Customer Reviews

Verdi: Rigoletto

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

There are so many recordings of this PERFECT opera. There's the Gobbi/Callas/Di Stefano, the Milnes/Sutherland/Pavarotti, the Cappuccilli/Cotrubas/Domingo, the Merrill/Peters/Bjorling, there are so many, but almost all of them have a weak link. The Gobbi/Callas/Di Stefano has a miscast Callas as Gilda and all three struggle with their roles vocally. The Milnes/Sutherland/Pavarotti has the old sounding Sutherland who completely ruins the set for me. The Merrill/Peters/Bjorling has Peters being overdramatic and ridiculous. The Cappuccilli/Cotrubas/Domingo comes close, but lacks vocal flair and energy.

This set, in my VERY humble opinion, is the best. Not only do you get Merrill, who is fabulous on pretty much anything he does, but you get Anna Moffo and Alfredo Kraus, along with a solid supporting cast and wonderful, dramatic conducting by Solti.

Many people I know have issues with Anna Moffo, who recently died. Now that she's gone and I'm done mourning, and trust me, I did, I have been making a point to toot her horn to everyone I know. Yes, she had her vocal problems towards the end of her career, but there ARE legitimate reasons for that. Anna Moffo is STUPENDOUS on this recording and brings a legitimate sensitivity and dramatic art to this character. Not only that, but she sings it BEAUTIFULLY and is consistent throughout.

Alfredo Kraus is PERFECT. He's romantic, charming, and has KILLER high notes. Robert Merrill is perfect in this role, maybe not as fresh sounding as he was on the earlier recording with Roberta Peters and Jussi Bjorling, and of course, more mannerisms, but who cares. He's one of the greatest Verdi Baritones of the century.

This Rigoletto is so well cast that it'd be a mistake to go for any of the other sets. Also, this set is SO cheap and is great for first timers to the opera and those who want to try out another recording. This was my first and favorite. I did listen to MANY others just to make sure I wasn't missing out on anything...and I wasn't.

This version of Rigoletto is by far my favorite - it combines
plenty of vocal beauty, characterful singing and dramatic
tension. Robert Merrill has the perfect voice for the title-
role - dark, powerful, biting - and conveys the old jester's
bitterness and heartbreak superbly. 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 an electrifying Duca - charming and manipulative all at on-
ce - he is here caught in his youthful prime and sings with
splendid aplomb. Rosalind Elias and Ezio Flagello offer strong
support. Georg Solti is perhaps a bit hard-driven but the end
result is undeniably exciting. A very welcome reissue of a
great opera sung by great singers.

There are many good recordings of Verdi's Masterpiece and the remastered RCA classic is certainly one of them (I liked the previous cover more though). The DG D. Fisher-Diskau/Bergonzi/Scotto also stands out mainly because of its Duke who shines. To me, Bergonzi with his perfect phrasing is the ideal Duke. However, we must keep in mind that the opera is called Rigoletto and not "the Duke". This Solti set sounds ideally balanced.

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 one of my first choices for Gilda. Let me not forget the rest of the cast, Elias and Flagello do a fine job too.

Superb Maestro Solti completes this thrilling account of Rigoletto. Perhaps too poweful at times but still sensitive enough to honour Verdi.

A must even if you have other versions.

This classic Rigoletto dates from RCA's golden era at the old Met, and it has come up sounding gorgeous--far better than its age--in this bargain remastering. Every aspect is strong vocally. Alfredo Kraus can't stand up to Bjorling''s mesmerizing tenor, but he sings more precisely and with greater refinement--this is one Duke who doesn't bawl out a single phrase. His only flaw is a streak of mildness that makes lechery and treachery fairly unbelievable. Merrill possessed the best dark baritone of his generation (and to think the Met also had Leonard Warren until his untimely death), and Anna Moffo is far more warm and feminine than the usual canary bird Gilda.

Aside from the impeccable soloists, there's Solti's fizzy conducting, which renders excitement without driving too hard (a reputation he deserves far more in the Aida to come). He makes the then lackluster Met orchestra sound world-class, and the Met chorus is just as good. In all, there have only been a handful of Rigolettos to match this one, and probably none in the nearly five decades since it appeared on LP.

Much improved over the original RCA CD release of the late 1980s, this remastered Rigoletto from the Sony/BMG/Masterworks collection moves the voices forward from the rather distant perspective of the original CD release, and also captures much of the orchestral bloom of the original vinyl LP release from the RCA/Metropolitan Opera golden age of the 1960s. The only questionable aspect of the remastering was the decision to maintain the original' s almost ping-pong like left--right placement of the voices, which is at times distracting. However the decision can be defended on grounds of faithfulness to what listeners actually heard on the original RCA vinyl LP, which was typical of early stereo opera recordings. While all of the vocal performances are good, the particular charm of this set is diva Anna Moffo's girlishly youthful Gilda, which along with her Violeta from La Traviata, ranks with her most affecting performances on disc. Her smoky soprano tones is the perfect vehicle to reveal Gilda's at times perplexing combination of girlish innocence morphing into mature womanhood, which occurs as Verdi's romantically ironic plot unfolds towards the final tragedy. Interestingly, while Sony/BMG has released Moffo's La Traviata and her less well known but excellent La Bohème [Mimi] in spectacularly remastered SACD 24-bit sound, it has not done so with this recording. As good as the sound is in standard CD, one hopes this recording will also make its appearance in the full SACD format, as the master tape appears to be in excellent condition, better in fact then they somewhat tough sounding La Bohème master.

Verdi's Rigoletto has been very fortunate in recordings: The Peerce/Berger/Warren version, 2 by Merrill, 2 by Milnes, and so forth. This comes as close to a perfect cast as you are likely to hear.

The title role of course is taken by Merrill (this is his second recording of the role.) He is in solid and mellifluous voice as usual, and has a gift for sounding both very beautiful and very menacing when required. The lovely Anna Moffo is hands down my favorite studio Gilda. She sounds fresh, clear, and beautiful even on the extreme high notes, and youthful as Gilda should; never matronly, but also not "twittery" or screechy.

She is paired with the great Alfredo Kraus as the duke. He sings the role without a hitch and is very believable as a selfish, insensitive cavalier and libertine. He sings a beautifully ornamented "Parmi veder le lagrime" and of course, includes the high C# in the duet with Gilda and a high D natural in the "possente amor" cabaletta.

The orchestra sounds magnificent and the cast is worthy of 5 stars. So why "only" 4?

The generally irreproachable sound (for 1964) is marred in a few unfortunate spots by inexplicable break-up and distortion. At various times especially when more than one principle is singing at once (duets, quartets etc) there is VERY noticeable rough spots in the audio. Most noteworthy is the end of of the "addio, addio" duet in act 1 with Kraus and Moffo. They take an incredible C# together at the end, unfortunately however it is obscured by horrible audio distortion- the overload is so bad it sounds like Kraus is gargling.

This is most unfortunate considering the overall quality of this recording, and the fact that it is quite unnecessary- most other recordings of this opera (even the much earlier 1950 with Peerce and Warren) do not suffer from this problem. I have listened to 2 copies of this recording now on various sound systems, they are identical, so that is not the problem.

If you are a particular fan of one or all of theses singers and are looking for an excellent second recording of Rigoletto for historical value, by all means purchase it, and the price is quite reasonable (even cheap.) But I would avoid it as a first. Look to the fine Pavarotti/Sutherland/Milnes, or the later Milnes with Kraus (1978,) the Bjorling/Merrill, or especially the unsurpassed Leonard Warren/Peerce/Berger recording from 1950 for a first.

"Rigoletto" has been well served on disc; you can go right back to the 1950 RCA Victor set with Leonard Warren, or the 1954 Cetra set with Taddei (see my review) and be very satisfied both with the sound and the superlative performances. I do not find that more recent recordings reach that standard and do not particularly rate the DG version conducted by Giulini; as much as I admire the artists in other things, that set seems to me to lack the edge and theatricality of earlier recordings such as this one - and the voices are simply not as exciting. You certainly get plenty of excitement here, with Merrill turning a performance just as stirring vocally and perhaps even better acted than his earlier Perlea set with Bjorling. He is in tremendous form, that great, bronze voice caressing Verdi's beautiful melodies and his engagement with the role is matched by the technically flawless, girlish, touching Gilda of Moffo, her voice in its liquid, open-hearted prime. She makes judicious use of portamenti and floats top notes without any strain. This is a performance to match her Violetta (see my review). I have read elsewhere that Solti drives hard - too hard - but I hear no inappropriate rush in the more introspective moments such as Gilda's "Tutte le feste" and he can certainly be relied upon to maximise the horror and pathos of that terrible thunderstorm scene. As ever, I have minor reservations about Kraus' Duke. I admit that I do not much like the essentially reedy quality of his voice and having watched him sing and conduct master classes, I think I can see how his insistence upon the "letter-box" shaped mouth makes his vocal production flawed and white - hence the squeezed nature of his ill-advised top D at the climax of "Possente amor" - but (as I have said in other reviews) you either like him or you don't and he certainly delivers an impassioned, caddish Duke, even if he cannot match the virile beauty of Bjorling or Pavarotti. (I must also concede that his top B at the end of "La donna e mobile" is a cracker.) The supporting cast is fine, even if others elsewhere are marginally preferable.

For me, the twin glories of this set are Solti's direction and Merrill's peerless vocalisation. As much as I love the way Gobbi matchlessly inflects the text, Merrill is altogether more secure and thrilling, vocally. This set is available cheaply in the new Sony "Masterworks Opera" series with a downloadable libretto and the sound is marvellous - you'd never guess it was recorded in 1963.

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

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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

It really doesn't get much better than this. The glory of this recording is the delicate, lovely and intelligent singing of Anna Moffo whose Gilda is perfection. Robert Merrill as Rigoletto turns in a startling demonstration of what nuanced and expresive singing can do to even such an old war-horse of a role. Alfredo Kraus was one of the outstanding tenors of the era and his Duke is also tremendous. The RCA Italiana Orchestra and Chorus are first rate and this includes the many solo or near solo bits for woodwinds. Solti's conducting is very idiosyncratic, marked by some extremely rapid tempi. Luckily, everyone is able to keep up and indeed the principals continue to provide nuanced and effective performances at speeds that would turn most performances to mush. The effect is to prduce a very red-blooded and melodramatic performance -- but then Verdi's warhorses are best ridden hard.

There are several outstanding recordings of Rigoletto. This is one of them, and is not clearly surpassed by any. Its most distinctive aspects are Moffo's characterization and Solti's distinctive conducting. The sound is more than acceptable -- indeed, I don't really see much difference in quality from later recordings.

I believe that the nearly perfect 5 star review from Amazon explains the greatness of this opera well enough, but I have decided to put in my two cents.

Firstly, the conducting. Solti, one of my favorite conductors of all time, was quite versatile in his day, tackling Wagner, Beethoven, Mozart, R. Strauss, Puccini, Bizet, and Verdi all equally well (depending on who you talk to) and always knew how to create drama with his tempi, and here is no exception. He aims at the jugular right from the get-go, creating a dark and brooding atmosphere, forcing the listener into a depressing and remorseful world of greed, corruption, violence, and sex. Sir Georg makes "Rigoletto" into what I feel Verdi intended: a dark and unrelenting farce. This is not the melodramatic show piece that the opera has become over the years, but a deeply dramatic work. Solti's fast-paced tempi create the drama by using brute strength and force that amplifies the action excellently. The conducting has a bit of Toscanini in it (I have not heard many things by him, but they all contain great strength), and is exquisite in nearly every regard. It is also wonderfully, and authentically, Italian as well. Giulini, whose tempi are accurately described as "dramatic," is too lax at times (to absolutely no one's surprise), and lacks the flair needed to bring all of the drama out.

The RCA Italian Opera Orchestra sounds fantastic, and while it may not be the VPO (Giulini, DGG), it far surpasses it in terms of Italianette authenticity. The sound is lush and warm, almost red-hot at times, and (please note I only have the earlier 1990's release at this point, and given that RCA is not EMI, the new remaster is likely superior) better than one might expect for the 1960's. The stereo mixing is truly out of the early 60's, and true to RCA's and Decca's "soundstage" production style at the time, but (with the possible exception of the opening scene) never sounds as cheesy as it can sometimes be (Culshaw and Karajan's "Carmen" on RCA is the epitome of this cheesiness, surpassing the Solti Ring by a marathon). The sound effects are kept to a minimum, and those that are there are hardly intrusive.

Now for the cast:

WOW! This has to be one of the all around strongest casts I have ever encountered. Robert Merrill sings a dark and tormented Rigoletto, and although he may not be as Italian as Piero Cappuccilli, he is just as involved and a far superior vocalist. Alfredo Kraus is simply a wonderful Duke. He has the youthful voice, combined with high egotism, and even a sinister undertone that is perfect for the role. His "Donne é mobile" combines all of these qualities, and as far as I am concerned, no one can possibly surpass him (Note, I have not heard Pavarotti, nor do I plan to given that his acting skills are not up to par with the role, and his Bonynge set is tainted if only for the fact I find Bonynge to be a mediocre conductor and Sutherland an even worse actor). Ana Moffo is a wonderful Gilda. The youthfulness, innocence, pain, and tenderness is all there. She may not reach the same heights as Ileana Cotrubas (NO ONE DOES!), but here portrayal here is almost Oscar-worthy due to her sheer brilliance in acting. Enzo Flagello is not Nicolai Ghiaurov (then, again, who is?), but is a truly dark and mysterious Sparafucile. The rest of the cast is well rounded, with the talented Robert Kerns as Marullo.

This is overall a wonderful "Rigoletto," breaking the chain that nearly all of my favorite Verdi Recordings are on DGG, (Abbado's "Macbeth", "Don Carlos", "Simon Boccanegra", Kleiber's "Traviata", Domingo's 1990's "Otello" and even Giulini's "Trovatore" and "Rigoletto" range from 4.5 to 5 stars, and Leinsdorf's and Muti's "Aida"s and Solti's Requiem being the only other exceptions to DGG's superiority). I highly recommend it to anyone interested in listening to good opera, and especially the greatest possible version of Verdi's first true masterpiece.

Plus, given that Amazon has it for the shockingly low price of $10(!) WITH libretto(!!), you can buy this AND another recording at the same time.

Correction: The libretto is on disc 1 as a CD-ROM feature, not printed out as I thought it was, but at least it is included. On a side note, why is that a libretto could be included this way, but EMI has to put their's on separate discs? That's just a question worth asking in my opinion.