San Francisco Opera’s 2017 production of Verdi’s Rigoletto – © Cory Weaver/San Francisco Opera
The opening work of San Francisco Opera’s 103rd season is Giuseppe Verdi’s Rigoletto, his tragic tale of a father’s attempts to save his beloved daughter from a disastrous relationship. One of the most popular operas in the repertoire, this production of Rigoletto stars Mongolian baritone Amartuvshin Enkhbat in the title role, Romanian soprano Adela Zaharia is Rigoletto’s daughter Gilda, and tenor Yongzhao Yu is the Duke of Mantua.
Also in the cast are Chinese bass Peixin Chen who sings Sparafucile, his sister Maddalena is sung by mezzo-soprano J’Nai Bridges, and baritone Aleksey Bogdanov is Monterone, a nobleman. Jose Maria Condemi directs this production, and Music Director Eun Sun Kim leads the San Francisco Opera Orchestra and Chorus and the San Francisco Opera Dance Corps.
From the 2017 production of Verdi’s Rigoletto © Cory Weaver/San Francisco Opera
Verdi’s opera, written in 1851, has a libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, and was based on Victor Hugo’s play Le roi s’amuse. It was first performed at La Fenice in Venice on March 11, 1851, with the title La maledizione (The Curse). Rigoletto is the hunch-back jester at the court of the Duke of Mantua who – with the jester’s encouragement – has seduced the daughter of Monterone. Monterone, in his wrath, places a curse on both the Duke and Rigoletto, hence the original title of the opera.
Rigoletto, though, has his own daughter, Gilda, whom he tries to keep hidden from the court, but the Duke and Gilda eventually meet, and fall in love. Rigoletto ultimately finds out about this relationship, and – haunted by Monterone’s curse – plots to have the Duke murdered by Sparaficule, a local innkeeper who offers to do the dirty deed for him. Unfortunately for Rigoletto – who has spent his life manipulating others and taking pleasure from their discomfort – his plans go dreadfully awry, and his beloved daughter is killed instead, as a result of his own scheming – or perhaps because the curse of Monterone has partly been fulfilled.
Amartuvshin Enkhbat made his debut with San Francisco Opera as Count Anckarström in Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera in 2024, and has also taken part in the Company’s Opera in the Park. His recent engagements include the roles of Carlo Gérard in Giordano’s Andrea Chénier at Teatro Carlo Felice, Scarpia in Puccini’s Tosca, Don Carlo di Vargas in Verdi’s La forza del destino and Amonasra in the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Verdi’s Aida. He has sung the title role in Rigoletto at La Scala, Milan, at the Royal Opera in London and in Hamburg, Parma, Macerata and Geneva.
His engagements for the 2025/26 season include Rigoletto in Milan, Aida in Paris, Puccini’s Nabucco in Vienna, Verdi’s Macbeth in Munich, La traviata in New York and Simon Boccanegra in San Francisco.
Described as “a revelation” by Euronews, Adela Zaharia is known particularly as a belcanto and Mozart specialist. She portrayed Donna Anna in San Francisco Opera’s production of Mozart’s Don Giovanni in 2022 and last appeared on the stage of the War Memorial Opera House in the 100th Anniversary Concert. Previous highlights of the last season include the role of Violetta Valéry in La traviata at Deutsche Oper Berlin, at Deutsche Oper am Rhein and at Teatro Real Madrid. She also sang the title role in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor at Bavarian State Opera, at Deutsche Oper Berlin and at Vienna State Opera, followed by Donna Anna in Don Giovanni at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Paris Opera, Komische Oper Berlin and in Vienna.
Yongzhao Yu makes his Company debut as The Duke of Mantua. He has been praised for his “gleaming, powerful voice” and “thrilling top notes,” by Opera News, and made an acclaimed debut in the same role with English National Opera earlier this last season which also featured his return to the Metropolitan Opera as Rodolfo in Puccini’s La bohème and the Messenger in Aida as part of The Met: Live in HD simulcast series. He has performed the Duke of Mantua with Seattle Opera and, immediately after his appearance with San Francisco Opera, will perform this role for his Canadian debut with Vancouver Opera. This summer he is scheduled to portray Cavaradossi in a new production of Tosca at the Glimmerglass Festival, and will reprise the role with Pacific Opera Victoria.
Mezzo-soprano J’Nai Bridges has sung the title role in Bizet’s Carmen with the Company and was featured in the In Song series. Chinese bass Peixin Chen, who makes his debut with San Francisco Opera as Sparafucile, will also appear in Huang Ruo and David Henry Hwang’s The Monkey King this season. Ukrainian baritone Aleksey Bogdanov appeared for San Francisco Opera as one of the Four Noblemen of Brabant in Wagner’s Lohengrin, and also in this season’s Opera in the Park.
Also in the cast are current San Francisco Opera Adler Fellows Olivier Zerouali as Marullo, Samuel White as Borsa, Jongwon Han as Count Ceprano and Caroline Corrales as Countess Ceprano. Former Adler Fellow soprano Elisa Sunshine is the Page.
San Francisco Opera’s 2025–26 Season starts on Friday, September 5 with the annual Opera Ball, co-presented with San Francisco Opera Guild, and Rigoletto runs until September 27th.
The Saturday September 13 matinee performance of Rigoletto will be livestreamed at 2.00 pm PT. The opera will also be available to watch on demand for 48 hours beginning on Sunday, September 14 at 10.00 am PT. For tickets and more information about livestreams, visit sfopera.com/digital.
Information sourced from:
San Francisco Opera program notes
Artists’ websites
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