Verdi: Rigoletto (Verona, 2001)
 

Cast: Leo Nucci (Rigoletto), Inva Mula (Gilda), Aquiles Machado (Duke), Mario Luperi (Sparafucile), Sarah M'Punga (Maddalena), Milena Josipovich (Giovanna), Giuseppe Riva (Monterone), Andrea Piccinni (Marullo), Arena di Verona, Marcello Viotti (conductor), Charles Roubaud (director)

Recorded 21 July 2001 at the Arena in Verona

Issued on DVD in 2002 by TDK Mediactive (NTSC/regions 1,3,4,5,6 with menus in English and subtitles in English, French, Spanish, and Italian; DV-OPRIG, PAL/region 0 with menus in English and subtitles in English, French, German, Spanish, and Italian).

Technical Details:
Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Sound: LPCM Stereo; AC3 Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1 (reviewed in stereo)

Running time: 134 minutes

Sung in Italian
 
This is a solid, conventional and rather satisfying reading using elementary but effective sets. The chorus and orchestra are near the norm for regional opera and the conducting, while leisurely, communicates well. Although there is some miking of the singers, it is not intrusive and does not appear to alter the quality of the voices, though it obscures their relative sizes.
 
Nucci is drier than in previous outings, rarely suggesting legato. To the extent possible, his physical acting compensates and there are no serious errors of pitch to report. He thrives in Act I, credibly provoking the Duke, inveighing against the inevitable in 'Pari siamo' and feverishly assuring Gilda's safety in his home. In Act III, his dry, direct approach works well and it is viable in Act II until, in 'Cortigiani', he must be vulnerable at 'Miei Signori'. He lacks the means to express love for his daughter. The substitute is adequate, but no more.
 
Mula offers a rounder voice and less precise fioriture than customary, making her naiveté less than credible, but leaving an effective portrayal. Machado is a pleasant surprise with a classic lyric tenor of some quality. He takes the D-flat in the garden duet and is given 'Possente amor', though he eschews the D. He is 'tenor-shaped': short and round, but he carries the day vocally. Luperi's light and wooly bass does not serve Sparafucile well and M'Punga disappoints vocally with a thin, unfocussed tone (though she is eminently credible physically).
 
The challenges of recording in the Verona Arena are not fully met through leaps from wide views to closeups. Given that 'wide' in this theater is 'vast', the view at home would be better served with an intermediate scale. The stage is well lighted and video is crisp. The sound is occasionally diffuse but solo voices are well captured. In all, this is one of the better video recordings of the opera with imaginative staging and Nucci's (necessarily) unusual approach to the title role.
 
Related website:
TDK Mediactive www.tdk-mediactive.com
 
Michael Richter, 31 December 2002
mrichter@cpl.net
 
See also Michael Richter's Introduction to the DVD, for a list of other reviews see the DVD Project page.