Description
Verdi: Rigoletto - Robert Merrill, Roberta Peters, Jussi Bjoerling, Giorgio Tozzi, Jonel Perlea, Rome Opera Orchestra & Chorus / Opera Series / RCA Victor Gold Seal / BMG Music 2x Audio CD 1990 / GD60172
UPC 0035626017224
Rigoletto is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play Le roi s'amuse by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had control over northern Italian theatres at the time, the opera had a triumphant premiere at La Fenice in Venice on 11 March 1851.
The work, Verdi's sixteenth in the genre, is widely considered to be the first of the operatic masterpieces of Verdi's middle-to-late career. Its tragic story revolves around the licentious Duke of Mantua, his hunch-backed court jester Rigoletto, and Rigoletto's daughter Gilda. The opera's original title, La maledizione (The Curse), refers to a curse placed on both the Duke and Rigoletto by a courtier whose daughter the Duke has seduced with Rigoletto's encouragement. The curse comes to fruition when Gilda falls in love with the Duke and sacrifices her life to save him from the assassin hired by her father.
| Label: | BMG Music – GD60172 |
|---|---|
| Format: |
2 x CD, Album
|
| Country: | UK |
| Released: |
1990 |
| Genre: | Opera |
| Style: |
Rigoletto - Robert Merrill
Gilda - Roberta Peters
Duke of Mantua - Jussi Bjoerling
Sparafucile - Giorgio Tozzi
Maddalena - Anna Maria Rota
Giovanna - Silvana Celli
Count Monterone - Mittorio Tatozzi
Marullo - Arturo La Porta
Borsa - Lommaso Frascati
Count Ceprano - Leonardo Monreale
Countess Ceprano - Lidia Grandi
Papgio/Page - Santa Chissart
Usciere/Herald - Andrea Mineo
Total Playing Time:
CD 1 - 53:36
CD 2 - 59:30
- Orchestra, Choir - Rome Opera Orchestra & Chorus
- Conductor - Jonel Perlea
