IL TIRRENO

Rigoletto, voice and techno

Technological opera production of the great masterpiece by Giuseppe Verdi “Rigoletto”

This technological opera production of the great masterpiece by Giuseppe Verdi “Rigoletto”, on a libretto by Francesco Maria Pavia, was first staged on an opening season of the Goldoni Theatre. A production with virtual scenery; so why not extend this idea to all forms of live stage entertainment?
Years after the achievements of Operama, driven by the vision of Maestro Giuseppe Raffa, specifically in the application of visual enhancement to classic performing stage arts, it seems that others have not made any impacting progress in this endeavour yet.
That opera season of some years back at the Goldoni opened with a masterpiece by Giuseppe Verdi on a libretto by Francesco Maria Pavia: “Rigoletto”. This debut, strongly desired by the Presidents of the board of directors of the Goldoni Theatre and their artistic director, deserves some considerations.
First of all it should be remembered that that artistic collective had been already committed for some years not only to the realization of important lyrical seasons, but also to the search of innovation while respecting tradition. This “Rigoletto” for example, used virtual scenography designed and executed by Operama directed and creatively driven by Giuseppe and Riccardo Raffa.
Only a few years before, it would have been unthinkable that an opera could be staged with video-projected, virtual scenery. Let alone featuring an interaction between the stage and the screen, between actual and virtual reality, that is. Well, this very evocative virtual reality, entered with full credit in the world of opera and was an innovation from which (in my opinion) it will not be possible to go back from. There is an emotional involvement of the spectator that exceeds the emotional baggage that opera still has in its DNA. Careful though, we are not talking about the future but rather of the present and above all, as already implied, of an innovation that is contiguous to tradition while embracing our visually and technologically driven times.
Merit was due to Riccardo Raffa and to the Conductor of that production of “Rigoletto”, Giuseppe Raffa, and merit was due also to, allow me, a cultural reality as the Goldoni Theatre that has believed in it. Deserved merit to everyone, in front and behind the stage.
Committed and affected as I am by virtual reality applied to opera and stage arts, I wonder (though it might be an idle question, since it is already probably going to be so); why not apply it to every form of live show and therefore to theatre and Musicals? So as to allow a considerable reduction in costs that do not only relate to the realization of traditional stage sets but, in the eventuality of tours, also with their onerous transport along with consequent lengthy and complicated assembly and disassembly? I would like to reassure all artists, stating that for the moment virtual reality cannot be extended to them; otherwise, the prospect would also be for a virtual audience.
To all those who have believed in and also collaborated towards this achievement, I would like to further say that: the obviously growing life expectancy might or will lead to, unless it is not already so, to an increase of audiences who love opera, the great melodrama that has made Italy famous all over the world. Beyond therefore alluring young people to opera which, must still also be a worthy commitment, let also us facilitate the vindication of those generations who already loved the lyrical theatre and that might have for some time now thought, that it was something that belonged solely to their youth

Maurizio Costanzo