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Disc 1:

1. Prelude
2. Act 1. Scene 1.: Della mia bella incognita borghese
3. Act 1. Scene 1.: Questa o quella per me pari sono
4. Act 1. Scene 1.: Gran nuova! Gran nuova!
5. Act 1. Scene 1.: Ch'io gli parli
6. Act 1. Scene 2.: Quel vecchio maledivami!
7. Act 1. Scene 2.: Pari siamo!
8. Act 1. Scene 2.: Figlia!... Mio padre!
9. Act 1. Scene 2.: Ah! veglia, o donna
10. Act 1. Scene 2.: Giovanni, ho dei rimorsi
11. Act 1. Scene 2.: Che m'ami, deh, ripetimi
12. Act 1. Scene 2.: Gualtier Maldè... Caro nome
13. Act 1. Scene 2.: Riedo!... Perchè?
14. Act 1. Scene 2.: Zitti, zitti

Disc 2:

1. Act 2.: Ella mi fu rapita!
2. Act 2.: Duca, duca!
3. Act 2.: Possente amor mi chiama
4. Act 2.: Povero Rigoletto
5. Act 2.: Cortigiani, vil razza dannata
6. Act 2.: Mio padre!... Tutte le feste al tempio
7. Act 2.: Schiudete, ire al carcere
8. Act 3.: E l'ami?
9. Act 3.: La donna è mobile
10. Act 3.: Un di, se bel rammentomi
11. Act 3.: Bella figlia dell'amore
12. Act 3.: Venti scudi hai tu detto?
13. Act 3.: Ah, più non ragiono
14. Act 3.: Della vendetta alfin giunge l'istante!
15. Act 3.: V'ho ingannato, colpevole fui

Rating: - Buy this one for June Anderson
All the praise given to June Anderson is deserving. Although both Nucci and Pavarotti are quite strong in their respective roles, the year when this was recorded--in my humble opinion--was the American soprano's peak year. She just was at the hight of her power in 1989, and this recording captures it. Her voice is a rare dramatic coloratura: she has the richness of tone in that of a dramatic soprano combined with the high notes and flexibility of a coloratura soprano. She sounds powerful, yet feminine and in the character of Gilda.

After listening to this recording, you will surely want to hear more of her. I would suggest her dazzling recording of "La Fille du Regiment" opposite Alfredo Kraus.

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Rating: - An excellent Rigoletto
This disc offers at least two examples (maybe more) of fine operatic signing in the Italian tradition; a tradition marked by beautiful, passionate singing, and an indulgent approach to the Italian language itself. It would be hard to find many other singers so at ease with the language, and with such an innate taste for exploring its many colors than Nucci and Pavarotti. They both use the text given to them to the fullest extent, and add to it some fine singing indeed. Still, there are more ardent Rigolettos out there, and Nucci at times lacks the full throttled vigor which I appreciate in some of the climactic moments (such as his powerful Act II aria, Cortigianni, vil razza...). Still, he is certainly able to evoke the psychologically complex character he takes on, and does well in evoking varying shades of paternal love that Verdi wrote for Rigoletto, the deformed jester/tormented father.

Pavarotti offers a warm, nuanced performance that I generally prefer (though most would disagree) to his admittedly vocally astonishing recording with Sutherland. Nevertheless, there are many moments of evident strain and vocal rust, particularly in his Act I duet with June Anderson, and in the Act II cabaletta, Possente amor mi chiama. The pure vocal beauty of his earlier recording gives way to a darker, often more creative reading of the score. (In sum: for those interested in pure vocal sunshine, purchase his earlier recording.)

As Gilda, June Anderson proves why many had high expectations at the beginning of her career. Indeed, Pavarotti himself was keen to compare her with Sutherland around the time of this recording, and their partnership for a series of Rigolettos at the Metropolitan Opera House. Anderson offers a powerful, vocally beautiful performance, if lacking the pure technical mastery of a Sutherland, and even if she is at times prone to swooping into notes in a rather idiosyncratic way. The overall effect is excellent.

To fill out the cast, this recording benefits from luxury casting at its most deliciously ostentatious. Ghiaurov as Sparafucile, and Verrett as Maddalena do their jobs well, even if Verrett's voice is not quite the right fit for the guttural role she takes on. (Indeed, she acknowledges as much, and the booklet includes a note thanking "Ms. Verret who agreed to make a cameo appearance ...as a special favor to Mr. Pavarotti").

Chailly leads the orchestra well, evoking rich sounds from the hauntingly beautiful prelude to the mesmerizing finale.

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Rating: - A Fine Recording of Verdi's Masterpiece
This recording was my second recording of Verdi's Rigoletto. My first was the 1979 recording under Carlo Maria Giulini on the Deutsche Grammophon label. It's a great recording, and I reccomend it to any Verdi opera-lover. So, if you will pardon me, when I review this set, I may (as in, will) compare it to the Giulini set.

The first thing I noticed is that Chailly's pace is quicker in the first scene after the Prelude (the party fanfare). I liked it, because it gave the scene a more party-like feeling, for lack of a better phrase.

Now, to get this across - I'm not a huge fan of Luciano Pavarotti. I respect him as a musician, but I'm not terribly fond of his voice. Sure, he can hit those high notes, but he as a bit of a "pop"-ish tone, in my opinion. I will admit though - he does play a good Duke of Mantua. But if I had to choose, I'd go with Placido Domingo - even in the mid-80's when he did a video recording of Leoncavallo's I Pagliacci, he still had that rich tenor tone (albeit age had taken away a bit of it) that I will always love from the Giulini set.

The same thing goes to the role of Rigoletto. I haven't heard Leo Nucci sing any role apart from this, so I really can't compare him to his other recordings or anything. However, he does sing a good Rigoletto. His "Cortigiani, vil razza dannata" was especially good. However, if you are looking for a better Rigoletto, look for the Giulini set's Rigoletto, Piero Cappuccilli. Arguably one of the best operatic baritones I've heard (up there with Zoltan Kelemen and Hans Hotter, to be completely honest), his bel canto style as Rigoletto is astounding.

What the Chailly set truly offers is an incredible Gilda. June Anderson, like Giulini's Ileana Cotrubas, achieves Verdi's idea of a light soprano, but Anderson gives it much more feeling and depth than Cotrubas. The death scene played by Anderson was simply incredible, and I found myself feeling sorrier for the faithful Rigoletto than I did when I first heard it under Giulini.

The supporting cast for both sets are great. Natale de Carolis sings a good Count Monterone, but in no way could he ever top Kurt Moll's performance as the angry count. Kurt Moll essentially "stole the show" in the Giulini set for me, if you'll pardon the phrase. I'm sure you're all giving your screens a queer expression, but...hey, Kurt Moll is great. Nicolai Ghiaurov sings a great Sparafucile in both sets, though in the Chailly set you can tell that he wasn't as young as he used to be, and his "Russian wobble" is more evident in 1989 than it was in 1967.

The most surprising aspect of the Chailly set is the orchestra. I'd never listened to the Teatro Comunale di Bologna's orchestra, and I must say they were really good. As most recordings I own are either the Vienna Philharmonic (the Giulini set among them), the Berlin Philarmonic, or the German National Opera's orchestra, it was nice to hear a new group.

Final verdict? I suggest giving both a try. Think about it in terms of Mussorgsky's final edit of Boris Godunov, and Rimsky-Korsakov's version: there isn't a substitute, just another way of doing it. Giulini's set has its' drawbacks and bonuses, as does the Chailly set. Both have a different way of portraying the genius of Giuseppe Verdi.

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Rating: - Pleasant recording of Rigoletto
I agree, I found this CD a pleasant recording of Rigoletto.

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Rating: - A Very Nice Recording of a wonderful opera.
I am not one who likes to coment on others reviews, however in this case I will make an exception. The person who gave this recording a single star obviously has not heard some of the dereadful recordings of Rigoletto out there.

The cast in this recording is simply top notch, though they are not all in top form. Pavarotti's voice is not at its best here however he still delivers a solid performance as the playfull and arrogant duke. If you would like to hear Pavarotti at his best get the Southerland set. For his part Nucci start strong though his voice seems to loose power and passion twards the latter part of act two and into act three. Ghiaurov is brilliant despite his age here. His voice as always is concentrated and strong. He is truly one of the greates.

The absolute star of this recording however is Anderson. Her voice is strong yet fragile when need be. She brings Gilda to life here in a way that few have done before. Her performance is head and sholders above that of Southerland.Further her timing with Nucci in their duet in act one is brilliant. They work to bring out the best in one another rather then drawn each other out as is so often the case.

Over all this is a very good recording of Rigoletto, and one could do much worse with other recordings currentlly available.