Verdi: Rigoletto (Royal Opera House, 2000)

Cast: Paolo Gavanelli (Rigoletto), Christine Schäfer (Gilda), Marcelo Alvarez (Duke), Eric Halfvarson (Sparafucile), Graciela Araya (Maddalena), Royal Opera Chorus, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Edward Downes (conductor), David McVicar (director), Sue Judd (video director)

Recorded at Royal Opera House, London, in 2000

Issued on DVD by Opus Arte in 2002 [OA 0829 D, PAL subtitles in English, French, German, Dutch, Spanish; OA 0830 D, NTSC/all regions, menus in English, optional subtitles in English]

Technical details:
Aspect ratio 16/9
Sound Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Stereo

Running time: 135 minutes

Sung in Italian
This may well be Rigoletto for our times. It is a driven performance without errors but without grace or beauty. The production is brutal with full frontal nudity illustrating the depravity of the Mantuan court. Sets are stark and brutal, movements are exaggerated and explicit.

Yet, on its own terms, it succeeds. It is beautifully recorded, visually and audibly. Downes offers a more massive and darker sonic palette than usual with well-judged tempi and ample support for the singers. Gavanelli's jester lacks mirth and paternal affection, but one must acknolwedge his ease in the role and his brilliant, ample baritone. Alvarez is the only one of the three principals with a true legato, but he has few opportunities to exploit it. His portrayal is neither inherently evil nor naively wicked; this Duke complies with the baseness about him rather than leading it. The voice is well produced over the range (he has the 'Possente amor' cabaletta but eschews the unwritten high D) though he sounds more brilliant than beautiful. Schäfer's Gilda is hard rather than innocent, scarcely less forward than the flirtatious Countess Ceprano. Halfvarson's Sparafucile cannot reach the depravity achieved so easily by Gavanelli; Araya seems little more licentious than Gilda.

The story of Rigoletto is brutal. If the beauty and romance of Verdi's score are diminished, this recording makes its violence explicit.
 
Related website:
Opus Arte www.opusarte.com
 
Michael Richter, 1 November 03
mrichter@cpl.net
 
See also Michael Richter's Introduction to the DVD, for a list of other reviews see the DVD Project page.