Preview

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Verdi: Rigoletto

By: Thomson Smillie
Narrated by: David Timson
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $6.08

Buy for $6.08

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Rigoletto is simply wonderful entertainment with superb music. It is also much more - a daring (for its time) attack on aristocratic privilege, a tender love story, and an impassioned appeal on behalf of the disadvantaged, all set to music of such wealth and beauty that, with its sister operas La Traviata and Il Trovatore, it has defined Italian opera for 150 years. Overcoming initial trouble with the censors, Verdi's Rigoletto was a smash hit at its premiere and has not been out of the repertoire since. It’s not hard to see why.

From Thomson Smillie’s accessible account, the opera comes alive in this audiobook. David Timson is the perfect exponent of Smillie's vivacious writing, securing a thoroughly entertaining and informative performance.

©2002 Naxos AudioBooks (P)2002 Naxos AudioBooks
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Editorial reviews

Thomson Smillie opens his inviting exegesis of Giuseppe Verdi's opera Rigoletto by playing the instantly recognizable "La donna e mobile". The approachability of the famous canzone mirrors the general nature of Smillie's teaching methods. Smillie is a renowned lecturer on the performing arts, most notably on elite cruise ships, precisely because he tends to awaken the same passion in his listeners as he himself feels. And he truly shines when explaining opera - both in elucidating the composer's background and the composition itself. In this episode on Verdi, actor David Timson enthuses listeners about Smillie's pet subject in a pleasant, professorial fashion, discussing (amongst many other matters) the Austrian censors that almost brought down the famous Italian Romantic composer.

What listeners say about Verdi: Rigoletto

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    11
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    4
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    13
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    11
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fun intro (or recap) of the opera

I love this series for listening before I go to an opera, or after while the experience is fresh. This was informative and educational, funny in parts. Rigoletto is of course a staple opera. The story in the opera, and the circumstances surrounding its creation, are as fascinating as the music. While short, this audio is highly recommended.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!