STIFFELIO Will Open at Sarasota Opera

Last seen in Sarasota in 2005, Verdi's opera about infidelity and forgiveness, Stiffelio, opens Saturday, March 15. Written just before Rigoletto, this long-neglected, emotionally charged work is now recognized as an important opera by Verdi.

Stiffelio, a Protestant minister, returns from a mission abroad to be confronted by his wife's infidelity. He faces his wife's transgression, battling his all-too human emotions with his religious faith.

The opera is based on the French play Le pasteur, ou L'évangile et le foyer by Émile Souvestre and Eugène Bourgeois and is more realistic than other more melodramatic works Verdi had produced. Operatic subjects in Italy were under strict censorship in the 1850s, and the authorities in Trieste, where the opera was first seen, insisted on many changes. Verdi made several revisions but ultimately withdrew the opera.

It was not until 1968 that a reconstructed version was performed. In 1993, the original score was published in its original form, the opera has sine had a number of successful productions.

The opera delves into themes of faith, forgiveness, and marital fidelity. There are several significant musical highlights including a powerful first-act finale, Lina's Act II prayer, Stankar's Act III vengeance aria, and the moving conclusion to the opera.

Tenor Victor Starsky will sing the title role. A native of Queens, New York, he made his Sarasota debut last season as Don José in Bizet's Carmen. He has sung the roles of the Duke of Mantua in Verdi's Rigoletto with Opera Modesto, Radamès in Verdi's Aïda, and Nemorino in Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore with Charlottesville Opera.

Canadian-Italian soprano Aviva Fortunata returns to Sarasota to sing the role of Lina. She made her Sarasota debut in 2023 as Elvira in Verdi's Ernani and sang the title role in Verdi's Luisa Miller here in 2024. She was named twice as one of CBC's Top 30 Canadian Classical Artists Under 30. Fortunata is an alumna of the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio Program.

Baritone Ricardo José Rivera is back in Sarasota, singing the role of Count Stankar. He performed the role of Miller in Verdi's Luisa Miller in 2024 and Don Carlo in the company's 2023 production of Verdi's Ernani. Last season he also performed Nottingham in Roberto Devereux with Washington Concert Opera, Severo in Donizetti's Poliuto with Teatro Nuovo, and Silvio in Pagliacci with Opera San Antonio.

Bass Young Bok Kim, marking his 21st year with Sarasota Opera, will sing the role of Jorg. In Sarasota, he has sung the title role in Verdi's Attila, Sparafucile in Verdi's Rigoletto, and Raimondo in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, among others. A native of South Korea, he has sung Don Alfonso in Mozart's Così fan tutte with the National Opera of Korea and the Seoul Metropolitan Opera. Kim currently lives in New York where he made his New York City Opera debut as Colline in La bohème. He also is performing the role of Don Basilio in Sarasota Opera's current production of Rossini's The Barber of Seville.

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