Rigoletto 1971 #14 Ah, piu non ragiono. Joan Sutherland, Martti Talvela, Huguette Tourangeau

by Giuseppe Verdi (libretto by Francesco Maria Piave)

This 1971 studio recording is with Ambrosian Opera Chorus and the London Symphony Chorus, with conductor Richard Bonynge (husband of soprano Joan Sutherland).

Principal cast:
Joan Sutherland, soprano: Gilda
Luciano Pavarotti, tenor: the Duke of Mantua
Sherrill Milnes, baritone: Rigoletto
Martti Talvela, bass: Sparafucile
Huguette Tourangeau, mezzo-soprano: Maddalena

Category:

Music

Tags:

• opera
• verdi
• rigoletto
• sutherland
• Talvela
• Tourangeau

[patrick96321]

by Giuseppe Verdi (libretto by Francesco Maria Piave)

This 1971 studio recording is with Ambrosian Opera Chorus and the London Symphony Chorus, with conductor Richard Bonynge (husband of soprano Joan Sutherland).

Principal cast:

Joan Sutherland, soprano: Gilda

Luciano Pavarotti, tenor: the Duke of Mantua

Sherrill Milnes, baritone: Rigoletto

Martti Talvela, bass: Sparafucile

Huguette Tourangeau, mezzo-soprano: Maddalena

[Sieglinde84]

I love this trio, one of the scariest things Verdi ever wrote. With voices like this, you can't get it wrong.

[leporello56]

I love this whole act. It' so electrifying and scary and tragic in the end. And the performance here is more or less perfect

[cannante]

@ktpj sutherland ALWAYS used high notes. she heard a famous musician's comment comparing/contrasting sutherland w/video of tettrazini, she agreed with his conclusions.. something to the effect of "she has an amazing technique, and her voice is better than sutherland's."

she agreed because she was one of the greatest singers of the last century.... not voices.

the reason this bears on the discussion is that "our top notes are what we make of our voice; the bottom is what god gives to us."

[coryisawake]

Tourangeau is marvelous.

[BorisGodunov]

Talvela's voice alone is terrifying. I can't imagine what it would have been like to have seen him live, since he was 6'7. Bravo!

[ktpj]

Thanks, Patrick, for posting this by request. It's my favorite scene from Rigoletto. The climatic trio is hair-raising, especially since audience members know what will happen to Gilda. Doesn't Sutherland interpolate her final note higher than is written in the score? She hits a bullseye with it.