[Met Performance] CID:180020



Rigoletto
Metropolitan Opera House, Thu, October 30, 1958




Rigoletto (384)
Giuseppe Verdi | Francesco Maria Piave
Rigoletto
Leonard Warren

Gilda
Roberta Peters

Duke of Mantua
Eugenio Fernandi

Maddalena
Bel?n Amparan

Sparafucile
Nicola Moscona

Monterone
Norman Scott

Borsa
Gabor Carelli

Marullo
Calvin Marsh

Count Ceprano
George Cehanovsky

Countess Ceprano
Madelaine Chambers

Giovanna
Thelma Votipka

Page
Mildred Allen

Guard
Louis Sgarro


Conductor
Fausto Cleva


Director
Herbert Graf

Designer
Eugene Berman

Choreographer
Zachary Solov

Stage Director
Hans Busch





Rigoletto received fourteen performances this season.

Review 1:

Review of Bernie Hodes in Billboard

Handsome Met Revival Can Move 'Rigoletto' Waxings

The Metopera's first "Rigoletto" in two years (October 30) was a triumph of the whole rather than the parts. The resplendent sets and costumes, the grace of the ballet and the beauty of the staging worked in harmony toward an artistic unity. Since this fine production will be toured (and broadcast) by the Met later, dealers on the route have the chance for tie-ins, displays and to stock the RCA Victor and Angel waxings.

Our greatest current Rigoletto, Leonard Warren, fitted his dark baritone and strong thesping to the tragic parts of the title role, with fullness and sonority carrying the day despite an early wide vibrato. Eugenio Fernandi played his first Duke here with striking appearance, but flatted and choked occasionally and sounded uneasy at the top. Roberta Peters has consistently grown in the role of Gilda, her "Caro nome" exemplifying the perfection of vocal command and the certainty of her grasp. Her histrionic detachment alone prevents her from being a coloratura second to none.



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