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Giuseppe Verdi operas
Rigoletto (1851)
Il trovatore (1853)
La traviata (1853)
Les vêpres siciliennes (1855)
Un ballo in maschera (1859)
La forza del destino (1862)
Aida (1871)
Otello (1887)
Falstaff (1893)

“Rigoletto” by Giuseppe Verdi

Риголетто

Premiere / date of written: 11 March 1851

Libretti

# Language Authors
1 Italian Francesco Maria Piave
2 German
3 English Dale McAdoo, 1956, revised 1989
4 French B. Vierne

original libretto
line-by-line of the original libretto

Images

Audio recordings

Year Cast
Conductor,
Opera chorus and orchestra
Label,
Comment
Buy
1954
Rigoletto — Aldo Protti,
Duke of Mantua — Mario Del Monaco,
Gilda — Hilde Gueden,
Sparafucile — Cesare Siepi,
Maddalena — Giulietta Simionato
Alberto Erede
Orchestra and Chorus of the Accademia di Santa Cecilia, Rome
CD: Decca Cat: 440242

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1955
Rigoletto — Tito Gobbi,
Duke of Mantua — Giuseppe Di Stefano,
Gilda — Maria Callas,
Sparafucile — Nicola Zaccaria,
Maddalena — Adriana Lazzarini
Tullio Serafin
La Scala Orchestra and Chorus
CD: EMI Classics Cat: 747469

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1963
Rigoletto — Robert Merrill,
Duke of Mantua — Alfredo Kraus,
Gilda — Anna Moffo,
Sparafucile — Ezio Flagello,
Maddalena — Rosalind Elias
Sir Georg Solti
RCA Italiana Opera Orchestra and Chorus
CD: RCA Victor Cat: 70785

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1967
Rigoletto — Cornell MacNeil,
Duke of Mantua — Nicolai Gedda,
Gilda — Reri Grist,
Sparafucile — Agostino Ferrin,
Maddalena — Anna di Stasio
Francesco Molinari-Pradelli
Rome Opera House Orchestra and Chorus
CD: EMI Classics Cat: 3932822

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1971
Rigoletto — Sherrill Milnes,
Duke of Mantua — Luciano Pavarotti,
Gilda — Joan Sutherland,
Sparafucile — Martti Talvela,
Maddalena — Huguette Tourangeau
Count Monterone — Clifford Grant,
Giovanna — Gillian Knight,
Matteo Borsa — Riccardo Cassinelli,
Marullo — Christian Du Plessis,
Countess Ceprano — John Gibbs
Richard Bonynge
London Symphony Orchestra and the Ambrosian Opera Chorus
CD: Decca Cat: 414-269-2

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1979
Rigoletto — Piero Cappuccilli,
Duke of Mantua — Plácido Domingo,
Gilda — Ileana CotrubaÈ™,
Sparafucile — Nicolai Ghiaurov,
Maddalena — Elena Obraztsova
Carlo Maria Giulini
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and Vienna State Opera Chorus
CD: Deutsche Grammophon Cat: 457 753-2

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1994
Rigoletto — Renato Bruson
Duke of Mantua — Roberto Alagna
Gilda — Andrea Rost
Sparafucile — Dimitri Kavrakos
Maddalena — Mariana Pentcheva
Count Monterone — Giorgio Giuseppini
Giovanna — Antonella Trevisan
Matteo Borsa — Ernesto Gavazzi
Marullo — Silvestro Sammaritano
Countess Ceprano — Nicoletta Zanini
Count Ceprano — Antonio de Gobbi
A Page — Marilena Laurenza

La Scala Orchestra and Chorus
Sony Classical S2K 66314

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Video recordings

Year Cast
Conductor,
Opera chorus and orchestra,
Director
Label,
Comment
Buy
1977
Rigoletto — Cornell MacNeil,
Duke of Mantua — Plácido Domingo,
Gilda — Ileana CotrubaÈ™,
Sparafucile — Justino Díaz,
Maddalena — Isola Jones
James Levine
Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus
Kirk Browning
DVD: Deutsche Grammophon Cat: 00440 073 0930

Amazon.com
1982

DM's pick

Rigoletto — Ingvar Wixell,
Duke of Mantua — Luciano Pavarotti,
Gilda — Edita Gruberova,
Sparafucile — Ferruccio Furlanetto,
Maddalena — Victoria Vergara
Riccardo Chailly
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and Vienna State Opera Chorus
Jean-Pierre Ponnelle
Deutsche Grammophon Cat: 00440 073 4166; Decca Cat: 071401

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External links