Customer Reviews

Verdi: Rigoletto

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I learned that this recording was just removed from the RCA print list. What a shame and what a stupid thing to do. This is the finest Rigoletto ever produced. The dream cast includes Bob Merrill, Anna Moffo (one of her finest recordings), Alfredo Kraus, Roz Elias, Ezio Flagello, and conducted by Solti in a bright, vibrant, and stunning recording. It's also one of the best digital remixes I've ever heard--sharp vocals, quality orchestra throughout, finest mixing. The production is also one of the most dramatic Rigolettos ever, which is as it should be. Rigoletto is after all a descent into evil and revenge, and this recording does it justice throughout. I can listen to this recording over and over. A true modern masterpiece. As an opera singer myself, I find it remarkable.

This seldom reviewed recording has a wonderful cast. Moffo was in full bloom: young, fresh, and vocally secure. Merrill was good, and Solti conducted perfectly. Alfredo Kraus is simply brilliant in the role of the Duke. Absolutely no one in my experience has sung this role better. This remains one of my all-time favorite opera recordings.

There are many good recordings of Verdi's Masterpiece. The DG D. Fisher-Diskau/Bergonzi/Scotto also stands out mainly because of its Duke who s h i n e s! To me, Bergonzi IS the ideal Duke. However, we must keep in mind that the opera is called Rigoletto and not "the Duke". Some prefer the Milnes/Pavarotti/Sutherland. It's a popular recording but not without flaws. This Solti set, ideally balanced, will give you the essence of Rigoletto.

Robert Merrill as "povero" Rigoletto captures both drama and music of the role. He has a powerful, rich voice ideal for such Verdi roles. Although I mentioned my preference to Bergonzi, Alfredo Kraus is not less memorable. I especially admire his "posente amor", truly remarkable. As Gilda we hear a young, fresh Anna Moffo in one of her best moments. Exquisite singing and a convincing portrait of the young girl make her my first choice for Gilda. Let me not forget the rest of the cast that does a fine job too.

Superb Maestro Solti completes this thrilling account of Rigoletto. A must even if you have other versions.

This is an electifying set of Rigoletto. Robert Merrill is a splendid Rigoletto - he conveys the jester's bitterness and heartbreak superbly through his rich dark voice and incisive phrasing - his Cortigiani is spine-tingling and the final scene with his dying daughter is quite hearth-wrenching. Anna Moffo is a lovely and touching Gilda - she brings considerable warmth and tenderness to the role and sings an exquisite Caro nome. Alfredo Kraus is quite simply the best Duke on record - charming and callous all at once - he is in fresh voice and sing with superb aplomb and exciting high notes. Rosalind Elias and Ezio Flagello round up the cast admirably. Sir Georg Solti is a bit hard-driven but the end result is undeniably exciting. The text is complete and the sound a bit dryish but quite good on the whole. This was my first Rigoletto and remains my favorite.

Rigoletto is a problematic opera... it's so vividly beautiful it almost sings itself so how can you choose amongst all the gazillion recordings out there? I'd never dare say only one was worth buying... but after all these years, I still come back to this one as my definitive version. Anna Moffo's Gilda is amazing... soft and vulnerable, lingering lovingly on high notes... she's touchingly innocent but a deeply felt young woman, not a child. I simply love Robert Merrill's forceful golden richness... his Rigoletto sounds layers deep and his anguish most especially heartfelt. Alfredo Kraus IS the best-ever Duke, no question. His light aristocratic tenor is perfect casting; the seductive youth and irresponsibility and cruelty of the Duke's character are wonderfully present in his voice... The quartet Bella figlia d'amore on this recording with Elias as Magdalena is still unmatchable. Solti must be the real hero of this version because everyone sounds so perfectly and artistically tuned into the music and the story, orchestra and singers alike. The pace is wonderfully compelling and powerful.

Originally posted on my music review blog. Check my profile if you are interested.

Note that this review was written of the later reissue, so my comments on the sound may not be applicable. That edition is here- Verdi: Rigoletto

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'Rigoletto' has had many excellent recordings over the years. In the beginning of the LP era, it was one of the first complete operas produced, with the incomparable Leonard Warren in the title role. When stereo emerged, each label dutifully churned out its own star-studded 'Rigoletto,' featuring such luminaries as Ettore Bastianini, Carl Bergonzi, Joan Sutherland, and the like. And this trend has continued to the present. 'Rigoletto' is one of the strongest warhorses of the recorded repertoire and will likely continue to be. Yet, surprisingly, in almost every recording of the opera, there is some obvious weak link.

Not so here. In Robert Merrill, we have the most glorious baritone voice of the postwar period--a dark and resonant instrument with ringing top notes and an unfailing sense of legato. Often criticized for `just singing' and not adequately portraying his characters, Merrill's performance here sweeps all such criticisms aside. His scenes with Gilda are tender, warm, and affectionate--entirely contrary to his nasty antics at the court of Mantua. Then witness his 'Cortigiani' and 'Si, Vendetta,' in which he unleashes his voice in righteous, paternal fury. And the moment when his daughter dies is crushing, not in the voice of a pathetic and deformed clown, but as a man overcome by grief in failing his greatest duty. To him, the hunchbacked jester is an almost noble character, twisted into viciousness by his infirmity. More than any other singer who has portrayed Rigoletto, he is utterly believable as a loving and vengeful father. It is truly his finest role.

Gilda is admirably cast as well. From a purely musical standpoint, Anna Moffo's Gilda about as good as anyone could expect, with lovely, even tone from top to bottom, a seemingly perfect sense of phrasing, and not the slightest hint of vocal strain. Luckily, Gilda requires more musical skills than interpretive ones, though Ms. Moffo is not without some insight. Her 'Caro Nome' is full of girlish longing. Similarly, her 'Tutte le Feste al tiempo' tugs at one's heart strings in just the right way--she is just so perfectly naïve and angelic, it seems nearly inevitable that someone will murder her.

Merrill's Rigoletto and Moffo's Gilda have few if any challengers, but the role of the Duke is another matter. Most every great tenor has taken a shot at the role, whether he was suited to it or not. Kraus succeeds admirably, though not without reservations. Frankly, his main weakness is that his reedy voice is not the equal of Pavarotti or Björling. But such comparisons are unfair--on his own terms, Kraus is a perfectly rakish Duke, full style, and may be summarized as an insightful study in shallowness. He is perhaps the most flippant Duke on record--in 'Ella mi fu Rapita,' his "ardent" longing for Gilda is expressed in almost irritated terms, like he's lost a toy. 'La donna è Mobile' is full of verve and swagger, clearly conveying the Duke's irreverent attitude.

The chorus is handled very well, and the smaller parts are consistently well cast. Ezio Flagello's Sparafucile is less illustrious than some (most notably Cesare Siepi), but serves very well, particularly in the final scene. David Ward is perhaps the best and most convincing Monterone on disc, in sonorous, commanding voice. And Rosalind Elias is very good indeed, injecting a great deal of character into the otherwise small role of Maddalena.

Solti's conducting is very typical of the maestro. From beginning end, it's loud, blaring hell on wheels, indulging in dynamic extremes and delivered with an orchestral sledgehammer. In Solti's hands, Verdi's claims of serving drama through music are well borne out. A lighter, more lyrical hand might be preferred in the opening party scene, but otherwise, it serves the taut drama of the opera perfectly.

RCA's sonics are brain splitting. The balance between voices and orchestra is pleasingly theatre-like, so much that the performance sometimes sounds like an unusually good live recording.

In all, this is perhaps the most consistent and dramatic reading of 'Rigoletto' ever committed to disc.

Highly recommended.

Rating: A

Well, I agree with many others - this may well be the BEST Rigoletto on record for the past 60 years.
Anna Moffo as Gilda is simply unsurpassed. Her singing is not just beautiful - it is very human, very affecting, and she has the absolutely right charactersiation in every bit of stuff sung here. One thing for marvel - her coloraturas are not just for embellishment. Like the past great coloraturas like Gencer, Caballe, Callas..., Moffo uses coloraturas to enhance the musical phrase, the lyrics, that is, for overall dramatic effect. This is indeed makes coloraturas not only interesting but also cogent.
Alfredo Kraus' Duke of Mantua is also of great interest, as he does not bark, but manipulates the lyrics in each muscial phrase so as to convey the malice and spite in the script. A truly masterful performance!
Robert Merrill is without doubt one of the best Rigolettos ever, with his warm expressive voice, and terrific musicality. He is, for personal taste, even better than Tito Gobbi in this role.
The young Georg Solti is both energetic and dramatic at the pit, and the tempi is sleek with tight dramatic tension throughout.
The only remaining bit is for RCA to reissue this in a delux set!!!

What a beautiful voice she had in her prime, lovely, caressing, liquid and rich.

Verdi is one of my favorite Italian opera composers and who could sing his herione's better than Moffo. Maybe loosing his daughter so young Verdi always wrote beautiful arias for the herione. THe early/mid 60's finds Moffo at her peak in power, richness and control. This recording is one of my favorites of hers. There are many other versions out there, more up to date with digital sound but I always find myself comparing it to this version.