BEST BETS Thursday 11/8

7:30pm

Opera

Rich with hit tunes, Verdi’s “Rigoletto” tells the story of a revenge plot gone wrong as a distraught father tries to avenge the rape of his daughter. Opera Pacific presents the Elijah Moshinsky contemporary production of this perennial favorite, originally designed for Opera Australia. Christopher Robertson and Louis Otey will alternate in the title role. Elena Kelessidi and Jane Giering-DeHaan will take turns as Gilda, Rigoletto’s daughter. Andrew Richards and Raul Hernandez will alternate as the corrupt duke of Mantua.* Opera Pacific, Orange County Performing Arts Center, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. Tonight at 7:30. Also Friday-Saturday, 7 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m. $25 to $175. (714) 556-2787.

8pm

Theater

Unlike William Shakespeare, who only got bit parts in the plays he wrote, Moliere was as much a first-stringer on stage as he was holding a quill. France’s greatest comic playwright performed the title role in the original production of “Scapin” 330 years ago. The lead character is a valet who is a comic genius of sorts. The action involves romantic entanglements and personal snits; Scapin orchestrates most of the goings-on, alternately complicating then sorting out the problems of the comedy’s distraught young lovers while egging on the parents who are their chief antagonists. This Cal State Fullerton theater department production leapfrogs during its run from the main campus to the Grand Central Art Center in Santa Ana.* “Scapin,” Arena Theatre, Cal State Fullerton, 800 N. State College Blvd. Today-Friday, 8 p.m; Saturday 2 and 8 p.m.; Sunday, 2 and 6:30 p.m. $9. Then at Grand Central Art Center, 125 N. Broadway, Santa Ana. Nov. 15-17, 8 p.m.; Nov. 18 and Dec. 2, 5 p.m.; Nov. 29-30, 8 p.m.; Dec. 1, 6 and 9 p.m. Ends Dec. 2. $10. (714) 278-3371 or www.tickets.com.