Verdi, Good Wine, and Ruins With a View
Aug 03, 2012
A scene from the open-air premiere of Verdi's Rigoletto at the Babenberger Burgruine in Gars am Kamp in July 2012 (Photo: Photo: www.opernair.at)
Verdi's Rigoletto
Considered one of the finest of Verdi’s middle career, this tragic opera follows the cursed fates of the Duke of Mantua, an infamous womanizer, his hunchbacked court jester Rigoletto, and Rigoletto’s daughter. The Vienna Review’s opera critic Oliver MacDonald calls it Verdi’s "beautifully poignant tearjerker".
The picturesque open-air venue - in the midst of the Kamp Valley north of Krems, the stage set in front of the Babenburg castle ruins - offers an ideal summer weekend getaway from the city; wine connoisseurs should not miss the opportunity to taste the region’s excellent wines.
Friday, Saturday and Sunday are the final performances of the opera. With Hungarian-Romanian baritone Michele Kalmandi as Rigoletto and Florian Krumpöck conducting.
3-5 Aug., 20:00
Babenburger Burgruine Gars/Thunau am Schlossberg
3571 Gars am Kamp
For more on this summer’s festivals, see Cynthia Peck’s "Concerts in the Park" in TVR Jul/Aug 2012.