Opera News
'I had been listening to a recent Met broadcast in Italian before receiving the new Chandos disc, and I was quite struck by the favourable way in which the disc's 'English' cast compared with the Met's current International cast... this is an admirably sung Rigoletto, conducted with some panache by Mark Elder. One for the short list, and well recorded too.'

Classic CD
'Arthur Davies is... the charmingly callous 'Duke', his honeyed voice exactly the right youthful weight and colour and his fine legato making English as liquid as Italian. John Rawnsley... is a richly powerful yet superbly nuanced jester; even in English he handles the vocal line more carefully than many... and his bitter alienation, suppressed torment and final collapse are deeply moving, one of the most human and immediate performances available... Opie's Marullo is excellent, and John Tomlinson, already scaling Wagnerian heights, is a credibly horrible Sparafucile.'
BBC Music Magazine

'James Fenton's English translation, clearly articulated by the entire cast, successfully conveys the atmosphere of Jonathan Miller's Fifties New York mafia staging for English National Opera, for which it was written and on which this digitally remastered 1983 studio recording is based.'
CHAN 3030
An opera in three acts
Libretto by Francesco Maria Piave
English translation by James Fenton
English National Opera production
Directed for the stage by Jonathan Miller

The Cast

John Rawnsley, baritone - Rigoletto
Helen Field, soprano - Gilda
Arthur Davies, tenor - The 'Duke'
John Tomlinson, bass - Sparafucile
Jean Rigby, mezzo-soprano - Maddalena
Norman Bailey, bass-baritone - Monterone
Alan Opie, baritone - Marullo
English National Opera Chorus
English National Opera Orchestra
Mark Elder - conductor

Recorded in Abbey Road Studios, London
28-30 July, 1, 6, 7, 14, 28 August &
4 September 1983
Producer - Suvi Raj Grubb
Sound engineer - Stuart Eltham
Rigoletto