"fluid staging from director Kathleen Belcher"
"Verdi’s Rigoletto may be standard, bread and butter operatic repertoire but there is nothing staid or routine about Florida Grand Opera’s new production, seen opening night at the Arsht Center on Saturday. . . Fielding a first-rate cast from the major leads to the smallest roles, Kathleen Belcher’s staging turns Victor Hugo’s melodramatic story (on which the opera is based) into a thriller that keeps the viewer on the edge of his seat. . .
Matt Boehler had the faux dignified bearing and black, low bass for the professional assassin Sparafucile. . .
Belcher’s stage direction had cinematic weep, providing real suspense at every plot twist. This was vividly staged and acted musical melodrama, wholly avoiding the old fashioned tendency to just stand and sing."
