Verdi: Rigoletto (2 CD/CD-ROM)

Callas (Artist), Gobbi (Artist), Stefano (Artist), Verdi (Composer), Serafin (Conductor) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Conductor: Serafin
• Composer: Verdi
• Audio CD (April 20, 2010)
• SPARS Code: ADD
• Number of Discs: 3
• Label: EMI Classics
• ASIN: B0036O0ELM
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #150,743 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Rigoletto (1997 Digital Remaster), Act 1: Preludio (Orchestra)

2. Rigoletto (1997 Digital Remaster), Act 1, Scene 1: Della mia bella incognita borghese (Duca/Borsa)

3. Rigoletto (1997 Digital Remaster), Act 1, Scene 1: Questa o quella (Duca)

4. Rigoletto (1997 Digital Remaster), Act 1, Scene 1: Partite? Crudele! (Duca/Contessa Ceprano)

5. Rigoletto (1997 Digital Remaster), Act 1, Scene 1: In testa che avete (Rigoletto/Borsa/Coro)

6. Rigoletto (1997 Digital Remaster), Act 1, Scene 1: Gran nuova! gran nuova! (Marullo/Borsa/Coro/Duca/Ceprano/Rigoletto)

See all 19 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Rigoletto (1997 Digital Remaster), Act 2: Ella mi fu rapita! (Duca)

2. Rigoletto (1997 Digital Remaster), Act 2: Parmi veder le lagrime (Duca)

3. Rigoletto (1997 Digital Remaster), Act 2: Duca, Duca! .... Ebben? (Borsa/Marullo/Ceprano/Coro/Duca)

4. Rigoletto (1997 Digital Remaster), Act 2: Povero Rigoletto! (Marullo/Rigoletto/Coro/Borsa/Ceprano/Un paggio)

5. Rigoletto (1997 Digital Remaster), Act 2: Cortigiani, vil razza dannata (Rigoletto)

6. Rigoletto (1997 Digital Remaster), Act 2: Mio padre!...Dio! mia Gilda! (Gilda/Rigoletto)

See all 17 tracks on this disc

Disc: 3

1. Rigoletto: Libretto

2. Rigoletto: Synopsis

Editorial Reviews

"No Rigoletto has surpassed Gobbi in tonal variety, line, projection of character and understanding of what Rigoletto is about; no Gilda has come anywhere near Callas in meaningful phrasing; no conductor matches Serafin in judging tempo and instrumental detail to a nicety. This remains the classic performance of the opera on record, and one that should be on every Verdi collector's shelf."

Synopsis

Rigoletto, given its premiere in 1851, is Verdi's first generally acknowledged masterpiece. Based on Victor Hugo's play Le roi s'amuse it brings a morally ambiguous protagonist - the eponymous hunchbacked jester - vividly and compassionately to life. It also features one of opera's `greatest hits' the swaggering tenor aria `La donna è mobile', sung by the libertine Duke of Mantua - Rigoletto's master and also seducer of his adored daughter Gilda, whose innocence and nascent passion is expressed in her delicate aria, `Caro nome'. Rigoletto's most memorable solo moment comes when the Duke's courtiers abduct Gilda and he castigates and then pleads with them in `Cortigiani, vil razza dannata'. Yet it is the famous Act III quartet that most graphically embodies the genius of the piece: each participant is strikingly characterised as, at an isolated inn, Rigoletto and Gilda watch the Duke seducing the sluttish Maddalena; she is the sister of Sparafucile, the assassin Rigoletto is about to hire to murder the Duke. His plan goes awry when Gilda - still utterly lovestruck - finds a way of taking the victim's place. In a moment of supreme tragic irony, Rigoletto is alerted to this turn of events when he hears the Duke's carefree reprise of `La donna è mobile'