Italian baritone Nucci teams up with Shanghai Symphony Orchestra for another rendition of Rigoletto

Italian baritone Leo Nucci, who has interpreted Rigoletto the most in opera history, gave his first performance in Shanghai over the weekend, with another scheduled for Tuesday evening.

Nucci collaborated with a top Chinese cast, including soprano Yu Guanqun, tenor Xiahou Jinxu, mezzo-soprano Zhu Huiling, and bass Wu Wei, supported by the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Zhang Lu.

"I've probably performed the 'Rigoletto' about 600 times since my first performance in 1973, with my wife as Gilda. If you count all of the concerts, I have sung it over 4,000 times, but there is always something new," the 83-year-old said.

"You must modify your situation, your voice, and join the character – not imagine, but truly live and personalize it. It's such a masterpiece that I can't stop singing it."

Giuseppe Verdi's "Rigoletto" premiered on March 11, 1851, in Venice and has remained one of his most popular operas. Since "Rigoletto," the composer has pushed minor characters, who are not often the protagonists, into the center of the narrative.

Nucci, born in 1942, made his stage debut in Spoleto as Figaro in Rossini's "Il barbiere di Siviglia." He made his solo debut at La Scala in 1975, after previously performing in the chorus.

The Italian, who dominates the repertory of Verdi and other Italian operas, once told the media that the two characters he felt most close to were Francesco Foscari in Verdi's "I due Foscari" and Gianni Schicchi in Giacomo Puccini's namesake opera. Rigoletto is a scoundrel with whom he has no close relationship, yet it is a masterpiece from an artistic standpoint.

Rigoletto, he said, watches his daughter die at the end of the opera. Nobody accepts responsibility for the tragedy, which is seen as normal. That is when the audience genuinely connects with this great fictional role.

Zhang was conducting an opera for the first time.

"It's very different from conducting a symphony orchestra, where the conductor is to lead and interpret the piece," he said.

"In opera, as Nucci said, every note is intimately tied to the plot. The conductor has to stay close to both the plot and the musical development, working with the singers to adapt to any changes on stage."

Date: March 11, 7:30pm

Venue: Shanghai Symphony Orchestra

Address: 1380 Fuxing Rd M. 復興中路1380號