Christopher Walker reviews Rigoletto at Holland Park
Holland Park remains one of the most joyful of the summer opera festivals.
At their opening production of Rigoletto, the phrase “give them an inch and they take a mile” came to mind.
Just one line in the opera has sparked a whole new interpretation.
Director Cecilia Stinton picked on a passing reference where the Duke poses as a “poor student,” to recast the whole thing in an Oxford junior common room in the 1920s.
Helped by the swish designs of Neil Irish, we are treated to a very different Brideshead Revisited, inspired by an infamous photograph of the Bullingdon Club.
The photo is recreated at one point by the chorus in a classic pose.
This photograph once showed the likes of Boris Johnson, David Cameron and George Osbourne, striking a pose, though it appears recent versions have been doctored ‘Kremlin style.’
Rigoletto is a tale of unbridled privilege, power, lust and skulduggery, so I guess the allusion works.
The plot concerns the swaggering Duke of Mantua, Alessandro Scotto di Luzio in fine form in every sense, who captures the eye of a young girl Gilda, who is then kidnapped by his posse.
Rigoletto is her father, and he seeks to rescue his daughter and convince him the Duke is no good.
On first viewing we are not sure if the Duke is horsing around or genuinely a rotter, but he clearly is in this production as women are serially abused in every nook and cranny of the Oxford halls.
The highlight of this production was Gilda beautifully sung by Alison Langer.
Every moment she was on stage was a delight.
Stephen Gadd was also a strong Rigoletto bringing a real sense of pathos to the role.
Not every good singer can act but he can.
The wonderful music was safe in the hands of Lee Reynolds and the City of London Sinfonia.
They even managed to almost mask the sound of the bar staff stacking plates.
Always inventive, the rest of the festival promises Ruddigore and La Boheme.
No doubt cheekily presented.
https://operahollandpark.com/productions/rigoletto-2023/
Pictures: Alessandro Scotto di Luzio as the Duke of Mantua in OHP Rigoletto 2023 © Craig FullerCraig Fuller