Do as the locals do by enjoying one of Lombardia’s upcoming regional events:

GIUSEPPE VERDI’S RIGOLETTO

Location: Teatro Sociale di Mantova (Community Theater of Mantua)

Dates: Friday, October 29th, 2010

Why You Should Go: A once in a lifetime opportunity to see the world renowned operatic masterpiece performed in one of Italy’s most revered historical opera houses. Built between 1817 and 1822 by master architect Luigi Canonica and located in the heart of Mantova, the Teatro Sociale di Mantova is a shrine to opera with three types of stages and two galleries. The interior of the theater features elaborate scenes painted by the artist Francesco Hayez, depicting the gods Apollo and Minerva in various mythological situations.

Set in the Renaissance court of the Duke of Mantova and his notorious jester Rigoletto, Verdi’s masterpiece weaves together the themes of love, irony and revenge in an audacious and sometimes bawdy manner. So bawdy in fact, that the composer was forced to change the name of the opera several times and work in secret for fear of censorship by the Austrian regime governing Italy at the time. In a final concession, Verdi agreed to change the original setting of the opera from the French court to the court of the Gonzaga, Mantova’s noble ruling family. Seeing as the Gonzaga lineage had long since ended, there was little chance for the opera to offend any of Italy’s contemporary nobility. Thus the masterpiece as it is known today was born.

To experience Rigoletto at the epicenter of its narrative is to feel the story come to life in unprecedented authenticity, leaving you eager to explore the loggias and gardens of Mantova’s famed Gonzaga palace for yourself.