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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Give it a listen., July 16, 2007
This review is from: Verdi: Rigoletto (Audio CD)
I absolutely love this recording. I used to own the LP, paid top dollar for an import CD awhile back, and am happy to see it now available at a very nice price. I guess some people hear what they want to hear. Say "Fischer-Dieskau as Rigoletto" and the initial reaction might be "huh?" But listen to what the man does. Verdi wrote for high baritone, and Fischer-Dieskau's tenorish quality fits the music perfectly. His tender moments, and there are quite a few in this opera, are meltingly sweet and heart breaking. And don't tell me he doesn't have enough power and bite for "Cortigiani"! Others may prefer Merrill, or Milnes, or some more typical Verdi baritone. To me, compared with Fischer-Dieskau's beautifully sung, magnificently acted and nuanced performances, those other guys just sound monochromatic, ballsy and boring. And say "Scotto" and people think of the edgy, shrill, hammy and over-the-top persona she adopted later on. Here she's just radiant, and lovely, with impeccable intonation and pinpoint accuracy. This and her Lucia are fabulous, immensely enjoyable performances. Bergonzi is the paragon everyone says he is. Who would you rather hear as the Duke? Kraus, maybe, but he's saddled with a clunky conductor. The supporting cast on these CDs is equally fine. The real star is Kubelik. Who'd a thunk it? But this, the earliest of Verdi's operas to have a symphonic, through-composed character (as opposed to being merely a succession of numbers) receives a powerful, dynamic reading here that is unmatched for color, flexibility and drama. Like the best recorded performances (Monteux' Traviata, Serafin's Ballo) everything here is just as it should be. A great, great recording. Don't miss it.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great recording, September 23, 2007
This review is from: Verdi: Rigoletto (Audio CD)
For me too, this was my very first opera recording way back in 1964 and it has remained one of my favourite versions of RIgoletto ever since. The is above all an opera with beautiful singing. Bergonzi! What an artist! Utterly bewitching, in a suave aristocratic manner, not in your testosterone rich macho style often favoured by singers who try this part. Fischer Dieskau is totally convincing in the jester's role. Again, the beauty of tone, the effortless legato and the feeling for the words are without peer. True, his was not an Italianate sound, like Gobbi's or Bruson's, but his singing is utterly convincing. Renata Scotto is a singer who was so brilliant on stage that her recordings did not get the recognition they deserve. Hers is quite a juicy voice, not entire virginal as you might expect in this part but she sings magnificently throughout, nowhere better that in the glorious second act duet with Fischer Diskau which, for me, is the highlight of this recording. Kubelik, a vastly underestimated operatic conductor, makes here his one and only commercial recording of Italian Opera. Totally compelling.
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11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
This recording started a 40+ yr. love of opera for me., October 21, 2006
This review is from: Verdi: Rigoletto (Audio CD)
As a 24 yr. old rock-and-roller, I checked the cassette tapes of this recording out of the library in 1966 out of curiosity. As somebody completely new to opera, I just tolerated the music enough to keep listening. Then came the Act II quartet which blew me and then my wife away. We almost wore the borrowed cassettes out. We eventually turned into multi-decade season ticket holders and love the entire world of opera, but Rigoletto remains our favorite. In our minds Rigoletto is the operetic standard, a "perfect" balance and meshing of drama, technical fireworks, lyricism, melody, emotion, memorable characterization, solos and duets, ensemble pieces, choral and orchestral music. When this recording became available on CD, we rejoiced and bought it to add to our collection of two other Rigoletto recordings. We were lucky starting our life-long love affair with opera with this 1964 recording. Renata Scotto is in perfect voice. Carlo Bergonzi as the Duke is warm, lyrical, and seductive. Dietrich Firsher-Dieskau as Rigoletto also has a warm, lyrical voice, unusual for Rigoletto but beautifully heartbreaking. The chorus of courtiers plays a critical starring role in Rigoletto and the La Scala chorus is superb as always, as is the direction by Rafael Kubelik. The sound quality is fuzzy by current standards, hence the 4 star rating, but is very acceptable for casual listening such as in an automobile. If you don't have any other recordings of Rigoletto, I'd recommend the recording with Joan Sutherland, Luciano Pavarotti, Sherill Milnes, and the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Richard Bonynge, for the excellent sound quality and poweful performances. However, you can't go wrong with this recording, especially for the price.
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