By Claire Faulkner
I’ll be honest, I never really thought opera was my first love when it came to the theatre.
However, at some point during the performance of ‘Rigoletto’ at Nantwich Civic Hall, I found myself completely immersed in the story and those performing it on stage.
Presented by Heritage Opera, ‘Rigoletto’ tells the story of a cursed man who, through deceit, betrayal and mistaken identity loses his only daughter.
The cast were simply outstanding.
I was left spellbound by the beautiful music by Verdi, and transfixed with the incredible voices of Mark Saberton as ‘Rigoletto’, Nicholas Sales as ‘The Duke of Mantua’ and Sarah Helsby Hughes as ‘Gilda’.
A tale of deceit, betrayal and murder, ‘Rigoletto’ hooked me in quickly and held my attention throughout.
Lilly Papaioannou as ‘Maddalena’ was just brilliant as she taunted the Duke, and then begged for his life to be spared.
Heritage Opera has left me wanting more.
Well done to all the cast and crew who took part in this production.
If you enjoy going to the theatre, and haven’t yet tried the opera I urge you to try and catch the next production from Heritage Opera.
They return to perform in Nantwich in August with ‘The Marriage of Figaro’.
(pic courtesy of www.heritageopera.co.uk)
Heritage Opera is an amazing company that keeps getting better and better. Young singers get to work alongside brilliant directors and performers like Mark Saberton, Nick Sales and Sarah Helsby-Hughes. We’re big fans!