Terrific performance, the DVD leaves a lot to be desired and doesn't do it justice

'Rigoletto', from personal opinion, is top 5 Verdi. The story is compelling and moving as well as one of the most concise stories of any of Verdi's operas (along with 'Otello'), Rigoletto is a complex character and not one to forget and the music is magnificent with some of Verdi's most best-known arias.

This production doesn't quite make it as first choice (the Ponnelle film, one of the best opera films ever made), but boy does it come close. Regarding the production, my only complaints are that some scenes are too darkly lit, making already dark in atmosphere scenes very difficult to make out what's going on (a notable example being the Act 1 encounter between Rigoletto and Sparafucile), and a slightly too blustery Monterone, though the production deserves enormous credit for not weakening his hold over Rigoletto when cursing him and the aftermath or making him a buffoon.

Sadly, the DVD available for an otherwise terrific production that deserves to be better known leaves a lot to be desired. The sound is excellent, but the video directing is blurry, wobbly and out of focus, particularly Gilda in Act 1, and the picture quality is also too dark further adds to the over-darkness and over-gloom seen in the lighting. It is a shame that it doesn't do the production justice.

Other than the lighting however, the production values are fine. The traditional costumes and sets ideally capture a great mix of the splendour but also seediness of the Duke's court at the start of the opera and the darker and more tragic elements of the end of Act 3. The staging does not consist of static movement and singers only emoting on the spot with just arm gestures and variable facial expressions. Rigoletto is beautifully developed here, and the crucial father and daughter relationship which is a huge part of whether a production of 'Rigoletto' works or not is very affectingly realised, helped by great chemistry between Leo Nucci and Luciana Serra. The concise and very emotionally wide drama is constantly gripping, The Duke's court is suitably vigorous, Rigoletto's encounter with Sparafucile is foreboding and Rigoletto and Gilda's duets tender.

Musically, it is very difficult to find fault. The orchestral playing is powerful and nuanced in a very texturally and emotionally rich score, while the chorus are beautifully balanced and expressive, nothing about their stage direction is static or resorts to mugging. Angelo Campori's conducting is not the most idiomatic or exciting there is but is accommodating and alert enough, very competent and in no way does it bring the production down.

With the performances, all three leads are superb. The Duke of Mantua is one of Alfredo Kraus's best roles, and he still sounds amazing despite it being so late in his career with a bright and never strained tone used with impeccable style, artistry and taste (yes even in the interpolated high D in "Possente Amor" and the long high note in "La Donna E Mobile", both of which absolutely thrill the socks off the usually very particular audience). Can't fault him dramatically either, witty, cynical and also quite seedy, plus when he is seducing Maddalena in Act 3 there is nothing whatsoever mechanical, and in his other arias he is zesty in "Questo E Quella" and affecting in "Parmi Veder Le Lagrime".

Luciana Serra's Gilda has to rank up there with her best performances, and she is a very accomplished Queen of the Night. Her Colouratura dazzles particularly in "Caro Nome", and she even manages some floated soft high notes that are almost as piercingly beautiful as those of Montserrat Caballe. Her acting sees her at her most comfortable and involved, bringing a moving rapport with Nucci and a girlish naivety. Leo Nucci is simply magnificent here in a role that he was still singing less than ten years ago. He has never sounded better, with none of the pushing he's prone to, and he embodies every single element/dimension to this killer character. You really feel Rigoletto's lancing wit and self-loathing when you first meet him, his malevolence and poignancy in "Cortigiani", his thirst for revenge in "Si Vendetta", his fatherly love and tenderness in his duets with Gilda, his riotous triumph as he gloats over who he thinks is the duke in the sack and his anguish for the "La Malediozione".

It's not just the three leads though. Michele Pertusi is a sinister Sparafucile, and the Maddalena is appropriately seductive.

All in all, the DVD leaves a lot to be desired but the production is terrific with a couple of small problems. 8/10 Bethany Cox

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Giuseppe Verdi: Rigoletto, Melodramma in three acts

'Rigoletto' di Giuseppe Verdi

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