First performed in Venice in 1851, Rigoletto is considered by many to be Giuseppe Verdi's greatest masterpiece. Join the SF Opera (North America's second largest) for a special performance of the tragic story of one of opera's most vivid and compelling characters.

Watch the SF Opera's masterful depiction of a vengeful court jester, as he desperately tries to protect his daughter from disaster in this heart-wrenching tragedy.

The first of two world-class casts led by Music Director Nicola Luisotti stars Željko Lučić, "whose vocal artistry is exceptional" (The New York Times); Aleksandra Kurzak, "a superstar in the making" (The Guardian, London); and, as the lecherous Duke, Francesco Demuro, "whose open, bright, superbly focused tone was reminiscent of Pavarotti" (Opera News).

The equally impressive next cast stars Marco Vratogna, who, as the sinister Iago in Otello (2009), thrilled San Francisco Opera audiences with his "vocal power and theatrical electricity" (San Francisco Chronicle); Albina Shagimuratova, "a phenomenon that must be heard to be believed" (Opera News); and former Adler Fellow David Lomelí, a "breakout star with a honeyed sound" (The New Yorker).

Rigoletto it sung in Italian with English supertitles. Approximate running time: 2 hours, 35 minutes including one intermission