The most likely reason for this studio recording, made in 1951, was to showcase the Russian baritone Ivan Petroff, the owner of a splendid, rich, dark-hued baritone with a fearless top, which he uses with potency and intelligence, if not always grace. His Rigoletto is not a deep characterization, but it is certainly worth hearing. Where he really shines is in the five excerpts included as a bonus: Largo al factotum is a bit mirthless, but it’s genuinely exciting; Riccardo’s first-act aria from Puritani is fluently sung; the Favorita excerpt is powerful; the “Pieta, rispetto amore” makes us long for an entire Petroff Macbeth; and his Pagliacci prologue is dramatically shaded.
The other members of the Rigoletto cast are pretty dreadful, or at best, just acceptable. The wonderfully named Orlandina Orlandini is a bigger-voiced-than-usual Gilda, prone to throwing in extra high notes (a wicked E-flat at the close of “Caro nome” and the “Si vendetta” duet), but the sound is somewhat harsh and edgy, and there’s little delicacy to her reading. Tenor Gino Sarri is a joyless brute of a Duke, with secure high notes and an otherwise bullying demeanor. Mario Frosini is a nicely menacing Sparafucile, and the conducting is routine. Sound is pretty bad in the Rigoletto but perfectly acceptable in the arias. You can skip this Rigoletto; with any luck the arias will show up elsewhere.
