A disfigured court jester named Rigoletto seeks vengeance for his daughter who fell in love with the Duke of Mantua, and for his own humiliation, with tragic results.
Director: Sue Judd
Conductor: Edward Downes
Stars: Paolo Gavanelli, Christine Schäfer, Marcelo Álvarez, Eric Halfvarson, Graciela Araya.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0386749/
LittleSongBird gave this a 10, as did the only other reviewer, but the overall rating is much lower. She's a prolific IMDb reviewer, especially of opera, and claims Rigoletto is among her top 5 Verdi operas. I'd agree; my list: Otello, Rigoletto, Aida, Traviata, Ballo (some). She prefers the Ponnelle film with Pavarotti (me too), and some old Tito Gobbi stuff that I'll stay away from.
The production is dark. There's only 1 set, with a corrugated aluminum/steel lean-to and broken chicken-wire fencing. The Duke lives in a glass house, so he sees that stuff. It's a bleak place. I always have trouble imagining the Duke staying at Sparafucile's place, and this one, even more so. No pretty palace, no soothing garden, just tetanus potential everywhere.
Gilda is a boyish stick of a woman, hardly what I'd imagine the Duke mooning over for 3 months of Sundays at church. But then they make Ceprano's wife almost identical (he also raves about her), so they probably thought about it.
This is my 6th Rigoletto to rate, and except for the 7 set in Vegas, they're all 8's. I wonder if I watch the first 2 again, would their ratings go up?
I love the (dark, horrible) story, and the performances are fine. But I'm glad I didn't see this one first.
Rated 7.7 (26)
RoyalOpera, cond. Downes; 8-
