Search - Giuseppe Verdi, Rafael Kubelik, La Scala Theater Orchestra :: Verdi: Rigoletto

Give it a listen.

J. Ruggirello | Long Beach, CA United States | 07/16/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I absolutely love this recording. I used to own the LP, paid top dollar for an import CD awhile back, and am happy to see it now available at a very nice price.



I guess some people hear what they want to hear. Say "Fischer-Dieskau as Rigoletto" and the initial reaction might be "huh?" But listen to what the man does. Verdi wrote for high baritone, and Fischer-Dieskau's tenorish quality fits the music perfectly. His tender moments, and there are quite a few in this opera, are meltingly sweet and heart breaking. And don't tell me he doesn't have enough power and bite for "Cortigiani"! Others may prefer Merrill, or Milnes, or some more typical Verdi baritone. To me, compared with Fischer-Dieskau's beautifully sung, magnificently acted and nuanced performances, those other guys just sound monochromatic, ballsy and boring.



And say "Scotto" and people think of the edgy, shrill, hammy and over-the-top persona she adopted later on. Here she's just radiant, and lovely, with impeccable intonation and pinpoint accuracy. This and her Lucia are fabulous, immensely enjoyable performances.



Bergonzi is the paragon everyone says he is. Who would you rather hear as the Duke? Kraus, maybe, but he's saddled with a clunky conductor. The supporting cast on these CDs is equally fine.



The real star is Kubelik. Who'd a thunk it? But this, the earliest of Verdi's operas to have a symphonic, through-composed character (as opposed to being merely a succession of numbers) receives a powerful, dynamic reading here that is unmatched for color, flexibility and drama. Like the best recorded performances (Monteux' Traviata, Serafin's Ballo) everything here is just as it should be.



A great, great recording. Don't miss it."

This recording started a 40+ yr. love of opera for me.

Wings42 | San Diego, CA United States | 10/21/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"As a 24 yr. old rock-and-roller, I checked the cassette tapes of this recording out of the library in 1966 out of curiosity. As somebody completely new to opera, I just tolerated the music enough to keep listening. Then came the Act II quartet which blew me and then my wife away. We almost wore the borrowed cassettes out.



We eventually turned into multi-decade season ticket holders and love the entire world of opera, but Rigoletto remains our favorite. In our minds Rigoletto is the operetic standard, a "perfect" balance and meshing of drama, technical fireworks, lyricism, melody, emotion, memorable characterization, solos and duets, ensemble pieces, choral and orchestral music. When this recording became available on CD, we rejoiced and bought it to add to our collection of two other Rigoletto recordings.



We were lucky starting our life-long love affair with opera with this 1964 recording. Renata Scotto is in perfect voice. Carlo Bergonzi as the Duke is warm, lyrical, and seductive. Dietrich Firsher-Dieskau as Rigoletto also has a warm, lyrical voice, unusual for Rigoletto but beautifully heartbreaking. The chorus of courtiers plays a critical starring role in Rigoletto and the La Scala chorus is superb as always, as is the direction by Rafael Kubelik. The sound quality is fuzzy by current standards, hence the 4 star rating, but is very acceptable for casual listening such as in an automobile.



If you don't have any other recordings of Rigoletto, I'd recommend the recording with Joan Sutherland, Luciano Pavarotti, Sherill Milnes, and the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Richard Bonynge, for the excellent sound quality and poweful performances. However, you can't go wrong with this recording, especially for the price."

Good, but its not Scotto's best.

OperaOnline.us | Boston, MA | 07/31/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This is a 2005 2-CD release of a 1964 recording of Rigoletto, featuring the talents of Carlo Bergonzi, singing the role of the Duke, Renata Scotto singing Gilda and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau singing Rigoletto. By now, anyone who owns this recording has formed his or her own opinion about the interpretation of the role of Gilda by Ms. Scotto. I found her voice almost too overwhelming and "earthy" for such a vulnerable character as Gilda, although she does hit some incredible highs in her Caro Nome and demonstrates a wonderfully smooth ability to glide into the higher scale with what appears to be effortless ease. Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau's voice on the other hand is saturated with emotion and in the manner of its delivery it evokes empathy for the character. Carlo Bergonzi, too, seems the right fit for the role. His voice contains just the right amount of arrogance and swagger that you would expect from the Duke. Alas, the only singer out of place, it seems, is Ms. Scotto, not because she is ill-equipped, but rather because her voice may lack the vulnerability and innocence of the character that is Gilda. Still, this is a fine 2-CD set -- and it pays to remember that one reviewer's opinion of one aspect of a recording does not make it so for all listeners. The orchestra, Coro e Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala, under the direction of Rafael Kubelik is flawless, as is the overall quality of this Deutsche Grammophon release. The booklet that comes with this set contains bare bones information limited to the order of songs and featured singers and not much else."