Rigoletto - Placido Domingo live from Mantua

It is a trait in opera lovers to be overly critical and to say when a performance is lauded 'oh, yes but you should have seen Callas/Sutherland/Tebaldi they were the best' as if the only good opera singer is a dead one.  I am guilty on occasion of doing this myself though I try very hard not to and I had to strain every sinew last weekend to not fall into this trap when watching the live broadcast from Mantua of Rigoletto with  Placido Domingo in the title role.

Rigoletto is one of Verdi's greatest operas, in my opinion, and one of my favourites.  I learned to love this opera from a very old recording with Tito Gobbi as Rigoletto, Giuseppe di Stefano as the Duke and Maria Callas as Gilda.  I played it so often as a teenager I wore it out. Now of course I have it on CD and still listen to it and, even though I have heard many other recordings and seen other performances, this is still my first choice.   Tito Gobbi is one of my all time favourite opera singers and I have posted about him here back in 2007, so will not repeat myself and, for me, his performance of Rigoletto is THE one and nobody else, no matter how hard I try, can replace him for me.

This does not mean that I do not enjoy seeing and listening to other interpreters of the role and I was looking forward to seeing what Domingo made of it.  Rigoletto is stuffed full of the most glorious music. I know that can be said about most Verdi operas but this opera was written when Verdi was at the height of his powers and is a stream of fantastic arias, duets and choruses without let up - totally sublime.

I watched the live broadcast of Tosca some years ago from Rome, also with Domingo and remembered just how thrilling it was so my expectations were high. Perhaps too high, as I found the use of the location in Mantua somewhat disappointing.  OK we saw some beautiful interiors and some good long shots of galleries and rooms, but on the whole the camera work was limited and it seemed to me that the producer was using a stage eye rather than a filmic one.  Far too many close ups - most opera lovers are used to viewing from a distance and it can be preferable as we don't really want to see the sweat dripping off Domingo's nose or the spittle flying out of the tenor's mouth, both of which are the inevitable consequences of the heat and the effort.

So from that point of view I did find it a little lacking.  How about the performances?  Gilda was sung beautifully, she is a Verdi heroine for whom I have little sympathy and most of the time want to shake her and Caro Nome, beautiful though it is, goes on far too long.   The Duke's role is a killer. Every single time he is on stage he has a huge sing; Questa Quella in Act I followed by El Sol del anima and a duet with Gilda followed by an imnpassioned farewell Adio, adio when he leaves; Parmi verde la Lagrime in Act II followed by a cabaletta and a chorus and then in Act III, La donna e mobile. Jose Carreras once said in an interview that when he sang this role, he would take a few days of afterwards as he was exhausted. The tenor who sang the Duke was pretty damn good and he looked pretty damn good as well. I would think that even if you were the best tenor in the world, but were bald or plump, there would be no point in auditioning for this particular performance, you had to look good also for the millions of viewers.

And so we come to Domingo.  I love Domingo and think he is a wonderful artiste.  The state of his voice is quite amazing, not sure how the sound balance may have helped but I am pretty sure that the strength and beauty of his sound did not need much   I last saw Domingo sing live about three years ago in Die Walkure at Covent Garden and I was pole axed when he opened his mouth and sang Siegmund's opening phrases.  It was like listening to a golden trumpet and every hair on my neck stood on end.  He was quite simply magnificent and the baritonal quality of his boice was perfectly suited for this part.    Therefore, his taking on Rigoletto and, before this, Simon Boccanegra, is perfectly understandable and they are two great roles and a challenge to any singer.

Domingo was totally committed to the part, that comes as no surprise, his acting and complete involvement is always there and the role is well within his range and grasp.  I thought he did really well and his raging at the courtiers in Act II followed by his plea to them to return his daughter is one of the highlights of the opera for me, and he brought a lump to my throat which is always a good sign.   The final duet with Gilda in Act III is one of the most moving Verdi ever wrote. HIs plea of Do not die, I will be all alone and begging her to stay with him always reduces me to tears and this time was no exception.

All in all a marvellous evening and experience, but and yes there is a but, where does Domingo go from here?  He has essayed two of the great Verdi baritone roles so what will be next?  While enjoying this late flowering of his singing career I am beginning to wonder if he is, perhaps, doing too much and what it is that drives him on.   I am not complaining, believe me, the longer he is with us and performing the better as far as I am concerned and I would happily pay good money to see him do this in the theatre but I felt at times, particularly in Act I that he looked a trifle uncomfortable and his gasping in distress was not just acting.  No doubt in his heavy costume it was incredibly hot and tiring but I did feel a little bit worried.

The difficulty now is finding other great baritone roles which he might want to sing.  Apart from the two he has already sung, most of the other Verdi baritones are supporting, rather than starring, roles and I cannot imagine Domingo doing these.  I almost feel that if he did it would be unfair on the rest of the cast as no matter how good they would be, the attention would be on Placido though I daresay the honour of singing with him would make up for that.  I am not sure that he really should go down this route and my worry is that he will try to sing the last great Verdi baritone part, Falstaff.   Yes, he could do it, no problem but not sure that it would really be suitable for him.  We shall see.........