As with most major opera companies, Opera Australia has a handful of productions that are so popular with their audiences they're revived time and time again. Towards the top of that list is Elijah Moshinsky's 1991 production of Rigoletto, which is returning to the Sydney Opera House. The company premiered a new production of the opera by director Roger Hodgman in 2014, but OA has opted to revive Moshinsky's.
It's one of the company's most visually striking productions, with La Dolce Vita-inspired revolving sets and costumes by two-time Tony Award-winner Michael Yeargan. This time around, Slovak baritone Dalibor Jenis will be playing the tragic titular court jester. Russian soprano Irina Lungu will play his daughter Gilda,a role she's performed at New York's Metropolitan Opera. This production marks her Opera Australia debut.
Opera Australia favourite Gianluca Terranova plays the Duke and will sing one of Verdi's best known tunes, 'La donna è mobile', which you probably know from a pasta sauce ad.