Considered by many to be the first of the operatic masterpieces of Verdi's middle-to-late career. Its tragic story revolves around the licentious Duke of Mantua, his hunch-backed court jester Rigoletto, and Rigoletto's beautiful daughter Gilda. The opera's original title, La maledizione (The Curse), refers to the curse placed on both the Duke and Rigoletto by a courtier whose daughter had been seduced by the Duke with Rigoletto's encouragement. The curse comes to fruition when Gilda likewise falls in love with the Duke and eventually sacrifices her life to save him from the assassins hired by her father.

1950 RCA Red Seal release (LM-6101, red labels/silver printing) features Jan Peerce (tenor), Erna Berger (soprano), Leonard Warren (baritone), Italo Tajo (bass), Nan Merriman (mezzo-soprano), Robert Shaw conducting the Robert Shaw Chorale and the RCA Victor Orchestra conducted by Renato Cellini.

Both records and box are totally clean and in gorgeous condition, along with the 7x7 libretto, a 12x12 booklet recounting the history of the opera and a synopsis (written by Alice Berezowsky and illustrated by Dan Noonan), and the original RCA Victor inner sleeves-a real nice package!

All of our records are "visually graded" and we also double check the sound and clean them when we write our descriptions. If an album is still sealed when we offer it here on ebay, we let it remain sealed in order for the buyer to have the opportunity to open it when they receive it. Only records that are still sealed get a Mint (M) grading for both the record and the jacket;  if the shrink wrap is open or gone, yet the record is in an unopened poly sleeve, the record will get an M and the jacket will get an NM, or Near Mint.

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