Rigoletto DVD

 Timless past lives for ever
A must! But only for those who can take the time trip: in acting, singing, production, film quality, this is 1947 every second of the way. Viewed through modern eyes it is creaky, exaggerated, comically over-acted and - Gobbi apart - less than ideally sung. But Rigoletto does not belong to modern Hollywood realism but to the 19th century world of theatrical melodrama, and here it is, as fullly realized as we are ever likely to see thanks to Gobbi, Serafin and Gallone. No one, of course, will buy the film for Gallone's direction but his atmospheric and richly detailed settings are just the thing to set off Victor Hugo's tale: in the court scenes especially, we feel we are in a high-quality movie and not a "budget" production. If the last act doesn't sustain this, it nevertheless provides a strong alternative with the very theatrical scenery with its silent movie storm and backdrop of Mantua. "Backdrop" could also apply to Filippeschi's Duke - he intends the right kind of charm both physically and vocally and if he doesn't quite manage either his miss is nowhere near the mile of several other Dukes. Pagliughi is far more than mere context for Gobbi - a real piece of historically valuable coloratura singing enshrining a lost tradition (a fascinating comparison with the Callas/Gobbi recording therefore which can be seen as the start of a new tradition). It is probably a good thing that the dumpy Pagliughi herself was not permitted a screen appearance, but what a pity that her visual substitute is the uninvolved Marcella Govoni - she is the one member of the cast who seems not to understand the melodramatic style: what sometimes looks like Gobbi's over-acting is actually her under-playing. And so to Gobbi himself. My first response on seeing this film many years ago was a disappointment that he had not quite attained the sheer stature of his 1960s BBC television performance (the tapes of which, I am told, have been destroyed): among other things, he never quite decides just how "huched" the back of the jester is! And there are moments when the Italian theatre tradition of external acting jars with the camera's need for close-up truth. But watching again today, there is so much of that truth - in face, in gesture, in voice, or rather in voices, for Gobbi's ability finds a range of tones to suit a character portrayal of Shakespearean depth and complexity. And that is what we are left with: a drama that, rooted in a past period, enshrines the eternal human values of love, passion, revenge, pain, fury, jealousy, retribution, compassion, tenderness, humanity itself, all brought to life by Gobbi in the service of Verdi, who in turn creates a music drama at the service of Victor Hugo. Watching this movie again increased my respect and affecton for the opera itself. So why 4 stars and not 5? Simply to keep away the inexperienced: to work its magic, it does need some experience of the opera in a more conventional modern staging and with more readily acceptable acting, sound and picture quality. With that experience behind them, everyone can make this movie their next stop.
Submitted by Melvyn (Geneva, Switzerland)
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