Verdi - Rigoletto (Nello Santi, Leo Nucci, Elena Moșuc, Piotr Beczala) [2006]

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Verdi - Rigoletto (Nello Santi, Leo Nucci, Elena Moșuc, Piotr Beczala) [2006]

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For many opera fans the favourite Rigoletto on dvd remains the 1983 film version starring the young Pavarotti as the dashing Duke, his irrepressible singing and high spirits contrasting sharply with the gut wrenching wretchedness of the jester played by Wixell almost to perfection,and of course the inimitable Gruberova as Gilda the jester's daughter.(For me this together with the Domingo/Migenes 'Carmen', and the Domingo/Stratas 'La Traviata' represents the best of opera films). Now comes the 2006 production of Rigoletto, staged by the Zurich Opera House with Chorus and Orchestra wonderfully conducted by Santi, recorded in High-Definition and transfered to an Arthaus Blu Ray disc of breathtaking quality. I'm not exaggerating. Even by today's Hi-Def standards, the picture quality here is simply stunning: inky blackness, realistic night time scenes accurately rendered with proper light and shadow effects, atmospheric blue lighting, and the sets and costumes show up in vivid pop-up colours with razor sharp contrasts. The audio is no less exemplary, with the DTS HD MA 7.1 presenting a wide and believable soundstage within which the singers' voices are clearly 'imaged'. No balance problems here. In fact, this disc is technically a near reference recording which will warm the hearts of audiopliles and videophiles everywhere. But what about the performance itself? Well, here Leo Nucci steals the show, his rich and dark-toned voice and excellent vocal characterisation both satisfy and convince. In Act 1, he is the cynical court jester and is nasty cockiness personified. Come Act 2, his is the voice of the enraged father hell bent on vengeance against his Duke and in the final Act we hear the sobs of a broken man cradling his dying daughter Gilda. By Chhan Thuan Kiat

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Verdi - Rigoletto (Nello Santi, Leo Nucci, Elena Moșuc, Piotr Beczala) [2006]

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