Rigoletto, directed by David Bösch, was performed on the Main Stage in 2022. Here, you can read his thoughts on the opera. The text was included in the performance programme.
Buy show programmes either in our cafés, cloakrooms and Opera shop, or when you book your ticket online.
When you buy a programme, you also get access to a digital version that you can read on your tablet, smart phone or computer. We will email you a link with how to access the digital version information a few days before the performance.
According to director David Bösch, all good stories deal with big, existential questions. Rigoletto is no exception.
“As adults we reflect on ourselves and the world. We think we know a lot, but honestly – we know nothing. Music can bring us closer to our hidden, quiet emotions.
Storytelling has always played a major role in my life. Opera is music combined with narrative, characters, and imagery. I work as a director, but I am first and foremost a human being who observes and listens to stories. I love going to the cinema – something I’ve done since I was a child. Immersing myself in a narrative and sumberging under the surface of a story is a way to get closer to myself. When the film ends, I return to the surface. Maybe the sun is shining up there. I take a deep breath and begin to breathe again – a little more freely, a little more lightly.
Rigoletto is an opera featuring some of the most beautiful music ever composed; in my view, it is Verdi’s finest work. Describing it is no easy task. Consider the sheer number of notes Verdi penned to bring this story to life – but in this interview I have only a few sentences to do it justice. Like all great stories, Rigoletto explores themes of love and loss. It touches upon trust and our choices regarding how we wish to live, and how we wish to die. Every compelling story – whether in film, literature, or musical drama – grapples with such existential questions. The narrative reminds us that life is not just a series of small, everyday choices; they remind us that we occasionally must make life-changing decisions, helping us recognise when we find ourselves at a crossroads.
I am deeply moved by the love depicted in Rigoletto. Love can be the most wonderful thing imaginable, yet also the worst. Love is both heaven and hell. And the price we pay for love is sorrow and pain. Rigoletto is also a story about daring to let go of the person or thing one loves. If you hold on too tightly, it may be lost.
Ólafur Sigurdarson as Rigoletto, 2021. Photo: Lennart Sjöberg.
Rigoletto is a perfect entry-point into opera. The story is filled with suspense, emotion, and extraordinary music. So, we tell this story again and again – because everyone deserves the chance to experience and get to know it. It doesn’t matter that the opera has been staged many, many times, or that critics may have already seen twenty different productions. Perhaps, this time, a 15-year-old boy will be captivated by the story and the music, finding a connection to his own hidden, quiet emotions. He may never return, but for a brief moment, we were able to reach him.
And finally: what a fantastic place Gothenburg is! I am so fond of this city, and I truly love being in this opera house. Rarely have I encountered such kindness, warmth, and humor. I am overwhelmed.”
