Aurelio Domínguez portrays Verdi’s Duke of Mantua with empathy

Aurelio Dominguez took on the meaty role of the Duke of Mantua in Virginia Opera’s season opener “Rigoletto,” just one more coincidence that has propelled him forward as he pursues an operatic career. While filling in for an ailing singer last summer at the request of a Washington-area amateur group, he caught the eye of Joseph Walsh, the company’s associate conductor and choir director. Walsh was on hand to present a master class and then cornered Dominguez and said, “We need to talk.”

The result was a meeting with Peter Mark, founder and artistic director of VO, and an invitation to become a member of the company’s Spectrum Artist-in-Residence program. For VO’s first production last season, he played the tenor role of Rodolfo in “La Bohème” while singing Parpignol, followed by Tonio’s version in “Daughter of the Regiment” and sang the role of A Peasant. He now plays the roué who inadvertently causes the death of the woman he truly loves, Gilda, the daughter of the court jester Rigoletto.

Domínguez acknowledges that most opera-goers see the duke as a despicable man, but his point of view is different. The Duke is certainly immature, not ready to start a family, and plagued with many problems to solve. However, even though he does not take marriage seriously, Domínguez believes that the Duke has many good qualities. That perspective of his is revealed when he and Gilda sing “Caro nome”, a sign that he truly loves her and is willing to throw her power out the window.

Domínguez’s character had to be renamed by composer Guiseppe Verdi when the censors complained. Hailed today as one of Verdi’s greatest operas, it was one of several that required a change in plot. Verdi based the libretto for “Rigoletto” on a story by Victor Hugo that depicted a king of France as an immoral womanizer. This was not acceptable to Northern European censors during the Restoration period. He eventually overcame his objections by turning the character into an Italian duke.

Dominguez earned this coveted role after an accidental long trip to Washington, DC. Growing up in Caracas, Venezuela, she studied viola at the local conservatory. Between lessons, he chatted with the voice teacher in the next room, who encouraged him to develop his tenor voice. Good fortune soon came in the person of Kathleen Wilson, a specialist in Latin American art songs, who was on sabbatical leave at the University of New Hampshire. Impressed with his voice, she was instrumental in helping him get a scholarship there.

After he graduated in 1999 with a bachelor’s degree in Music and Spanish, she encouraged him to pursue graduate studies at the Catholic University. He quickly became active throughout the Washington, DC area, singing with the Baltimore Municipal Opera Company, at the Asian American Opera Festival, and as a soloist or ensemble at numerous musical events. Now a member of the Washington National Opera choir, he was delighted to meet and be directed by Plàcido Domingo, one of his heroes.

Poised for a rewarding career in opera, Domínguez hopes to play the role of the Duke of Mantua with many opera companies in the future. As well as the fun of playing a socially dysfunctional man whose main problem is the sheer number of women throwing themselves at him, the role comes with three meaty arias that are well paced, one of the best Verdi has ever written, and perfectly suits your voice. .