Customer Reviews

Rigoletto Hlts / Great Moments 8 [VHS]

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This video is not Rigoletto at Verona, it is the opera produced as a film in Mantua, the actual setting of the opera. The town, the river, and the splendid ducal palace are the settings for what is really a gorgeous and thrilling production. In addition to Pavarotti as the duke, the cast features Ingmar Wixell as a superb Rigoletto and Edita Gruberova as an ethereal and convincing Gilda. The horrors of the story are powerfully and movingly played out through tremendous singing and a terrific production job. Fabulous, and haunting.

Okay, first off, it's a FILM version of the opera, so one can't quite judge it by the standards of a recorded live opera. After being a devoted opera fan for over 20 years, I need to mention that ANYONE, not only "newbies" will enjoy it. What I immediately noticed was the fact that the opera score is here without omissions, a problem that haunts many attempts of making a good opera film. "Otello" or "La Traviata", for instance, are superbly staged, but they suffer from many scene omissions, which can be upsetting to the fans. Not the case here, at least I could not find any without having to retrieve my copy of the score and compare it line by line.
The absolute revelation for me was Mr. Ingwar Wixell. I've heard his voice many times, particularly on early Verdi recordings brought to life by Lamberto Gardelli. Well, here he sounds even better, plus he proves himself as one of the best singing actors I've ever seen. At the first scene at Duke's palace, Rigoletto is plain disgusting, no wonder that Monterone curses him. By the way, Monterone is played by Wixell as well, and I was surprised by the sonority and great low register that his baritone is able to produce. Later, he's a obsessively loving father and a mischievous "vendicator". Loved Feruccio Furlanetto's Sparafucile! I could not believe it was he under all that makeup, but the pitch-black quality of his voice is unmistakable. Edita Gruberova has long been one of the world's leading high coloratura sopranos. Indeed, to be able to accurately negotiate Gilda's tessitura, one needs a spectacular high range. Sutherland also had that kind of high register, but Gruberova was a better choice cinematically, I suppose. Still, I wished for a subtler portrait of Gilda, but it had to do. Pavarotti's Duke is, of course, why most folks will buy this DVD. Well, he definitely gives a dashing Duke. He sings up a storm on a soundtrack (including the impossible high ending of "possente amor") and a tongue-in-chick "la donna e mobile", his signature aria. He overplays a bit, but he's a lot of fun to watch. Since he does not have to sing and move at the same time, he really bounces around quite a bit and looks very much at home throughout.
The film depicted the court of the Duke in the most accurate way. They're quite like vultures, and appropriately dressed in black. Marullo is sang by none other than Bernd Weikl, but played (wonderfully) by an actor. Even Giovanna is cast luxuriously - it's Fedora Barbieri who does not only provide a great voice, but also some much-needed comic relief in this fairly dark opera based on Hugo's "The King Amuses Himself". Riccardo Chailly conducts with gusto, but also with proper sensitivity.
Overall, it's a well thought-out film, I could not think of a way of making it any better. Even the often messed-up abduction scene is quite believable here. The subtitles are not bad, and the picture on DVD is a LOT better than on VHS or LaserDisc.

This is an excellent performance of Verdi's "Rigoletto" based upon Vicor Hugo's "L'Roi S'Amuse (The King Amuses Himself) and is one of his finest operas. From start of finish this is a masterpiece. All the singers are well-polished and highly convincing. Ingvar Wixell's portrayal of the deformed court jester Rigoletto (renamed from Hugo's "Triboletto") in the court of Mantua was the best that I have ever seen. Pavarotti, who plays the Duke himself, is in top form as always (although such a pudgy Don Juan may seem slightly out-of-place, his acting is superb), and Edita Gruberova does as astounding job as Gilda, Rigoletto's daughter. The settings look genuine, the music is excellent and Wixell truly manages to capture the pain and humiliation of a man forced into being a fool by his deformities and social position. The history of the opera makes for an interesting study in censorship as well. Hugo himself preferred this opera to his own story that it was based on! The quartet at the end is partuclalry memorable and the murderer was so scuzzy and grungy looking that he was almost comical, although his deep bass was beautiful. Finely acted, visually appealing and great music. What more could one ask for?

This is a magnificent opera-movie version of Verdi's Rigoletto filmed on location. With Pavarotti as the lecherous Duke, Wixell as the hump-backed jester, and Gruberova as his pure and innocent daughter, this Rigoletto packs a punch. The singing is a delight throughout, as are the costumes, sets, and playing of the Wiener Philharmonker. If you're "opera curious" this would be an ideal place to start exploring this fascinating genre. While Pavarotti is known for his magnificent singing but stiff acting, in this production, he gives a terrific portrayal of the Duke. The ending with Rigoletto and his dying daughter is magnificent and beautifully and poignantly done. No matter how familiar you may be with this opera, it will seize your heart strings. The DVD visual and sound quality are superb. I hope more operatic works such as this will again see the light of day on DVD--this is the perfect medium for opera, the next best thing to being at the opera!

I usually do not care for "movie" versions of opera, preferring a filmed live performance, but this one is most enjoyable, and has some standout performances.
Released in 1983, it was made on location in Mantua, with good cinematography in a pallete of browns and dark greys.
Pavarotti is the Duke of Mantua, looking strong and robust, but I must confess I thought his performance very one-dimensional, continually loud, and as an actor is much the weakest in the cast.
Edita Gruberova's Gilda is extremely interesting; she gets stronger in each scene, and I found her performance to be quite touching and wonderful. Her "Caro Nome" is one that I truly loved, full of sweetness and vulnerability, and delicate trills.

Ingvar Wixell's Rigoletto is superb, brilliantly portraying the many sides of the hunchbacked jester, from maliciously plotting revenge, to tenderly loving his daughter and the memory of his wife. His voice is rich and full, and he makes the most of Verdi's gorgeous score.
Victoria Vergara is a stunning and seductive Maddalena, and Ferruccio Fulanetto's Sparafucile is a creepy villain with very scary jagged teeth, and both are in fine vocal form.
Riccardo Chailly conducts the Vienna Choir and Philharmonic with great pacing, and this is a Rigoletto well worth watching, even for those who like me, are not "movie" opera fans.

Watching this film-opera of "Rigoletto" gets you the confidence of saying that "Rigoletto" indeed is the best opera ever written. Why? Simply, because, this movie gives you the correct idea, how deep, dramatic and full of action the story of "Rigoletto" really is. This is the best story ever set to music. This is wellknown fact, but this film gives you more. You simply can not skip any single detail because everything is so obviously and perfectly done. Begining from the prelude and magnificent first act. What a staging. I am really stunned! And the fourth act where drama comes to its conclusion. I think the most amazing about this film is, how redicolous could it sound, acting of Sparafucile, murderer. I knew that Feruccio Furlanetto was great singer but he turned out to be the great actor too. He is so ugly, dirty, dressed in terribly worn clothes and at the same time so real. Second amazing thing is Pavarotti's singing. First time in my life I really have a doubt, that maybe he is better Duce then Alfredo Kraus (but still, I don't think so). Edita Gruberova is excellent Gilda. Her singing is so free, so beautifull, reminding sometimes legendary Renata Scotto. Now Rigoletto - Ingvar is great, but of course not the best Rigoletto. The best is Bastianini. However, as the actor, Ingvar fits the role to perfection, and finally I have to mentioned the outstanding performance from Viena Orchestra and Chorus. Orchestra sounds so perfect. So finally, I want to say that I hate modern productions of an old operas, this is not correct. Opera should be staged as it was originally thought. And this movie gives us idea how exactly "Rigoletto" is supposed to be staged. So my suggestion is: get this video, this is must have. Maybe the best film-opera ever made.

Rigoletto - Yes, the arias and recits were recorded and then added to the film. There are some parts where the latter is evident; however, the film is a feast for the eye as the vocals are a desert to the ear.

Act I : Winer Philharmoniker under the direction of Maestro Riccardo Chailly is precise and captures the phrasing of this Verdian Opera. The ballata is a reminder of the glory days of la voce di Pavarotti, and it brings into perspective the Italian ping that brought him the opera world at his feet. The chorus is magnificently costumed and is a necessity in order for the opera to run smoothly. The whole first act is a huge array of drunks, prostitutes, and food, being led by the host il Duca. Pavarotti is not the best at acting. In this film version, he is not that bad. Most of the camera focuses on his face rather than on the body.. I wonder why? Ingvar Wixell does a magnificent job at portraying the hunchback we have come to love - Rigoletto. His singing and phrasing of the melodies is excellent.

Act II : This act focuses on the relationship between Rigoletto and his figlia Gilda. The duet - Deh non parlate, is sung with great color and excellent phrasing. Edita Gruberova is the perfect Gilda. Her true lyric-coloratura voice is without a doubt a perfect match for the role that Verdi wrote. Too many dramatic coloraturas or full lyrics sing the role of Gilda and unfortunately butcher it! The famous aria: Caro nome, is where we come to hear the flute like tone of Ms. Gruberova. She sings all the ornamentations that a soprano of the caliber that she possesses, in order to bring the house down. Her trills are effortless and her range is magnificent. Her legato is divine and her stacatti are mouth watering.

Act III: In this act, we have the aria that most legendary tenors have deemed the most difficult written by Verdi. The issue deals with the tessitura of the aria. It lies quite high on the register, which could lead to disaster if not properly sung. Pavarotti does a marvelous job. He attacks the aria with grace and uses his "ping" in order to stay above the notes and not below. I am always amazed by the color of his voice, so bright and trumpet like... amazing. I have heard recording of great tenors that have transposed the aria down a step. I have also heard recordings where by the last third of the aria, the tenor had modulated half a step. Another great recording is Del Monaco singing the aria at La Scala during the mid 50's. Parmi veder le lagrime is certainly difficult, but Pavarotti makes it sound easy and painless. Amazing!! The duet at the end of the act between Rigoletto and Gilda is heart wrenching. Tutte le feste al tempio, written in e-minor,(a common key that Verdi uses between a father figure and his daughter), has such sorrow that it sometimes goes without notice. Ms. Gruberova sings her heart out in this duet. Her tone and emotional makeup have changed by this act. She is no longer the young and naïve Gilda of the act before, she is in pain and realizes that love hurts. Great phrasing on her part and excellent singing on Mr. Wixell's part as well.

Act IV: The aria know around the world: La donna è mobile, excellent - listen for yourself. The quartet, perhaps the one that is the closest to perfection (next to the sextet in Il Trovatore) is sung with great technicality. The phrasing is there at times, but it seems that too much time was taken in the recording studio. The voices sound very rigid and manipulated. All the notes are there but the feeling is missing. There is nothing better than hearing this quartet live or in a CD recording ( I recommend the one with Milnes, Pavarotti, Sutherland and Bonynge conducting. Final scene on the gondola is such a beauty to the eye. The voice of Gilda, now disgraced in the eyes of her father and fatally wounded is such a joy to hear. Great job!

Overall: great singing, excellent conducting, Pavarotti shines, Gruberova gives a performance that should serve as reference for sopranos today and a magnificent job done by Ingvar Wixell playing Rigoletto. 4.25 out of 5 stars. Enjoy!!

Real opera lovers are a wee tad finicky, as the one- and two-star reviews of this DVD demonstrate. Real opera lovers seem to have a Platonic Ideal of the opera in their cavernous consciousnesses, a template of what Joe Verdi intended, from which any deviation is risky. Real opera lovers don't take well to 'film' productions of their idolized operas. Even if they are now ultra-pecunious enough to sit in the orchestra, they recall their youthful evenings in 'paradise' (the highest balcony) as the best of their lives, and they need that distant, almost inaudible timbre in the tenor's voice to sustain their enthusiasm. Real opera lovers KNOW whose performance, attested only by repute or perhaps by a tinny recording, was sans pareil for all time.

Me? I'm just a guy who goes to the opera for the fun of it, and I'm ready to be pleased. I'm also a musician by trade, which leads me to cut quite a lot of slack for the professional sisters and brothers, and inclines me to care more about the sounds I hear, the music itself, than about the staging or acting. Yes yes, I know opera as an art aspires to totality, to the sublime unison of drama and music. But realistically, friends, the unison is most often imbalanced: wonderful music, dopey libretto. Can you earnestly argue otherwise? Particularly about the operas of Giuseppe Verdi?

Case in point: Rigoletto! The script is a squalid and improbable melodrama. Without music, it would be snored off the stage. Rigoletto is a horrid little beast, deformed as much in mind as in body, and he's more convincingly gullible than devious. The Duke of Mantua is an odious tyrant. Everyone in the cast is besotted with evil except Gilda, Rigoletto's cloistered daughter, whose purity of being must be taken on faith. The story is grotesque, the characters are grotesque... but the music! ah, the music is celestial! Even the vile assassin is given celestial music to sing. But does any real opera lover ever complain about 'cognitive dissonance'?

I can almost promise you, dear reader, that even if you think you've never seen or heard Rigoletto in your life, you will snap to attention at the Duke's first major aria, and say to yourself "why, I know that music! So this is where it comes from!" And you'll have such epiphanies several more times before the final curtain. It's the Duke's voice you'll remember as you leave the theater, or turn off the DVD player. It's the joyous lilt of the debauched Duke's arias that you'll find yourself singing in the shower. The most essential item in a production of Rigoletto is that the Duke's role be sung superbly, and recorded equally well. Forget any other quibbles: Luciano Pavarotti sang this music, as people said about Caruso, like a God. If you've ever wondered why Pavarotti was venerated, this DVD will answer your doubts. You can decide for yourself whether he could also 'act'. It's an insignificant question.

Ingvar Wixell is almost ludicrously ugly in his make-up as the hunch-backed Rigoletto, and his posturing verges on silliness, but once again, IT'S The Music, Stupid! Wixell's tormented, interiorized vocal art makes emotional sense out of Verdi's twisted musical musings. If the visuals annoy you, opera lovers, just shade your eyes and watch the subtitles.

Coloratura soprano Edita Gruberova soars. That's her job. She doesn't look childish enough for the role, but she conveys her nun-like innocence in her voice, and she sings in tune! Not a minor accomplishment for a Verdi specialist! What's more, she has the musical wisdom to "comp" to Pavarotti in their duets, not to attempt to upstage him. Nobody could upstage Pavarotti in this music.

Okay. I'm almost finished.

Verdi outdid himself in Rigoletto. The music is iconic. Unforgettable. Rigoletto is one warhorse that deserves to be ridden as long as opera houses stand and opera lovers are willing to spend an Afghani's life wages for a single evening in a box seat.

Jean-Pierre Ponnelle's movie of Rigoletto was my first exposure to this wonderful opera...watching it again, years later, from the perspective of a seasoned Rigoletto(and Verdi) enthusiast, it still has the power to enchant, to revolt, to surprise, to overpower, to inform and to provoke thought on the strength of its dark interpretation, its psychological approach.

Let's not mince words here. The film is a baroque, profane and utterly garish spectacle. Some may be turned off by this. I find it appropriate considering the subject matter of the opera. For instance, Verdi might not have written the opening scene as an orgy per se, due to the Italian censors, but it is easy enough to interpret it that way, and Ponnelle pulls out all the stops. More power to him. This Salo-slash-Caligula-like feast is replete with disturbing imagery: rats crawling over dinner plates; countesses celebrated as objects of beauty who actually look like ashen spectres; half-dressed musclemen utilized as submissive display pieces; pretty maidens offered up as sacrifice to the Duke of Mantua's gluttonous appetites. Ugly? Perhaps. But perfectly in step with the opera's theme of destructive depravity. Likewise, having Sparafucile made up like a grotesque caveman adds to the concept that the world Rigoletto inhabits is surreal, nightmarish, the only island of hope in this inferno rests in the small upper chamber where his daughter Gilda resides. When even that oasis is violated, it becomes grimly apparent that the hunchback's whole world has fallen apart.

In his other opera films, Ponnelle likes to emphasize parallels among characters, and Rigoletto is no exception. First, we see a moment of realization on the face of Rigoletto when Monterone is issuing his curse over his violated daughter, wherein the court jester seems to recognize that if the same thing were to happen to his own daughter he would be just as vindictive. This closeup is a revelation of humanity, but also of culpability for the multihued protagonist. Later, when Rigoletto first meets Sparafucile, they engage in a physical exchange that is choreographed to resemble a waltz, showcasing the similarities between the two characters, similarities discerned by Rigoletto himself in his ensuing monologue. Other incisive visual moments: the use of flashbacks, such as Rigoletto recalling Gilda at church, or the face of the angry count issuing his curse. In fact, the whole film is portrayed as a flashback, since it opens with Rigoletto mourning over his daughter's corpse. The medium of film affords Ponnelle the creative freedom to include these psychological touches in ways a staged production never could, and he does so successfully. For that reason alone, this film is recommended.

But let's not forget the other treasures to be savored here, primarily the performers. Pavarotti is in his vocal prime, that is all that needs to be said, I won't waste time glorifying a voice that needs no introduction. The real surprise here is his acting. He manages to turn his usually ruddy, cherubic countenance into something sinister and cannibalistic, and it's a side of the performer we rarely see onstage. The magnificent coloratura soprano Edita Gruberova is in peak form as Gilda, bringing a heightened intensity to the role but never at the expense of vocal beauty. Neither she nor Pavarotti look the part exactly, but they make up for it through their precise vocalism and also through their ability to inhabit the bodies of their characters...I would have said inhabit their souls, but it is left in doubt whether the the duke possesses such a thing. I was unfamiliar with the baritone Ingvar Wixell, but his performance as Rigoletto is astonishing, pathetic, endearing, off-putting, fabulously sung, utilizing a voice that is both smooth and rich. I have mixed feelings about Riccardo Chailly's interpretation of the score. He plays up the bombast, the chilling loudness of certain moments, perhaps too much, although the quieter moments are certainly not lacking in nuance. Still, I prefer James Levine's interpretation on the Met DVD release. I will say this for Chailly, he gives us an uncut version of the score. I'm not a big fan of the duke's oft-excised act two cabaletta, I think it is the weakest, most hackneyed moment of this otherwise inventive score, but I would rather have it than not, and Chailly actually presents us with both verses, a rare enough event(even the Levine version is cut down to one verse).

Some viewers might find Ponnelle's ghastly, decadent vision a bit over-the-top, but isn't opera in general over-the-top, particularly Italian opera from this era? Rigoletto's story is a wall-to-wall nightmare(of his own making; you lie down with dogs, dear Rigoletto...), and it is perfectly appropriate to present it as such.

I liked this DVD from beginning to end !

This is the movie version of Verdi's tragic masterpiece Rigoletto. I must admit, that up to this point, I had not been a big fan of operas that had been made into movies: but I have to make an exception in this instance. Filmed in Italy by Jean-Pierre Ponnelle, the settings consist of real castles, streets and rivers that lend a sublime atmosphere and ambience to the opera being presented here. It would be impossible for a stage version to present such elaborate surroundings. The costumes, throughout, are nothing short of sumptuous and fit perfectly into the era they were intended to represent. The camera angles were well placed with the only negative comment being that some of the facial shots were ultra closeup.

This work stars Ingvar Wixell (Rigoletto), Luciano Pavarotti (Duke of Mantova) and Edita Gruberova (Gilda).

Luciano Pavarotti is in his singing prime in this production and his acting, although not great, is passable. Gruberova has a great voice and does justice to her part as Gilda. It is however Ingvar Wixell that commands the audiences' attention with his fabulous interpretation of the tragic hero, Rigoletto. His performance, in my opinion, is worthy of acting honors and his singing voice is as impressive as his stage presence throughout the entire work. He simply carries the show from beginning to end.

I was much more impressed with this performance than I thought I would be and could highly recommended it without any reservations: A Rigoletto you will be happy to own.