'Rigoletto' review — Oliver Mears' elemental production is Verdi's opera at its very best

Read our review of Rigoletto, starring Daniel Luis De Vicente, now in performances at the Royal Opera House to 23 April.

Summary

• Oliver Mears' production of Verdi's Rigoletto returns to the Royal Opera House
• The production is a powerful visual feast that mixes Renaissance and modern influences
• Daniel Luis De Vincente is excellent as the father who becomes driven by revenge
• The strong cast also features Rose Feola and Ivan Ayon Rivas

Oliver Mears’ Rigoletto has returned to the Royal Opera House and, gosh, are we pleased to have it. Verdi’s tragedy about the jester to a womanising duke is one of his most beloved, but it remains a tricky piece to get right. Mears’ production dials up the darkness, with big maroon walls that look as though they’ve been sketched over in thin, jagged black lines. We’re in a Mantua mixed with classical and modern influences, with a Renaissance painting from the Duke’s collection hanging dominantly over his party, while the costumes appear to take some influence from the 1980s. All of it, though, is a rich and powerful sight.

The beauty of Mears’ direction lies in its images. The opera opens with a tableau of the Duke’s party, so still and splendid that it looks lifted from his private collection. Movement by Anna Morrissey sends the party guests into a flurry of flamboyant, angular gestures. Later, Gilda’s bedroom hovers against the sky behind a white translucent curtain. Best of all is the final raging storm, which sends rain pouring into puddles across the stage, with flashes of wild lightning cracking throughout the Opera House. The final picture is kept simple: Rigoletto lying with his dying daughter, covered in her own blood, before a lightly sketched river backdrop. It feels deeply sinister.

The Shakespearean influences are present throughout – Monterone’s eyes are gouged out in a distinctly Lear-esque act – and Mark Elder, celebrating his 50th year conducting at Covent Garden, leads his musicians in playing the score at its absolute finest. Tragedy stalks every scene: Rigoletto is obsessed with Monterone’s curse, willing horror not to fall upon him, yet constantly expecting it to strike.

In the title role, Daniel Luis De Vicente is bitter, fixated, and desperate for revenge, with his tone tipping into absolute despair by the end. He moves convincingly between fool and father, encouraging laughter one moment and becoming a sensitive protector the next. This is aided by the pure naivety of Rose Feola’s Gilda; she is silky smooth in her high notes and utterly entranced by the Duke, refusing to believe his betrayal even as it unfolds before her eyes. Leaning into the Duke’s callousness, Ivan Ayon Rivas is power-crazed and full of schemes; his ‘La donna è mobile’ drips suitably with vanity.

In many ways, it is Rigoletto much as you expect: devastating, ill-fated, and elemental. But here, it is done at its very best. Every character is pushed to their emotional extremes, and Mears draws out every ounce of nastiness from the drama. And if it's a stormy classic you’re after, well, you’ll more than find it here.

Rigoletto is at the Royal Opera House to 23 April. Book Rigoletto tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk

Photo credit: Rigoletto (Photos by Marc Brenner)