2008/2009 Season Opera
[Repertory]

Giuseppe Verdi :Rigoletto

OPERA HOUSE

Rigoletto	:	Lado Ataneli
Gilda	:	Annick Massis
Il Duca di Mantova	:	Shalva Mukeria
Sparafucile	:	Hasegawa Akira
Maddalena	:	Moriyama Kyoko
Il Conte di Monterone	:	Kobayashi Yoshiki
Giovanna	:	Yamashita Makiko
Marullo	:	Maiya Takehiko
Borsa	:	Kamoshita Minoru
Il Conte di Ceprano	:	Osawa Ken
La Contessa di Ceprano	:	Kinoshita Shuko
Paggio	:	Suzuki Manami
Un usciere	:	Sannohe Hirohisa
Chorus	:	New National Theatre Chorus
Orchestra	:	Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra

October/November 2008	25	28	31	3
	Sat	Tue	Fri	Mon
2:00	X	X		X
7:00			X

Doors will open 45 minutes before the opening of the performance.

	S	A	B	C	D	Z
Price(yen)	21,000	15,750	10,500	6,300	3,150	1,500

This production had the premiere in June 2000 and this occasion is the second revival. Alberto Fassini, the producer of this production, who passed away, staged this tragedy masterfully in his traditional style. The title role is performed by Lado Ataneli, whose success as Iago in the Tokyo Opera Nomori production of “Otello” is still vivid in our memory. He will appear again after his house debut as Germont in “La traviata” in June 2008. Il duca di Mantova will be performed by a fast rising star, Shalva Mukeria. Danielle Callegari, who conducted “Don Carlo” in 2001 with a huge success, will be making his second appearance at NNTT.

Mantova in northern Italy in the 16th century. The Duke of Mantova, the lord of the manor, is busy philandering as he seduces Countess Ceprano at a ball. Rigoletto, his jester, helps the Duke to satisfy his desire, but Count Monterone, whose daughter was dishonorably seduced by the Duke, appears and curses Rigoletto, shouting, "You will pay dearly for your sins before long." Meanwhile, courtiers for the Duke Mantova, who suppose Gilda to be Rigoletto's kept mistress, kidnap her out of their long-cherished vengeance on Rigoletto and present her to the Duke. In a rage, Rigoletto engages Sparafucile, a professional assassin, to kill the Duke. Having learned this, Gilda immediately decides to sacrifice herself and falls victim to the assassin's dagger. Rigoletto, having received a sack containing a corpse in exchange for money, is appalled to hear the Duke singing cheerfully from a distance. He hastily opens the sack only to find the dead body of his beloved daughter.