As
Rigoletto:
RIGOLETTO
As
Rigoletto:
“Rigoletto really belongs to the baritone– in this case, Mark Rucker, who sang heroically. Rucker moved fluidly from broad mockery of the Duke’s courtiers though the dark recitative “Pari siamo!” into the tender father-daughter duet.”
- Opera News
“Mark Rucker portrayed Rigoletto, the power and beauty of his voice retaining luster no matter what the dynamics. As an actor, the baritone welled with emotion without becoming maudlin or pathetic.”
- Opera News
“Mr. Rucker's attractive baritone has the power and projection that makes his voice seem the right weight for Rigoletto. He also brings to the role the coloristic skills needed to give form to Rigoletto's impotent fury, and he is not averse to an occasional sob.”
- The New York Times
"The production had unmistakable musical strengths on Saturday. Chief among them was Rucker's resonant portrayal of Rigoletto. He revealed the rage behind the laughter, the vulnerability beneath the vengeance.
- San Diego Union-Tribune
“Mark Rucker hurls himself into the part (of Rigoletto) body and soul. One of the best Verdi interpreters around today, he has the style down pat...”
- San Diego Magazine
“Special credit should go to baritone Mark Rucker in the title role. Rucker was dramatically and vocally quite commanding. When his firm, powerful instrument was unleashed, it was as if nothing could stand in the way of this force of nature.”
- Opera Canada
“It’s chief magnet is Mark Rucker as the hunchback jester. He’s a Rigoletto of powerful conviction with a hefty baritone to match. He puts tears into his duets with Gilda and deeply stirs the courtiers who abduct his daughter with his plea Cortigiani, developing it into a subtle mixture of irony and grief.”
- The Miami Herald
“The evening’s one consistent strength was Mark Rucker, who has the innate dramatic flair to make Rigoletto a sympathetic, affecting character, and a voice with enough weight and nuance to do the score justice. From his posturing and bravado in the first scene to his final, desperate cry-complete with an extra high note that few baritones risk-Rucker commanded the stage. His sensitivity to words and appreciation for the eloquent arch of Verdi’s vocal lines offered abundant compensation.”
- The Sun-Sentinel (Miami)
“Mark Rucker in the title role is absolutely magnificent. Huge voiced and intensely passionate, he literally breathes this music, as Lipton does, (Maestro Daniel Lipton) as if it is the natural element giving them life.”
- The Spectator - Hamilton
“When the performance came to dramatic life it was usually with Mark Rucker on stage. The American baritone is a real singing actor, whose railing against the courtiers for Rigoletto's daughter's abduction struck a decisive note of emotional conviction. The very intensity of Rucker's characterization highlighted the stilted look of those surrounding him.”
- Toronto Star
“This listener was enthusiastic about the singers, particularly about baritone Mark Rucker as Rigoletto. This was a beautifully sung, intelligently acted and an insightful portrait of a character we initially perceived as a bitter monster and grow to sympathize with as a grieving father.”
- The Baltimore Sun
“Mark Rucker's Rigoletto was an absolute triumph...A wonderful amalgam of acting and singing that made the character of the tortured jester come alive. He is one of the best Rigolettos we have seen in some time.”
- WLG Radio Baltimore
“This concert was very strongly cast - in the case of the title role, sensationally cast. There has been considerable buzz about Mark Rucker, particularly in this role. It's a pleasure to report that the buzz is right on the money. Rucker commands a big rich, colorful sound which he pours out with abandon - but also with striking intelligence. Every detail of this interpretation has been polished to a brilliant gloss. This baritone sings Rigoletto in the old-fashioned manner, replete with snarls and sobs, but the conviction and the vividness that he brings to the role sweep niggling questions about style right out of the picture. One simply cannot imagine Act III better sung, or Act IV better paced.”
- The Newark Star-Ledger
“The weight of the show rests primarily on the shoulders of the title character. Rucker created a complex but deeply sympathetic Rigoletto. It's a bear of a role, with almost nonstop singing from beginning to end. But not only did Rucker not tire, as the fate-decreed misery of his life became progressively more apparent to him, he actually seemed to gain strength and intensity. Rucker's vocal production was clear and powerful, but with some real nuance to it. It was a major-league Rigoletto in Every way.”
- The Hartford Courant