Rigoletto - Gran Teatro del Liceu (TDK)

It has a huge plus, though, in the form of Marcelo Alvarez's assumption of the role of the Duke of Mantua. Few live performances capture such technical brilliance – or so much tangible excitement in the audience – as in these performances of Questa o quella, La donna è mobile and particularly the exquisite Parmi veder le lagrime. The phrasing, the secure intonation and the sheer beauty of sound make Alvarez's singing a wonder to behold; I have little doubt that he will spice up the Royal Opera's revival of Elijah Moshinsky's solid production of Il trovatore in late January.

His namesake (though no relation) Carlos Alvarez takes on the title character, and although I think he means every note he sings, the voice doesn't quite live up to expectations. Although Rigoletto is a physical cripple, the finer side of his character is meant to shine through his singing. But Alvarez's voice isn't distinctive or lyrical enough, so that I wasn't greatly touched by the duet with Gilda. And I don't think he's helped by director Graham Vick or designer Paul Brown, who have dreamed up a macabre vision whereby we see his hunched back bleeding. Frankly, it's a gratuitous distraction from the father's tender duet with his daughter.

Furthermore, despite all his attempts to depict as much overt sexuality as possible during the court scenes, it all seems pretty tame. Nor does the sensuousness come through during the Duke's scenes with Gilda, who's played by Inva Mula. Mula's account is efficient and vocally reliable, but the pyrotechnics of Caro nome could be more impressive, and I'm not sure I believe this woman would have the resolve to walk to her death in the final scene.

Julian Konstantinov is luxury casting as the assassin Sparafucile, showing a wonderfully sinister stage presence and sporting a firm deep tone for his low-lying vocal part. Nino Surguladze is a bit bland as Maddalena, and most of the other roles are played and sung by so-so regulars of the Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona, where the DVD was filmed.

Jesus Lopez-Cobos has a sense of Verdian style, as a previous DVD of La traviata from the same theatre shows, but here the Orchestra and Chorus of the Liceu come astray from the beat occasionally; there doesn't seem the same sense of purpose. Graham Vick's production isn't all that controversial, though the note in the booklet accompanying the disc informs us that the court is ‘an antiseptic room of great coldness' and Rigoletto's apartment resemble ‘a bunker that encapsulates that sourt jester's mistrust of the outside world'. Clearly, the production has attempted to approach the piece with a concept of dualities, key among which is the contrast between Rigoletto as jester and as father. Fair enough, but don't the singers need a bit more direction about what to do with their bodies? The chorus is especially at sea during the rather tame abduction scene.

The final verdict: it's perfectly watchable, but I prefer the musical performances on the Ponselle film version and the dark atmosphere of David McVicar's production on the DVD from Covent Garden.

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