Search - Giuseppe Verdi, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Neil Shicoff :: Verdi - Rigoletto / Bruson · Gruberova · Shicoff · Fassbaender · R. Lloyd · Matteuzzi · Rydl · Santa Cecilia · Sinopoli

Almost Perfect recording of Rigoletto

James Walters | Seattle, Washington | 08/05/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a great recording of Rigoletto. Bruson is the best Rigoletto recorded, his voice is perfect for the role. He is much more believable than Milnes and I love his rich deep baritone. Gruberova is perhaps the best Gilda ever! She has so much power to give yet can be so gentle and vulnerable, I love her Gilda!! The duets with her and Brunson are treasures. Shicoff is a good Duke, of course no one sings the role like Pavarotti but Shicoff is a close second. The only thing I miss in this recording are some of the optional high notes that are taken in the Pavarotti/Shutherland recording. But I respect Sinoppoli's descion to leave them out. Also in this format it is so affordable, why wouldn't you buy it."

Great cast; low price.

daniel0302 | New York, NY United States | 01/19/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Perhaps not the greatest "Rigoletto" ever, this 1984 recording has a lot to recommend it. With so many classic recordings of "Rigoletto", there is naturally a lot of competition. Bonynge (DECCA/LONDON) simply cannot be beat for glorious singing, while Giulini (DG) outclasses most for drama and interpretation. Edita Gruberova has formidable competition elsewhere - Sutherland, Cotrubas, Popp, Gueden, and others - but she holds her own against her lofty rivals. Anyone looking for a great performance of Gilda cannot go wrong with this one. Gruberova's limpid and delicate "Cara nome" is the love struck daydream that it should be. "Tutte le feste al tempio" is well captured as the realization of a child who has had to grow up far to quickly. Neil Shicoff is in glorious voice here. He creates his character skillfully and successfully. He wastes no time establishing himself as the salacious cad - it is clear from the moment he starts singing. Schicoff also turns on the seductive charm magnificently when making a conquest of Gilda and Maddalena. Renato Bruson is not the most beautiful voice recorded as Rigoletto, but he is genuinely touching, and it is hard to listen to him without being moved. His paternal love and humiliations are clearly presented, but never cliche. Giuseppe Sinopoli leads one of his typically idiosyncratic interpretations. There are some odd choices, yet many of them work. But many of them do not quite work, such as his frequent use of rubato. In Act 4, the well known quartet is oddly dull, yet the trio that follows is thrilling and exactly what it should be. The performance does not quite add up to the some of its parts, and Sinopoli lacks some of the cohesive overall interpretive vision found with Giulini and others. Nonetheless, on the merit of the three principle singers, it is easy to be enthusiastic about this recording. This budget release has no libretto, but the low price adds to the favorable assets."

The best "Rigoletto" recording I've heard

James Walters | 10/07/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Rigoletto is an undisputed masterpiece, with many of its arias, duets, and that famous quartet well known to opera buffs and others. In this recording, not only do we hear a believable, charming, but self-centredly ruthless Duke, but a superb Rigoletto himself in Bruson, who is vocally and dramatically at home in this role. And of course, the best Gilda on record is Edita Gruberova, whose ability to spin her voice into a fine exquisite line is world-renowned. She bring Gilda to life. The conducting is strong but sympathetic. In all, if you love Verdi's operas, or even if you don't, this is a superb recording."