Frasquita
Roberto Alagna, Marina Poplavskaya, Beatrice Uria-Monzon are hot hot hot. This Carmen perfectly hits the gypsy theme as a way of life rather than just some sleazy seductress. This Carmen is troubled, intense, manipulative and totally believable as "damaged". Alagna plays his part brilliantly. He is seduced and naive. He is angry and frustrated. He has that "I can fix her" syndrome. Poplavskaya is always a pleasure in my book---and this role, while a small part, suits her. She is very naive and lost in the shuffle of the military and the gypsies...perfect. Some of this is even a little disturbing as the gypsies put a little lipstick on a very young girl. Brilliant. In all, this is a fantastic production.
Paggio
In Rigoletto, the deformed figure of the hunchbacked jester at the Mantuan court acts as a foil to his cynical and powerful master, an unscrupulous philanderer contrasted with his cruel and unforgiving fool. Rigoletto encourages and welcomes the Duke's conquests, pitilessly mocking his victims until he discovers that the Duke has abducted the one person he genuinely loves, his own daughter. As a result, the character of the court jester is transformed into a tragic figure who, in spite of his evident immorality and malice, allows us to sense the devotion he feels for his daughter and his horror at being destroyed by the same despotic world as that which he himself has helped to create.
