A beautiful daughter, a curse and the opera

MANILA, Philippines - Giuseppe Verdi’s masterpiece, Rigoletto, tells the story of the Duke of Mantua, court jester Rigoletto and Rigoletto’s daughter Gilda, and a tragic curse. The rarely performed opera will be staged on Aug. 22 at 7 pm and Aug. 24 at 3 pm at the CCP Main Theater.

Rigoletto, an opera in four acts, is considered by many to be the first of Verdi’s masterpieces in the latter part of his career. Its tragic story revolves around the licentious Duke of Mantua, his hunchback court jester Rigoletto and Rigoletto’s beautiful daughter Gilda. The opera’s original title, La Maledizione (The Curse), refers to the curse placed on both the Duke and Rigoletto by a courtier whose daughter had been seduced by the Duke with Rigoletto’s encouragement. The curse comes to fruition when Gilda likewise falls in love with the Duke and eventually sacrifices her life to save him from the assassins hired by her father.

With Jae Joon Lee conducting the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra and Floy Quintos as stage director, acclaimed Filipino singers Ronan Ferrer, Nenen Espina, Thea Perez, Jun Francis Jaranilla, Noel Azcona and the male members of the Coro Tomasino are joined by multi-awarded Korean guest artists.

The title role will be played by internationally-acclaimed baritone Daesan No, a graduate of the Peabody Conservatory of Music and the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia. He has performed the role of Falstaff in Tanglewood under the baton of Seiji Ozawa, the lead role in Rigoletto and Leporello in Don Giovanni with the Lyric Opera of San Antonio, Scarpia in Puccini’s Tosca and Escamillo in Carmen with the New York City Opera and Opera Grand Rapids. He had performed with the BBC National Orchestra at the Barbican Hall in London, the Montreal Symphony and the Mexico Symphony Orchestra at the Palacio de Bellas Artes.

Soprano Yun Kyoung Yi, who plays the beautiful Gilda, is a multi-awarded singer both in her native Korea and abroad. In 2002, she won the Grand Prix at the 4th Gotaeguk Voice Competition in Busan as well as the Best Prize at the 20th National Voice Competition sponsored by the Korea Music Association. She captured the second prize at the 9th National Suri Music Competition and the top female prize in the 29th Jungang Music competition. She was the finalist at the 4th De Nardis International voice competition (Italy), as well as finalist and special prize winner at the 44th Japan-Italy voice competition (Japan). She emerged as the second prize winner at the 37th Bellini international competition (Italy), where no first prize was awarded.

Tenor Jae Wook Lee has performed in numerous operas in Italy, Singapore, the Philippines, Ecuador and South Korea, portraying lead roles in Verdi’s La Traviata, Rigoletto and Nabucco, Puccini’s La Boheme, Turandot, Madame Butterfly and Manon Lescaut, Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor and L’Elisir d’Amore, Mozart’s Doe Zauberflote and Cosi fan Tutte, Strauss’ Die Fledermaus, Lehar’s The Merry Widow, Bizet’s Carmen, Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmelites and Korean operas Choon Hyang Jean and Guibyang. He had also given recitals in Italy, Germany, China, Japan, Singapore, Hongkong, South America, and South Korea. A first prize winner in the National Vocal Competition in Korea, he was also a laureate in the International Competitions of Montserrat Caballe, Rosetum and Nino Carta. 

Proceeds of the production will go to the rehabilitation of the heritage sites in Bohol destroyed by the recent earthquake and Typhoon Yolanda through the Bohol Restoration Group.

Rigoletto goes on stage at the CCP Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (Main Theater) on Aug. 22 and 24. For inquiries, contact the CCP Box Office at 832-3704.