Search - Verdi, Francesco Molinari Pradelli, Cornel MacNeil :: Verdi: Rigoletto

Rare casting with two Americans and a nice listen overall

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 12/19/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"A major-label Rigoletto with two Americans in lead roles is a rar avis, and yet EMI has hidden this set in their vaults for a long time. I find no reviews of it in either the Gramophone or Fanfare archives. Perhaps too many big-name rivals sank it -- EMI has the classic Callas and Sills versions, among others. One hoped that Gedda would be an outstanding Duke, but he's a bit worn of voice and not passionate enough. Which isn't to say that his singing isn't stylish and engaging. MacNeil enjoyed a long career at the Met and was probably the outstanding American-born Rigoletto between the eras of Robert Merrill and Leonard Warren and Sherrill Milnes. Fortunately, he doesn't shout with the merciless constancy of Milnes, and although the portrayal is conventional, MacNeil sounds thoroughly idiomatic and has a big, impressive voice. The one thing he isn't is touching, a serious drawback. Grist appears on quite a few prominent recordings, including Bernstein's Mahler Fourth, and her voice has a pleasing timbre. It's light and vibrant, as is her depiction of the cardboard Gilda -- it's not Grist's faualt that she can't find the pathos of Callas, but on the other hand she's not as overblown as Sutherland. Molinari-Pradelli's conducting is serviceable but no better.



In all, this recording offers a nice listen at a very cheap price, even if it cannot compete with the best versions in the field. My current favorite, at mid-price, is the Solti set on RCA with Robert Merrill in prime voice as the immortal hunchback."