Customer Reviews

Verdi: Rigoletto [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(8)
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2 star:		(1)
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For many opera fans the favourite Rigoletto on dvd remains the 1983 film version starring the young Pavarotti as the dashing Duke, his irrepressible singing and high spirits contrasting sharply with the gut wrenching wretchedness of the jester played by Wixell almost to perfection,and of course the inimitable Gruberova as Gilda the jester's daughter.(For me this together with the Domingo/Migenes 'Carmen', and the Domingo/Stratas 'La Traviata' represents the best of opera films). Now comes the 2006 production of Rigoletto, staged by the Zurich Opera House with Chorus and Orchestra wonderfully conducted by Santi, recorded in High-Definition and transfered to an Arthaus Blu Ray disc of breathtaking quality. I'm not exaggerating. Even by today's Hi-Def standards, the picture quality here is simply stunning: inky blackness, realistic night time scenes accurately rendered with proper light and shadow effects, atmospheric blue lighting, and the sets and costumes show up in vivid pop-up colours with razor sharp contrasts. The audio is no less exemplary, with the DTS HD MA 7.1 presenting a wide and believable soundstage within which the singers' voices are clearly 'imaged'. No balance problems here. In fact, this disc is technically a near reference recording which will warm the hearts of audiopliles and videophiles everywhere. But what about the performance itself? Well, here Leo Nucci steals the show, his rich and dark-toned voice and excellent vocal characterisation both satisfy and convince. In Act 1, he is the cynical court jester and is nasty cockiness personified. Come Act 2, his is the voice of the enraged father hell bent on vengeance against his Duke and in the final Act we hear the sobs of a broken man cradling his dying daughter Gilda. The downward metamorphosis is heartbreaking and the human degradation devastating. Elena Musoc whilst not in the same league as Gruberova in coloratura, sings beautifully and in many ways fills the role of the tragic daughter better. Of course the cherry in the pie of the film version is Pavarotti's high octane rendition of "La donna e mobile", whereas here the Duke(Piotr Beczala) is much less flamboyant and tosses off the famous aria in an almost casual style without much of the spotlight, which suits me fine, but most fans would find Pavarotti's approach irresistible. Overall the film version gives an impression of more dynamism and visual excitement, in part due to the relative freedom of film-making versus the physical confines of the traditional stage, but this by no means suggest that the Zurich version is somehow static or staid. Far from it. This version scores in its intimate telling of a harrowing tragedy and the depths of human suffering, is as well acted and sung as the other without the superstar names, and in the video and audio department is streets ahead of the older film. This superiority greatly enhances the viewing pleasure. Even if you have the film version, I would still highly recommend this Zurich production to you. Truly this is a 5 star disc. Enjoy!!

This is too brief to be called a review, and I intend to come back with something more substantial. But for the moment.

We are in a period where directors far too often want to modernize the setting; sometimes it works, other times it is terrible misjudgement. Then there are productions geared to display a star performer. And so often producers/directors forget that if the composer wrote a work in the form of an opera, it was intended to be seen, so the acting, both visual and through the singing, is an important part of the production. This has, in the past, not always been given its due.

Well in this production, none of these failings are present. First, let me say, a composer wrote his opera for the stage, and that is where it should be performed. This production boasts a cast of uniform excellence, where the beautiful singing of Verdi's great score rates among the very best. But the performers, soloists and chorus have been directed to fully bring out the dramatic aspects as well, i.e., to act as well as sing. Musically, both chorus and orchestra are in top form, under a conductor who has a full grasp of the total perspective of the score, both musically and dramatically.

Sets and costumes cannot be faulted, and all is enhanced by excellent lighting design. All of this gushing is due to the fact that it is rare to find all the elements of an opera production at such a uniformly high standard and unified so that not one thing stands out and hits you as "not quite right", and nothing emerges above the totality to warrant special praise. There are operas I have reviewed with enthusiasm, but few have created the impression this performance gives (and it isn't even one of my favorite Verdi operas).

The icing on the cake has been expressed in most of the reviews. If ever you wanted a demonstration disc for your Blu-ray, this is it. Most people are unaware that Blu-ray does not necessarily equate with stunning quality, and there have been Blu-ray releases that were little better than DVD, although this seems to have been a passing phase. But in this release we have Blu-ray at its best: unsurpassed clarity, the greater depth and subtlety of color that is another of the advantages of the format, and sound quality that is an audiophile's dream - and what better production on which to lavish these high standards.

Please forgive my gushing, but this is a near-perfect release . Watching and listening to it was literally a revelation, and provides a "you are there" experiience if viewed via a good projector on a 100" screen with sound facilities that can do justice to what is on the disc.

In my planned rewrite, I promise to try and stand back and review this much less emotively.

I've only recently been buying opera on blu-ray, and this is by far the best I've seen. Very often, when one sees contemporary opera on DVD, a viewer finds himself sitting through a "Euro-trash" version of the opera, where the director runs riot, ignoring the original intentions of the composer and librettist, and doing nothing except drawing attention to himself. But here is a Rigoletto that I imagine Verdi would have loved. Combined with exemplary audio and sound, it would be hard to give a higher recommendation to this disc.

This is a fine recording of this opera. The Blu-ray allows near theater levels of lighting -- night appears like night. The video direction was solid -- the camera movements and cuts did not detract from the flow of the opera. I do not know music well enough to comment on the technical quality of the singing -- but all of the performances were satisfying. The conductor, Nello Santi, conducted from memory The sound was great -- good dynamic and frequency range. I saw this DVD on a 53 inch sony sxrd rear projection television in subdued light. It was an excellent experience.

After the spectacular Met-Pavarotti disk, this presentation at first seemed drab. But then a realization. This is a great and moving presentation with, in this disk, a truly great drama, not a showcase for vocal gymnastics.

This is an exemplary disc on many levels. The singing is top-notch with Nucci a standout. All the acting is effective and suits the music. The best part is, unlike many other blues, the visual aspects are great: no awkward editing, strange cuts, unusual camera placement or inappropriate camera movement. The background characters and extras are directed well.

This Rigoletto in scene one is set in the 16th century, thereafter in approximately the 1850's. I am all for that,but I thought the real traditionalists might be a bit up set. However, for once they are happy with the staging and opera over all. So they should be. Maestro Santi, a great opera conductor, who at time of recording this opera, must have been at least 76. His tempi are swift, always are. He conducts without the score.He brings out the pathos, passion and melodies in the score as if he were still a young man.Bravo. His interaction with the cast during the applause is something to behold.

Rigoletto,Leo Nucci, seems to be improving with age, his acting abilities are superb.Being an Italian, he brings authenticity to the part, as did the great Tito Gobbi.There is nothing like hearing opera with an Italian in the cast. It is like hearing flamenco sung by Andalucian gypsies, extremely authentic. Piotr Beczala after his debut in in Linz, Austria, joined the Zurich opera and has retained close links with the house,as that great singer, Jonas Kaufmann. Piotr's voice is well suited to the role of the Duke and is another star in the making. How lucky we are today in having Tenors, Kaufmann, Calleja(see La Traviata-cond Pappano),Villazon and Beczala. Elena Mosuc is a Zurich opera regular,and is a very sensitive Gilda.Her duets with Rigoletto and the Duke are very well sung and emotional. Sparafucile is Lazlo Polgar,another Zurich opera regular. In fine voice in the part.The Bluray picture is superb. Worldwide HD.

The staging of this Rigoletto is traditional minimalist which I like. I dislike Zeffirelli trash.Which is code for over the top cluttered staging which states"look at me. The Gramophone year book points this out in its 2009 version, when it reviews the Los Angelis version of La Traviata cond Conlon. The audience claps the scenery. It is over bearing. The singing is great with Fleming and Villazon, a dream team. I gave it away. I felt sick looking at the staging, the star of the show. How I hate that. Generally, I like traditional staging, as long as its staging is reasonable. I also like modern staged versions of opera as long as it makes sense to me.

I must draw your attention to the modern staged DVD Rigoletto conducted by Fabio Luisi,conducting the Dresden State orch. Stage Director Lehnhoff. Damrau as Gilda, probably edges out Mosuc as Gilda,but only just. Florez voice is too light for the part of the Duke. He states he will not sing the part for a while.Obviously,Beczala is more effective in the part. Lucic is a lyrical Baritone and brings pathos to the part of Rigoletto. In the duet between Gilda and Rigoletto,Lucic and Damrau are slightly better then Mosuc and Nucci. Luisi conducts with swift tempi and brings that Italian feel to the music, as does Santi. This is merely a subjective opinion.If you are thinking of owning the Santi Bluray, do so. If you can afford it, also buy the Luisi. You then get two different approaches to a great opera. Both are worldwide.

I must point out that although I give five stars to most of the operas and symphonic works I buy, it is because before I obtain them, I do a lot of research. I have only made two mistakes. I have been a fan of opera and symphonic works,for more years then I care to think about. I hope you enjoy this Rigoletto as much as I have

This is the very best version of Rigoletto currently available ( In blu ray).LEO NUCCI who has performed as Rigoletto before, is is at his very best,and is well supported by both the other cast and by photography in blu ray,and the orchestra. The new GILDA is also a delight and you can not go wrong with this version of RIGOLETTO!

According to Amazon there is supposed to be several options for subtitles and audio options on this Blu-ray of Rigoletto but when I put the disc in my player, there were only two options, "play opera" and "trailer." I could not get any subtitles or audio options on my Samsung Blu-ray player. Because of the lack of audio options, the sound was muddy and bass heavy.

The performance was fine but the staging was nothing special. Because of these problems, I cannot recommend this version of "Rigoletto." Maybe it's a problem with my Blu-ray player but I have other opera Blu-ray discs that work fine, so I am assuming it is a problem with the disc.