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Rigoletto
Metropolitan Opera House, Fri, October 20, 1978
Rigoletto (558)
Giuseppe Verdi | Francesco Maria Piave
- Rigoletto
- Cornell MacNeil
- Gilda
- Judith Blegen
- Duke of Mantua
- Neil Shicoff
- Maddalena
- Isola Jones
- Sparafucile
- Kurt Moll
- Monterone
- John Cheek
- Borsa
- James Atherton
- Marullo
- Robert Goodloe
- Count Ceprano
- Philip Booth
- Countess Ceprano
- Loretta Di Franco
- Giovanna
- Ariel Bybee
- Page
- Alma Jean Smith
- Guard
- Domenico Simeone
- Conductor
- Giuseppe Patanè
Review 1:
Review of Robert Jacobson in Opera News
Last season's new "Rigoletto," directed by Dexter, has settled into the repertory, now led with idiomatic expertise by Giuseppe Patané (seen Oct. 20), who combines a flawless sense of drama and pulse with mellowness. But what he achieved in the pit was not reflected onstage - it looked more like a reading rehearsal than a performance. Cornell MacNeil remains a phenomenon after all these years, with his gold-standard baritone in rock-solid form, the tone thrilling; but his casual performance, in need of a director, looked careless in detail and showed contempt for his public. As the Duke, Neil Shicoff had moments of beauty and focused tone, others of dryness and disintegrating tone. Uneven in quality and power, he tended to chop phrase endings, failing to follow through to keep the line alive. As a performer he lacked that crucial self-awareness, and his womanizing did not seem convincing, but his clear, youthful sound got into high gear for a lively final act. Judith Blegen's Gilda had no limits of scrupulous phrasing, lovely floating high notes and basic appeal, but she sang Verdi's music as if it were a Bach cantata, without involvement, warmth or vocal body. "Caro nome" emerged like a vocalise, and she is too fine an artist for growth to be stunted at this stage. Kurt Moll ran away with the honors, rolling out his rich carpet of bass sound as Sparafucile; but John Cheek's young bass lent little weight or sonority to Monterone's curses.
Search by season: 1978-79
Search by title: Rigoletto,
Met careers
- Giuseppe Patanè [Conductor]
- Cornell MacNeil [Rigoletto]
- Judith Blegen [Gilda]
- Neil Shicoff [Duke of Mantua]
- Isola Jones [Maddalena]
- Kurt Moll [Sparafucile]
- John Cheek [Monterone]
- James Atherton [Borsa]
- Robert Goodloe [Marullo]
- Philip Booth [Count Ceprano]
- Loretta Di Franco [Countess Ceprano]
- Ariel Bybee [Giovanna]
- Alma Jean Smith [Page]
- Domenico Simeone [Guard]