Article: Rigoletto"Jester's Revenge: Opera New Jersey presents Verdi's Rigoletto"Princeton Packet (Anthony Stoeckert) In an era when directors are known to stage drastically different interpretations of operas, Michael Scarola prefers a less radical approach. When he directs Opera New Jersey’s concert-staged production of Rigoletto, you won’t see things like, say, performers singing their roles in ape costumes. That may sound far-fetched but it was done in a 2005 Munich performance of the Verdi favorite, set on the ”They were all dressed as apes,” Mr. Scarola says. “I don’t feel the need to do that. I trust the material more than that.” Thinking up simian visions may have led to more fame and money, but Mr. Scarola is happy with, and proud of, the path he’s taken — one that is still adventurous and where new insights and ideas can be discovered while staying faithful to the material. ”I feel that I can make an audience understand and be moved by the story by working with what’s there if That’s the approach he’ll bring to Rigoletto at McCarter Theatre in Princeton Feb. 8 and the State Theatre in New Brunswick Feb. 10. In one of the most popular of all operas, the title character is a hunchbacked jester for the Duke of Mantua who lusts after an unknown young lady. The Duke’s obsession doesn’t keep him from chasing Count Ceprano’s wife. When Ceprano objects, the Duke has him arrested and Rigoletto mocks him, after which the count places a curse on the jester. We soon learn the young woman the Duke is chasing is Rigoletto’s daughter Gilda. Gilda is the light of But this is an opera, so events are certain to turn tragic. Sparafucile is hired by Rigoletto to kill the Duke, but the assassin’s sister convinces him to spare the Duke’s life because she has fallen in love with him. Kevin Langan is singing the role of Sparafucile for what he says is somewhere between the 70th and 100th time. Even so, he’s looking forward to working with a new director and making new discoveries about the role. ”Based on the production style, you’re constantly bringing new ideas and fresh ideas to the role,” Mr. Langan says. “That’s what I enjoy most about, I think, singing nowadays. I look forward to working with new directors and having new concepts given to me about how to do the role.” Mr. Langan, who is making his Opera New Jersey debut, has sung for the Metropolitan Opera, Houston The lifelong New Jersey resident (he was raised in Middletown and lives in Shrewsbury) made his debut with the New Jersey State Opera in Newark in the 1970s. ”It’s nice to come full circle and come back to my home state and sing with the new pre-eminent company in New Jersey,” he says. Mr. Langan got involved with Opera New Jersey through the company’s general [artistic] director, Scott Altman. The two met years ago while singing in Don Giovanni in Austin, Texas. For Mr. Scarola, 2008 is starting off in a very Verdi fashion. Before Rigoletto, he’s directing Macbeth for He says a short rehearsal period actually helps with that process. ”What’s fascinating about it is that because we are working so intensely, the ideas just start popping up almost quicker than we can keep up with them,” he says. “So we go in with a very distinct plan on what we want to do. But at the same time, once I meet with the singers, we discover all these really interesting things that we can do.” For the director, the concert-staged format also provides opportunities for innovation. The performances will feature full costumes with the singers acting their roles as well as singing. But sets will be minimal and the orchestra will be on stage. This will result in communication between the singers and the maestro, which Mr. Scarola expects will “keep things tight musically.” Of the concert-staged format, Mr. Scarola says, “It puts a lot of extra responsibility on us to be very creative in giving the audience a sense that there is a lot more on stage than there really is.” ”Sometimes that can be to your advantage,” Mr. Langan says of concert-staged operas. “The audience can imagine the situation that’s happening, based on what they’re hearing and what the text is saying. It becomes a fantasy-type situation for the audience to try to imagine exactly what the situation is on stage.” ”Because we had this incredible cast that we were able to gather, Rigoletto seemed a very logical choice,” Mr. Scarola says. Working with Opera New Jersey (formerly New Jersey Opera, and before that New Jersey Opera Theater) and seeing it grow in its five years is something Mr. Scarola takes pride in. He was particularly happy when last summer’s Pirates of Penzance brought in younger opera-goers, whom he says will be needed to keep opera thriving. ”I was so thrilled to see, literally, kids and teenagers and, which to an extent is even more surprising, young people in their 20s coming to the opera,” he says. “To me, you can’t ask for anything better than that. If you can get them hooked now, they’re going to be the future opera audiences.” |
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