Lyric Opera of Baltimore presents a worthwhile 'Rigoletto'

The world celebrates the 200th anniversary of Giuseppe Verdi's birth this October, but opera companies hardly need any encouragement to stage the Italian composer's works. Lyric Opera of Baltimore's staging of "Rigoletto," heard on Friday night at the Modell Performing Arts Center at the Lyric, offered another chance to appreciate the mastery of Verdi's first great achievement, given its premiere at Venice's Teatro La Fenice in 1851.