[Met Performance] CID:170280



Rigoletto
Metropolitan Opera House, Wed, December 14, 1955

Debut : Gianni Poggi




Rigoletto (358)
Giuseppe Verdi | Francesco Maria Piave
Rigoletto
Robert Merrill

Gilda
Roberta Peters

Duke of Mantua
Gianni Poggi [Debut]

Maddalena
Martha Lipton

Sparafucile
Nicola Moscona

Monterone
Norman Scott

Borsa
Gabor Carelli

Marullo
Clifford Harvuot

Count Ceprano
Calvin Marsh

Countess Ceprano
Heidi Krall

Giovanna
Thelma Votipka

Page
Vilma Georgiou

Guard
Louis Sgarro


Conductor
Fausto Cleva







Review 1:

Review of F. M. Jr. in January 1, 1956 issue of Musical America

Making his Metropolitan Opera debut, Gianni Poggi sang the Duke in the season's fourth performance of "Rigoletto." The young Italian, engaged for one guest appearance, has sung extensively in his homeland and is known to Americans through his recordings. Though his singing was uneven during the early part of the evening, Mr. Poggi showed that he is gifted with a warm, lyric voice, which was not immense in volume but which carried clearly and effortlessly. That "Questa o quella" was a little hurried and tonally blurred was probably caused by the strain of a Metropolitan debut. By the third act Mr. Poggi settled down and produced some beautiful, caressing tones in "Parmi veder." In the Quartet, apparently, he misjudged the acoustics, for his voice predominated to such an extent that the other principals were practically inaudible. Histrionically, Mr. Poggi was less convincing. He made the Duke a good-natured, rather placid fellow and acted with broad, often comic gestures.

Other members of the cast were familiar-Roberta Peters, as Gilda; Robert Merrill, as Rigoletto; Martha Lipton, as Maddalena; Nicola Moscona, as Sparafucile. Completing the list were Thelma Votipka, Norman Scott, Clifford Harvuot, Gabor Carelli. Calvin Marsh, Heidi Krall, Vilma Georgiou, and Louis Sgarro. Fausto Cleva conducted.



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