Despite some strong casting, this 1977 studio recording (I believe it was the soundtrack to a film) cannot be considered a front-runner due to the lethargic leadership of Francesco Molinari-Pradelli. He beats time slowly, with no forward impetus–even the tenor cabaletta “Possente amor” sounds like a treatise–and each scene goes by without emotional impact. It’s a pity really, since Rolando Panerai’s Rigoletto is intelligent and handsomely sung, Margherita Rinaldi’s Gilda, despite some squeaky top notes, is warm, moving, and girlish with just the right sense of her own tragedy, and Franco Bonisolli, though he flats in the oddest places, is less rambunctious and more sensitive than usual. Viorica Cortez is a flavorful Maddalena and Bengt Rundgren is a menacing Sparafucile. The smaller roles are unidiomatically sung, in strangely accented Italian. The three Rigoletto/Gilda duets are so lovely and touching that this set never can be entirely dismissed, but it certainly can’t compare with the Callas (EMI) or big-boned Sutherland/Pavarotti (Decca). The sound is very good.
