Leonard Warren & Bidu Sayão - Rigoletto Act 1 finale (1945 live)

Listen to Warren's 'Gilda' cries near the end - he 'hits' a sustained tenor high C in full voice!

One of my favorite live recordings of Rigoletto: 29 December 1945 Met broadcast - conducted by Cesare Sodero. Leonard Warren, Jussi Björling, and Bidu Sayao all in their vocal primes.

"Riedo - perchè...Zitti, zitti"
The Rigoletto Act 1 finale.

More excerpts to come.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• leonard
• warren
• bidu
• sayao
• rigoletto
• act
• finale
• one
• verdi
• giuseppe
• baritone
• high
• note
• gilda
• scream
• italian
• soprano
• metropolitan
• opera
• singing

[rmr326]

WOW!



[legatofancier]

Recordings of Warren's live performances seem to have a vitality missing from most of his studio performances. His voice sounds fuller, more unified, and the singing more immediate than the commercial recordings. Some people who heard him live told me that they felt that he did not record well. They have had something there. His dynamics and the harmonic overtones in his voice are not always well reproduced in his commercial recordings. Often times, they come across better in live recordings.

[lhbbstar34]

wish i could hear this in person

[VinylToVideo]

Thanks; from what I recall this recording as a whole was great and featured a fantastic cast.

[francescaemc2]

Che meraviglia!!! Grazie. xie xie.

[operbathosa]

A great recording. TY Theo.

[Herur22]

It was nice to listen to all these clips.

[InBoccaChiusa]

Verdi had to contend with Austrian censors, and poor Piave did his best with the libretto. King Francis I of France is a more fleshy character in Hugo's equally controversial play. Gilda is far more interesting that her counterpart (Blanche) in the play. This performance is second to none of the ones I've seen or those on record. As mentioned, it is indeed magical.

[meltzerboy]

Rigoletto is a great opera--a banal statement, I realize, but a valid one nonetheless. It has beautiful, familiar melodies, emotional impact, and it's never dull from beginning to end. While the character of Rigoletto is complex, the Duke is a stereotyped caricature, and Gilda is more interesting than one might think at first. When the roles are interpreted by great artists, such as Warren and Sayao, and there is a gifted conductor, the magic of this opera is a real delight. Thanks for sharing!