We can’t be the only people bored by the Real Housewives shows, right? After nearly a decade, the duplicitous deeds and squawk-filled squabbles seem so half-hearted. If you’re ready to significantly upgrade your level of drama, the Arizona Opera’s take on Giuseppe Verdi’s 1851 masterpiece Rigoletto is playing Friday, November 14.
Unlike the cable reality shows that barely perk up our glazed eyes, the intrigue in Rigoletto has stood the test of time. The namesake of the opera, the gnarled and hunchbacked jester of the Duke of Mantua’s court has long delighted in humiliating the Duke’s other underlings. The Duke, meanwhile, is quite the player, bedding the city’s available young ladies until Count Monterone curses him and Rigoletto for seducing his daughter. The Duke shrugs it off but his jester’s fear sets off treachery that will change everyone’s life forever.
Arizona Opera’s production of Rigoletto is at Phoenix Symphony Hall, 75 North Second Street, and continues through Sunday. Admission ranges from $25 to $135. For more information, visit www.azopera.org.
Fri., Nov. 14, 7:30 p.m.; Sat., Nov. 15, 7:30 p.m.; Sun., Nov. 16, 2 p.m., 2014
