Verdi: Rigoletto (complete opera recorded in 2008)

"The singers are a distinguished bunch, with Željko Lučić the most sympathetic and pathetic Rigoletto I have seen or heard...[Damrau] sings gorgeously, and her acting is first-rate. Juan Diego Flórez makes a convincing Duke...His narrow-bore voice turns out to be ideal for conveying the predatory hedonism of the character. In the Sparafucile of Georg Zeppenfeld we encounter a star in the making"
(BBC Music)

"Flórez uses his lighter-than-usual tenor to sing the role with high-wattage brilliance...the outstanding vocal performance comes from Diana Damrau as Gilda. More than Flórez, she sounds fully inside the role, shaping "Caro nome" with a control of tone-colour and phrasing that makes entirely her own...Zeljka Lucic brings dignity to the role of Rigoletto with his warm expansive singing."
(Gramophone)

"Musically, the show is spectacular...Juan Diego Flórez is wonderfully sure of himself in every way...[Damrau] is no soubrette; the voice has body and power, her breath control is superb, and there is never a worry about the proper landing of a high note...[Lucic is] a superb Verdi baritone...understanding the composer's long lines and dramatic instincts"
(International Record Review)

In June 2008, Giuseppe Verdi temporarily replaced Richard Strauss as the presiding genius at Dresden's Semperoper as baritone Željko Lucic, soprano Diana Damrau and tenor Juan Diego Flórez came together for a new production of Rigoletto, directed by Nikolaus Lehnhoff and conducted by Fabio Luisi, chief conductor of the Semperoper, Dresden, General Music Director-elect of the Zurich Opera, and Principal Guest Conductor of the Metropolitan Opera.