Customer Reviews

Verdi: Rigoletto

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I took a chance on this recording despite the negative reviews posted here. I found the sonics to be no worse than one typically finds on "captured" live recordings, and the lead performances to be first-rate. Even though (like all Opera D'Oro recordings) no libretto is included, consider what you do get, especially the gorgeous timbre of early Pavarotti and a powerful characterisation of the vengeful jester, one of the great abused employees of Western art. This is a bargain set well worth owning. (It must be noted that the Duke's cabaletta of sorts "Possente amor mi chiama," which occurs just before his Act II exit, is missing. It's short, but its absence will be jarring to those familiar with this opera.)

This is a Rigoletto to surpass anything, studio or live. Paskalis will NOT be appreciated by those who have come to believe that a Verdi baritone is supposed to have a uniformly big, round sound, and not much else(Milnes, Morris, etc)Paskalis is that rare baritone voice that has COLOR, shading, and exquisite soft singing, and the ability to execute each note and marking that Verdi indicates in the score. He never goes for the obvious, big effect.This is a tortured, passionate reading, in the grand tradition of the Verdi baritone. This is not a Metropolitan Opera voice, thank God, but a direct link to the great Italian school of Verdi voice training that harkens back to the golden age of singing, the last of which was Bruson.
The Gilda of Scotto is another example of what is so sorely missing from today's opera stages, a mistress of bel canto, combined with fire and passion. If you don't get this style of singing, you don't get Verdi.

Too many recordings have a soprano that sounds too old to convince me that she is a young girl. Even though they may have the vocal technique to manage the trills or show emotion in their voice, they still sound too mature for me. Scotto sounds like a trusting innocent and makes for a Gilda so pure that her downfall is all the more tragic. The only other Gilda on record that sounds as young is Edita Gruberova. This recording also has Pavarotti singing the Duke, which is a plus. Paskalis is straight forward in his interpretation of the title role and should satisfy most listeners. A good buy for the price.

This is a good album, for what it is: basically speaking, a licensed bootleg. Therefore, we encounter the various sound problems inherent in a live acoustic performance. Pavarotti can be heard (most of the time), but I will warn you, the orchestra threatens to drown others in the cast (especially the chorus).

That, again, is to be expected in this type of recording.

Rigoletto, the Duke, and Gilda all sound very well (what other character matters, eh?).

Missed is the Duke's aria "Possente Amor", which immediately preceeds the immortal "Cortigiani" in performance. Outside of a few measures here and there (traditional cuts), this is the only thing missing.

However, this has always been my favorite opera, and when you're dealing with Opera D'Oro, you don't always get perfect quality (bootlegs all), but you ALWAYS get what you paid for at least.

This live 60's performance of the young Pav and the young Scotto singing together. They are both at the peak of their form, Pavarotti shining throughout. Scotto is similarly exciting, a tad wobbly here and there, but nonetheless magnificent in "Caro nome" and the entire 3rd act. The rather unsung Kostas Paskalis is nowhere near the Rigolettos of Gobbi or Milnes and his tone is extremely unsteady but he is at times very passionate. The remaining cast is so-so, Plinio Clabassi the exception as an exciting Monterone. Giulini did not make his famous studio recording with Domingo, Cappucilli, and Cotrubas for many years, but he is impressive here too. The sound is not good, a lot of blurring and coughing, but you get used to it.

Even if you are tolerant of bootleg sound, this fuzzy mono recording, obviously taken off the radio, is at times impossibly murky, with dropouts and clumsy changes of volume. Under any other circumstance it would be intolerable, but here we have three great artists--Giulini, Scotto, and Pavarotti--performing Rigoletto better than they ever did in the studio. Other reviewers have already pointed out their excellence.

As for the now-forgotten Kostas Paskalis in the title role, I side with the yea-sayers. He is involving in every bar and knows a great deal about dramatifally coloring his voice. All in all, this is a very Itlain night at the opera in Florence, musically flawed in matters of execution but unparalelled for excitement and raw Verdian power. What a pity about the sound.

This is a great Giulini opera.

I thought the price for this was too good to be true. It was. Not worth buying. Sound too poor to enjoy.

The good--Scotto's interpretation creates a believable character and Pavarotti sings in his pre-superstar, not-overblown manner (remember, this is a good thing) The bad--Scotto runs out of breath at the end of 'Caro Nome' and we fear her survival (vocally, that is) in almost every scene. This recording wins the award for 'Worst Performance by a Major Opera House Chorus.' The recorded sound is variable in volume and balance (Giulini's conducting doesn't help matters) and the smaller roles are taken by timid or incompetent singers. The ugly--too bad our Rigoletto here, Kostas Paskalis, wasn't recorded under better circumstances.