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A pleasing second-string "Rigoletto"

Joseph A. Newsome | Burlington, NC United States | 05/31/2000

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Verdi's "Rigoletto" has received some of the most accomplished recordings in the operatic discography. This set, recorded for EMI in 1967, is interestingly cast. As Rigoletto, American baritone Cornell MacNeil sings with his customary intensity, but the voice is a shade past its best condition. The moments of tenderness do not come easily for MacNeil, and the moments of raging passion (such as the "Si, vendetta" cabaletta to "Tutte le feste") emerge as tightly-muscled and only half-interpreted. MacNeil was in decidedly better voice on his first recording of "Rigoletto" (on Decca), but this performance is competent and certainly not embarrassing. Ferrin and di Stasio as Sparafucile and Maddalena are acceptable, but they do not create the viciously dangerous sibling murders that they should. One small glory of this recording is a cameo by the young Ruggero Raimondi as Monterone. Raimondi gives the all-important curse an appropriate shading of violence and foreboding. As the Duke of Mantua, Nicolai Gedda provides his usual technical security although the voice itself, as recorded here, is not altogether pleasing. Still, it must be admitted that he sings his role quite well. African-American soprano Reri Grist creates a fragile Gilda, cold and naive. The coloratura is finely wrought, and she contributes a charmingly pert "Caro nome." In the latter acts, she fails to develop Gilda's character in a way that gives her final sacrifice for her love of the Duke real creditability. Again, on purely vocal terms, she sings the role of Gilda well. This recording faces severe opposition (the Callas recording on EMI, the Scotto/Bergonzi/Fischer-Dieskau recording on DG, the Sutherland/Pavarotti/Milnes recording on Decca), and it can overcome few of its rivals on disc. Nonetheless, this performance is well-sung and a good, inexpensive purchase with which to test the waters of Verdi. Not the best "Rigoletto," then, but one which does not leave the listener dissatisfied and demanding a refund."