Throughout its three acts, Giuseppe Verdi’s opera Rigoletto manages to pack in a sinister curse, a mistaken identity and a tragic murder. Now, thanks to a new production by director Vincent Huguet, the mystical tale of a Lothario duke and his court jester’s daughter has introduced its most exciting plot twist yet, in the form of a radically contemporary opera set by French interior designer Pierre Yovanovitch.

On view through June 21 at Switzerland’s Theater Basel, this latest staging layers a series of colourful curved walls that reflect both the narrative’s sweeping scale and its many dramatic turns. As the theatrics intensify, the walls revolve around circular tracks, compressing the performance space to claustrophobic proportions.

A sinuous back staircase and a series of custom furnishings complete the grandiose yet simple set-up. Rigoletto may be an opera about a hex — but its production design by Pierre Yovanovitch is pure magic.