Performer: Paolo Gavanelli

A huge revolving grey monolith centre stage dominated a grey floor, grey props and men in grey costumes, all detracting from the gaiety Verdi envisaged as the essence of Falstaff.

For the opening production in its 35th anniversary season, Opéra de Montréal pulled out all the stops in Verdi’s Nabucco, presented as a re-enactment of its première in 1842.

Rigoletto is what an opera promoter might describe as a "banker": it's a safe bet to get those seats filled and keep the audience happy. There's a rare blend of gorgeously beautiful music allied to darkly nasty drama that gives the opera enormous, continuing appeal.