Paolo Gavanelli

Paris Opera, October 1996. New production Jérôme Savary

Verdi's drama of revenge, in its stunning new production by David McVicar, is filled with some of the composer's most celebrated music. Sir Edward Downes conducts the Orchestra and Chorus of the Royal Opera House with a cast which includes Paolo Gavanelli, Marcelo Alvarez, and Christine Schäfer.

Live recording at Royal Opera House, 22 September, 2001. Television live relay. In one of the Royal Opera’s most celebrated and popular productions, director David McVicar mixes lavish historical costumes and dark stylized settings to highlight the savagery and excitement of Verdi’s tale of misdirected revenge. Paolo Gavanelli is vocally and theatrically electrifying as the hunchback anti-hero, acclaimed soprano Christine Schäfer is his doomed daughter, and superstar tenor Marcelo Alvarez is her fickle lover. With superb playing from the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, it adds up to a thrilling Rigoletto for both opera aficionados and newcomers.

This evening of one-acts is like a lavish three-course dinner, prepared by a master and promising something for everyone's taste. Not since 1952 had San Francisco audiences had the rare opportunity to enjoy this unique work the way its creator intended-in its entirety and with an ideal cast. "Smartly directed by James Robinson and conducted with sweeping lyricism by Patrick Summers" (San Francisco Chronicle). Soprano Patricia Racette, whose many San Francisco Opera triumphs include her incisive portrait of Cio-Cio San in Madama Butterfly,"tackled all three soprano roles...and emerged triumphant" (San Francisco Chronicle). In the three diverse soprano roles, "Racette modulated the quality and tone of her radiant, muscular sound accordingly. The title role in Suor Angelica is the real soprano showcase, a virtuoso exercise in both soaring vocalism and emotional specificity, and Racette rose superbly to the challenge."