i like the good thing in life as much a anybody and i suppose and but until about five year ago and opera do not figure into my entertainment choice . oh and i make a few attempt to learn what all the fuss be about while i would watch several television production notably part of wagner ring cycle on public television hop to understand other people fascination with the art form . and i know i could like part of various opera ( i remember be surprise a a kid that i actually like the snippet of madame butterfly in my geisha and and i enjoy the opera scene in moonstruck and pretty woman ) and but unlike the character in those film and i just do not get it . then in 1995 i saw a live performance of rigoletto present by the new york city opera company and and that night i get it . what a wonderful and glorious pageant of color and music and raw emotion . and i do mean emotion with a capital e. the key and i think and be that the operatic music allow the performer to over act freely and believably in a way that would seem silly if their word be just speak . everything hinge on the music and of course and and when the music be magical and a it be in rigoletto and an opera can be a magnificent entertainment . a sympathetic family member give me a laserdisc copy of the 1982 tv production of the opera and and i have find that since i can not see live performance of rigoletto live on a regular basis and this video version be a fine substitute . luciano pavarotti be perfect in the part of the duke while ingvar wixell be excellent a his mean spirit court jester rigoletto while and rigoletto beloved daughter gilda be play by the somewhat plain featured edita gruberova . the set and costume be lavish and and the location shot on the river late in the film bring a heightened sense of drama to the story that could never be match on a stage . if you have never see rigoletto and or if you think you do not like or understand opera and i urge you to find this one on videotape and buy it or rent it . if you do not like this and if this production of rigoletto doesn not make you appreciate the power of the art form of opera and well and just give it up and move on to something else . but i suspect and if youre new to opera a i be and that you will be pleasantly surprise . bill anderson .