THE RUSSIAN State Ballet And Opera House will perform Verdi’s much-loved masterpiece Rigoletto in Halifax.

The company is returning to the Victoria Theatre after delighting audiences last year with two successful performances of Carmen and La Traviata.

Rigoletto is described as a tragic tale of misunderstanding, revenge and sacrifice, and is based on a play by Les Miserables novelist Victor Hugo.

Giuseppe Verdi wrote it after being commissioned to write a new work by La Fenice Opera House in Venice in 1850.

By this time he was already a well-known composer and had a degree of freedom in choosing the works he would prefer to set to music.

Rigoletto is often described as Verdi’s first work of complete genius, and is noted for its subtle and highly original characterisation, especially in the case of the tragic court jester Rigoletto.

The story revolves around the hunchbacked court jester Rigoletto, his beautiful daughter Gilda – who he has kept secret from the court – and the Duke of Mantua whom he serves.

Visit victoriatheatre.co.uk or call 01422 351158 to book tickets.