Verdi Rigoletto (DVD) Javier Camarena, Luca Salsi, Enkeleda Kamani, Alessio Cacciamani; Orchestra e Coro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino/Riccardo Frizza; dir. Davide Livermore (Florence, 2021) Dynamic DVD: 37921; Blu-ray: 57921 130 mins
Recorded in February 2021 with a skeleton audience, this impressive performance of Rigoletto will now be seen by far more people – and deservedly so. Javier Camarena, a star of the bel canto repertoire, eschews the ‘bravado’ approach taken by many tenors and brings a beautiful light, silvery tone to the role of the Duke. His voice pairs perfectly with that of Enkeleda Kamani, a young Albanian singer surely destined for great things. Her vocal ease and purity of line, particularly in ‘Tutte le feste al tempio’, is something to behold, as is her naturalness in characterising Gilda as, first, an insouciant teenager and later a rape victim (for it is made graphically clear that that is what has taken place). Compelling, too, is Luca Salsi’s believable portrayal of Rigoletto: hollow-voiced as he cowers at Monterone’s curse; furiously vengeful at the end of Act II.
Davide Livermore’s production is reasonably conventional, but with imaginative flourishes aplenty. Gilda is incarcerated in a laundry (we are in the 1950s or early 1960s), not noticing as the Duke silences Giovanna with a gun. Sparafucile’s inn is a sophisticated den of iniquity, just the sort of place that would hold a glamorous allure for a naïve young girl. The desolate finale unfolds on a subway station platform. Masks on chorus members just about work, in the ominous underworld in which Rigolettotakes place, but here’s hoping we’ll see an end to them in fully staged performances soon.
Alexandra Wilson
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