On Oct. 20 Verdi's masterpiece "Rigoletto" will return with two of the most acclaimed baritones, George Gagnidze and Željko Lučić in Michael Mayer's Las Vegas production.

The Music

Verdi's score for "Rigoletto" is among the most popular in the repertoire and includes some of the famous melodies for tenor. This includes the famous "La Donna è mobile," which has been recorded by every great tenor and appeared often in movies, commercials and other media.

The opera also contain the famous Act III quartet, "Bella figlia dell'amore." This ingenious musical passage expresses the reactions of the four principal characters in the same moment. The Duke's music rises with romantic (and sexual) ardor and urgency, but Gilda's droops with disappointment. Rigoletto's remains measured and paternal, while the promiscuous Maddalena is literally all over the place, her mocking vocal gestures suggesting her heightened sexual excitement. 

The opera is also regarded as a revolutionary work in the Verdi canon for breaking the formulaic structure of Italian opera. As musicologist Julian Budden notes, "There is only one conventional double aria [...and there are...] no concerted act finales."

The History

"Rigoletto" was first performed at the Met in 1883 with Luigi Guadagnini in the title role in his debut with the company. Famous soprano Maria Sembrich and tenor Roberto Stagno were also part of the cast. Since then the opera has been performed 863 times with many of the most famous singers in lead roles and ranks, and it has become the sixth most performed work in the company's history.

In the late 1800s, Nellie Melba offered one of the most famous interpretations of Gilda. Melba performed the work numerous times and gave encores of Donizetti's "Lucia di Lammermoor's" mad scene after the opera. World famous Enrico Caruso made his Met debut in the role of the Duke of Mantua in 1903 on the opening night of that year.  

Leonard Warren also sang the role numerous times at the Met and became one of the famous interpreters of Rigoletto in his time. Giuseppe Di Stefano similarly made his Met debut in the role of the Duke in 1948.

Other famous interpreters of the work who performed at the Met include Hilde Güden, Roberta Peters, Robert Merrill, Rosalind Elias, Cornell MacNeil, Richard Tucker, Alfredo Kraus, Luciano Pavarotti, Plácido Domingo, Ileana CotrubaÈ™, Mariella Devia, Sherrill Milnes. Leo Nucci, Ramón Vargas, Ruth Ann Swenson and Roberto Alagna.

Most recently Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazón performed the roles of Gilda and the Duke. Meanwhile Maltese tenor Joseph Calleja and Polish Tenor Piotr Beczala made their Met debuts in the role of the Duke. Other notable artists who have recently performed include German soprano Diana Damrau and Georgian soprano Nino Machaidze.   

The Production

The Met's current production, directed by Michael Mayer, premiered on Jan. 28, 2013. It was also featured on the Met's "Live in HD" series and later released on iTunes and DVD. After a number of traditional productions set in the non-royal Renaissance court of Mantua, Mayer's latest production is set in Las Vegas in 1960. This version seeks to show a time and place that parallels the decadent world of the original setting. Audiences have come to love the production's use of colorful sets and lighting effects, making it one of the most successful productions in General Manager Peter Gelb's tenure.

For the premiere, Željko Lučić took on the title role, with Piotr Beczala in the role of the Duke and Diana Damrau in the role of Gilda. 

Other singers who have starred in the production include George Gagnidze, Vittorio Grigolo, Lisette Oropesa and Nancy Fabiola Herrera.

Acclaimed baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky brought his acclaimed interpretation of Rigoletto to the Met for the first time in Mayer's production and rising star Sonya Yoncheva made her Met debut as well.

The Performers

George Gagnidze will return to his acclaimed Rigoletto, the role with which he made his Met debut. Gagnidze has become well known for his portrayal as he has performed the role all around the world including Milan and Los Angeles and will perform it at the Deutsche Oper

Željko Lučić will once again reprise the title role in the second run of performances. The singer orginated the current Mayer production back in 2013.  

Olga Peretyatko returns to the Met after her debut in 2014 in Bellini's "Puritani." The coloratura soprano will sing the role of Gilda, a role she has performed in Venice, Verona, Vienna and Zurich. She will also perform it in Paris and Berlin this season.

Nadine Sierra will alternate the role in her Met debut, while Herrera and and Katarina Leon will alternate the role of Maddalena.

In the role of the Duke, Beczala will reprise his acclaimed interpretation that Met audiences first heard in 2006, which he has since performed in Paris, Munich and Vienna. In the past, Beczala has sung a number of Verdi roles, including "Un Ballo in Maschera," "La Traviata" and Requiem. American tenor Stephen Costello and French tenor Jean-François Borras will alternate.

Stefan Kocan and Dimitry Ivashchenko will sing the role of Sparafucile.

Pablo Heras-Casado and Roberto Abbado will alternate conducting duties. The opera will be performed 15 times with runs in October, November and December.