To kick off a season program that includes Gaetano Donizetti’s Don Pasquale and Geroges Bizet’s Carmen, the Lyric Opera presents Giuseppe Verdi’s classic work, Rigoletto. The ensemble cast includes Daisan No and Chen Ye Yuan in the title role, Amy Cofield as Gilda, Neil Harrelson as the Duke, and will feature the San Antonio Choral Society and the Lyric Opera Orchestra, comprised of San Antonio Symphony musicians.
| RIGOLETTO 7:30pm Friday, August 22 & Saturday, August 23 3pm Sunday, August 24 $15-55 McAllister Auditorium San Antonio College 1300 San Pedro 225-5972 (Lyric Opera box office) OPERA ENRICHMENT NIGHT AT THE PLAZA CLUB |
“It’s a beautiful time,” says Lyric Opera founding director Mark Richter of the weeks preceding the performance. “These people who don’t know each other from Adam come together for a 17-day rehearsal period. It’s not a natural thing, but all the different personalities come together as one voice: opera. And that’s the beauty, the power of the arts.”
Rigoletto will be staged at San Antonio College’s McAllister Auditorium, an accommodating 1,000-seat house. The rich production is enhanced by Lyric Opera receptions, including Opera Enrichment Night at the Plaza Club (on the top floor of the Frost Bank Building downtown) on the Thursday before opening night, giving audience members a chance to meet the cast and directors while learning about the opera. A champagne and dessert reception follows the opening night performance, a wine and cheese reception follows on Saturday night, and the Sunday matinee features a pre-opera luncheon at Capparelli’s on Main.
“Rigoletto is a sexy production, and opera is an experience,” says Richter. “We put the magic together so people can escape everyday life.” •
This article appears in Aug 20-26, 2003.