Rigoletto is not only one of my favourite Verdi operas, but one of my favourite operas ever. It has a compelling, dark and very moving story, all the characters are memorable with Rigoletto the most complex of the Verdi baritone roles and of course the miraculous music.
This is an outstanding production. It is not quite perfect, I did find the idea of the guests being partially nude rather distracting regarding the mood the music at this particular point was conveying.
However, the costumes and sets are very well designed, and the lighting is suitably atmospheric particularly in the scene between Rigoletto and Sparafucile. The music is superbly performed in the orchestra, my god wasn't the climatic trio intense or what, and the conducting as solid as can be.
In this Rigoletto, there are three outstanding performances. One is Georg Zeppenfeld as the assassin Sparafucile. Entirely clad in black, Zeppenfeld certainly looks the part, and for me vocally he is the darkest and most authoritative Sparafucile since Talvela on the brilliant 1971 recording with Milnes, Sutherland and Pavarotti.
Another is Zeljko Lucic in the title role. Perhaps Lucic doesn't have the ideal Verdian voice, then again neither did Ingvar Wixell in the Jean Pierre Ponelle film and he was extraordinary there, but it is a powerful and musically used voice, he is a towering figure and he perfectly brings complexity, pathos and malevolence to the role, sometimes even in the same scene(ie. Cortigiani).
For me, the scene stealer was Diana Damrau. Her voice is of beauty and agility with showing both maturity and an appealing girl-like quality, and not only this but Damrau is the most charismatic Gilda I have seen in a long time, portraying her as a determined innocent. Her technique is also great, especially her legato as heard in Tutti Le Feste. Caro Nomme is wonderful and her chemistry with Lucic and Florez is genuine.
Juan Diego Florez was just good to me as the Duke of Mantua. I like Florez, I think he has a great voice and phenomenal technique and he is fun on stage. It is just that the Duke of Mantua is heavier than the Bellini/Donnizetti/Rossini Bel Canto roles Florez excels at. I don't think Florez quite captures the cynicism of the character, and his acting in the Quartet was rather stilted and mechanical. That said, he does have some sublime moments, he is actually in good voice with ringing high notes and good breath control, he has suitably playful eye contact in Questo a Quella, his Parmi Veder Le Lagrime is poignant and La Donna E Mobile is done with vigour.
The rest of the cast are good too, with Maddalena and Monterone particularly good. All in all, an outstanding if not entirely perfect Rigoletto. 9.5/10 Bethany Cox
