I just want to say I love opera and Rigoletto is one of my favourites of all time. But I was really disappointed with this. The only redeeming qualities for me were the sublime music and the clever camera work.
Other than that, this Rigoletto is a mess and so far is the only Rigoletto I don't like. I try not to be a purist, but I didn't like the staging or how the characters were portrayed. When it comes to staging, it was either very unimaginative or left a bad taste in the mouth.
Gilda singing Caro Nomme in the bath is more the former than the latter, however seeing the Duke urinating during La Donna E Mobile, his men on motor scooters and the attendants in pink shorts as they march Monterone out didn't bode well with me. Of course I've seen some bizarre staging before but most of these occasions are not as unintentionally funny, unimaginative or gimmicky as the staging here.
The nudity is also a turn off. I don't mind that there is some in the first scene for example as it sets the scene in a sense, but the nudity is excessive and unnecessary here. Also some scenes don't have the impact they should. The only one to come close is Cortigiani, and even that's not close enough. The meeting between Rigoletto and Sparafucile is lacking too, the atmosphere is dull and Sparafucile isn't sinister enough. The climatic trio is one of the highlights of the opera, and due to the ambiance and the lack of drama it was stripped off its intensity.
I also felt some of the characters' personalities were taken to extreme levels. One was the Duke. Here he is made so cynical and so unlikeable, that by Parmi Veder Lagrime I didn't feel any sympathy or poignancy for him. Faring worst is Gilda. This is a very naive albeit principled character, but did Verdi ever intend for her to be as ditsy as she is here? Personally I don't think so.
Usually I don't have a problem with updating, but I am not so forgiving when the production in question doesn't fit with the opera's tone, which is the case here. I did find Rigoletto's flat decorations on the garish side, and the meeting between him and Sparafucile was in warranting of a more foreboding setting.
Aside from the camera work, I wasn't impressed with the technical aspects. Of note here are the lip synching and the sound. In regard to the lip synching, the worst case is that of Gilda, it is so sloppy I got a sense the actress didn't know her lines very well. The sound doesn't do the orchestra justice, it makes them sound distant. The conducting also sounds very plodding, making the normally touching duets with Gilda and Rigoletto dull.
The performances don't fare much better. The most consistent is Peter Michailov's Rigoletto, a very moving and conscientiously sung performance. Gilda is sung with just the right amount of agility, but the actress looks lost and disengaged. The Duke is made to do some of the more distasteful parts of the staging, and his uneasiness of doing it shows.
Parmi Veder Lagrime doesn't have the pathos it should, due to the extremes gone to make the character overly-cynical, we know he is a seedy character, we don't need obvious staging to emphasise this and then strip bare the one scene where he shows any genuine love. The sound not only undermines the music, but also the Duke's singing, his singing with Maddalena and in the quartet has a yodelling quality to it.
Sparafucile disappoints too, physically he is imposing but in the acting he is not sinister enough for my tastes and the singing lacks resonance and security in pitch. Overall, a mess of a Rigoletto and not recommended. 1/10 Bethany Cox
Other than that, this Rigoletto is a mess and so far is the only Rigoletto I don't like. I try not to be a purist, but I didn't like the staging or how the characters were portrayed. When it comes to staging, it was either very unimaginative or left a bad taste in the mouth.
Gilda singing Caro Nomme in the bath is more the former than the latter, however seeing the Duke urinating during La Donna E Mobile, his men on motor scooters and the attendants in pink shorts as they march Monterone out didn't bode well with me. Of course I've seen some bizarre staging before but most of these occasions are not as unintentionally funny, unimaginative or gimmicky as the staging here.
The nudity is also a turn off. I don't mind that there is some in the first scene for example as it sets the scene in a sense, but the nudity is excessive and unnecessary here. Also some scenes don't have the impact they should. The only one to come close is Cortigiani, and even that's not close enough. The meeting between Rigoletto and Sparafucile is lacking too, the atmosphere is dull and Sparafucile isn't sinister enough. The climatic trio is one of the highlights of the opera, and due to the ambiance and the lack of drama it was stripped off its intensity.
I also felt some of the characters' personalities were taken to extreme levels. One was the Duke. Here he is made so cynical and so unlikeable, that by Parmi Veder Lagrime I didn't feel any sympathy or poignancy for him. Faring worst is Gilda. This is a very naive albeit principled character, but did Verdi ever intend for her to be as ditsy as she is here? Personally I don't think so.
Usually I don't have a problem with updating, but I am not so forgiving when the production in question doesn't fit with the opera's tone, which is the case here. I did find Rigoletto's flat decorations on the garish side, and the meeting between him and Sparafucile was in warranting of a more foreboding setting.
Aside from the camera work, I wasn't impressed with the technical aspects. Of note here are the lip synching and the sound. In regard to the lip synching, the worst case is that of Gilda, it is so sloppy I got a sense the actress didn't know her lines very well. The sound doesn't do the orchestra justice, it makes them sound distant. The conducting also sounds very plodding, making the normally touching duets with Gilda and Rigoletto dull.
The performances don't fare much better. The most consistent is Peter Michailov's Rigoletto, a very moving and conscientiously sung performance. Gilda is sung with just the right amount of agility, but the actress looks lost and disengaged. The Duke is made to do some of the more distasteful parts of the staging, and his uneasiness of doing it shows.
Parmi Veder Lagrime doesn't have the pathos it should, due to the extremes gone to make the character overly-cynical, we know he is a seedy character, we don't need obvious staging to emphasise this and then strip bare the one scene where he shows any genuine love. The sound not only undermines the music, but also the Duke's singing, his singing with Maddalena and in the quartet has a yodelling quality to it.
Sparafucile disappoints too, physically he is imposing but in the acting he is not sinister enough for my tastes and the singing lacks resonance and security in pitch. Overall, a mess of a Rigoletto and not recommended. 1/10 Bethany Cox