Search - Verdi - Rigoletto / Marcelo Alvarez, Roberto Servile, Inva Mula, Andrea Silvestrelli, Svetlana Serdar, Keri Lynn Wilson, Siena Opera on DVD

A DIFFERENT Rigoletto

James A. Holland | Las Vegas, NV USA | 11/16/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"There's little I care to add to the very astute comments by my fellow reviewers, as I fully concur with almost everything that has thus far been noted.

I will say that I was not at odds with the production. True, this is not, by any means, a very "traditional" adaptation of the opera, but that's what I like about it.
I enjoyed the still effects, the slow motion overlays and the sometimes bizzare lighting effects.
What I didn't care for was the make-up work.
Some of the characters, Rigoletto in particular, looked like participants in a CHINESE opera, not a Verdi opera.
You can look at the DVD cover art to see my point.
Also not a fan of the costumes....eccentric fashion designs only work with a minimalist or abstract setting such as those employed in many modern operas. They don't work in a traditional setting.

Roberto Serville didn't impress me with his vocal chops. I thought his to be a finely acted perfromance, but vocally his voice lacks the power and sheer volume needed to really make this part work to its best effect.

Inva Mula did a very nice job both vocally and acting wise.

Marcello Alvarez turned also turned in a characteristically fine performance on all levels. The only problem with him these days is that he's getting..well...fat! Apparently there is some unwritten rule in opera lore that mandates that, as a tenors voice grows larger and heavier, so must the tenor himself.

The one perfromer who really impressed me was Andrea Silvestrelli. Hearing a good Basso in grand opera is almost as rare as hearing a good tenore. This is a big man, with a huge bass voice, who can also act quite convincingly.

Only one word of caution. The title of the DVD can be misleading because from looking at the cover and reading the title, some may think this to be a movie version of the opera.
This is a full scale operatic perfromance. Why the producers decided to call it the "Rigoletto Story" is not clear.

If you want to see a new, and slightly off color version of this classic opera then you'll enjoy this. If you want Domingo and Kiri Te Kanawa doing "Live at Covent Garden" then this is not your thing."

Look at that wart!... or is it a mic?

Alesmadro | 06/23/2006

(1 out of 5 stars)

"As my fellow reviewers already mentioned, this video has many flaws. The sound is very bad. At moments you can scarcely hear the orchestra; sometime sound and image are not really in sync; the voices are not well balanced. And you can see the mic! At first I thought that Servile/Rigoletto had a huge, ugly wart on his forehead, then I realized it was a microphone, and if you check you'll see one on almost every singer, on the forehead, at the hair line. Sparafucile has one on his check, poorly covered by his bart. Now, the problem with opera singer having this kind of micro, is that the voice comes out muffled or - on the contrary - too loud and ugly (like in Sparafucile's case). It was very annoying to see and hear this DVD, for this reason.
Then the staging. Quite boring and without fantasy. It may seem unconventional if you are used to the old-fashioned, dusty Met stagings à la Otto Schenk. Otherwise, everything is just as the libretto describes it. No hint, no attempt to suggest something more or something other than the plain story.
The singing. Mula is very good. Álvarez is good too, but with some small imperfections in the high notes (saliva in his throat?). Servile sings loud the whole time, no nuance, no real mezzavoce. Sparafucile's voice is distorted by the micro.
It's difficult to judge the conducting when - as I said - you scarcely hear the orchestra.
Really disappointing..."

Good Rigoletto in the bargain bin

P. Baum | Tampa, FL | 12/13/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I was lucky to stumble across this at a Big Lots (of all places) and for a few bucks I have a perfectly fine "Rigoletto" on DVD. The production itself seemed to be idomatic Verdi; the costumes were fine and we get the pluses but very few minuses of an outdoor presentation. Yeah, the editing is a bit herky-jerky at times but
I did not find it obstrusive at all and, on occasion, it was quite effective (like when Gilda is stabbed by Sparafucile.) There are a few times where I wouldn't have shown the conductor during key dramatic moments.
Inva Mula, who I'd never heard of, is an excellent Gilda, pulling off an almost flawless
"Caro Nome." Marcelo Alvarez is a near-ideal Duke, with a ringing tenor voice that is a nice alternative to the usual Pavarotti or Domingo (both great, of course.) The few extra pounds actually suit this
amoral character. Roberto Servile is the problem. This may have been an off-night for him, as I've heard much better singing from him on YouTube. There's just too much vibrato for Servile to make a positive impression; it is one of those vocal performances where too often the voice surrounds a note rather than nailing it. Andrea Silvestrelli is a Sparafucile you wouldn't want to mess with and Svetlana Serdar is almost
as good as his sister (and certainly looks the part.) The Monterone
and Ceprano both sport excellent basso voices. Keri Lynn Wilson conducts well, although the opening courtier scene has a tad too much adrenaline.
As a good, lower priced "Rigoletto," coming from someone who has listened to opera for some forty years, I'd recommend this for the budget-minded.



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