and pianist's Met Opera debut: Speranza Scappucci @speranzascapp, via Twitter Nov. 23, 2022, @ https://twitter.com/speranzascapp/status/1595455627911958530
, @ https://www.facebook.com/AigulAKMezzo/posts/pfbid023ag9hc6Wd5QgwKSkwsBMCSphezhQC9tRGgthMDMXNS2nazaAqoRKDyRkqfbw9TTol

For further information:

Aigul Akhmetshina. "Aigul Akhmetshina is at The Metropolitan Opera. Instagram. As Maddalena, Mezzo-soprano Aigul Akhmetshina displayed a plush and punchy sound that matched perfectly with bass John Relyea throughout the trio. She played up her flirtation with the Duke throughout the quartet and then provided assertiveness throughout the trio. 'OperaWire' @operawire David Salazar @tact_international_management @marcin.kopec.tact4art." Facebook. Nov. 17, 2022.
Available via Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/AigulAKMezzo/posts/pfbid023ag9hc6Wd5QgwKSkwsBMCSphezhQC9tRGgthMDMXNS2nazaAqoRKDyRkqfbw9TTol

"Debut: Stephen Costello, Mary Zimmerman, Daniel Ostling, Mara Blumenfeld, T. J. Gerckens, Daniel Pelzig." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 352065 New Production Lucia di Lammermoor {558} Metropolitan Opera House: 09/24/2007.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=352065

"Debuts: Daniel Brenna, Julian Close, Joanna Dudley, Andrea Fabi." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 356105 New Production Lulu {37} Metropolitan Opera House: 11/05/2015. Metropolitan Opera Radio SiriusXM channel 74 Broadcast live. Streamed at metopera.org
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=356105

"Debuts: John Relyea, Bruno Campanella." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 332447 La Cenerentola {13} Metropolitan Opera House: 02/24/2000.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=332447

“Debuts: Lisette Oropesa, Jeffrey Francis, Simon O’Neill.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID:351557 Idomeneo {60} Metropolitan Opera House: 09/28/2006.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=351557

“Debuts: Luca Salsi, Kevin Augustine, Tom Lee.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 352090 Madama Butterfly {812} Metropolitan Opera House: 10/08/2007.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=352090

"Debuts: Speranza Scappucci, Benjamin Bernheim, Aigul Akhmetshina." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 357742 Rigoletto {913} Metropolitan Opera House: 11/10/2022. Broadcast.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=357742

Luca Salsi. "I'm about to sing the title role of Rigoletto at The Metropolitan Opera. And my thoughts cannot fail to go to my great Maestro Carlo Meliciani. How many lessons spent talking about every nuance of Verdi's opera… Or that lesson in which he convinced me to tackle this immense masterpiece, because he understood before me -- as always -- that it was the right time. Grazie, Maestro." Facebook. Nov. 30, 2022.
Available via Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/Salsi.Luca/posts/pfbid02hDEpBTCEQp7KEswX6x7wNLNuLW1cP1V3bPo2aqSMjC1Uf6FPQJ5euoE3Mx8MVfMQl

Marriner, Derdriu. "The Hours by Kevin Puts Is Dec. 10, 2022, Saturday Matinee Broadcast." Earth and Space News. Monday, Dec. 5, 2022.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/12/the-hours-by-kevin-puts-is-dec-10-2022.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Met Opera's 2022-2023 Season Has 24 Saturday Matinee Opera Broadcasts." Earth and Space News. Monday, Nov. 28, 2022.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/11/met-operas-2022-2023-season-has-24.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Rigoletto Is Met Opera's Jan. 29, 2022, Saturday Matinee Broadcast." Earth and Space News. Monday, Jan. 24, 2022.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/01/rigoletto-is-met-operas-jan-29-2022.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Three of Seven 2022-2023 Met Opera Season New Productions Are Premieres." Earth and Space News. Monday, Nov. 21, 2022.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/11/three-of-seven-2022-2023-met-opera.html

Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera. "For tonight’s performance of Verdi’s Rigoletto, the role of Sparafucile will now be sung by Julian Close. #castchange." Twitter. Dec. 29, 2022.
Available via Twitter @ https://twitter.com/MetOpera/status/1608509054791335938

Speranza Scappucci @speranzascapp. "Nice surprise to see I am on the 'wall of fame' @MetOpera." Twitter. Nov. 23, 2022.
Available via Twitter @ https://twitter.com/speranzascapp/status/1595455627911958530