Mr. Rigoletto: In Conversation with Louis Quilico

Desmond Maley is the music librarian at the J.W. Tate Library,
Huntington College, Laurentian University and editor of the Newsletter
of the Canadian Association of Music Libraries, Archives, and
Documentation Centres.

Baritone Louis Quilico is one of the finest singers Canada has ever
produced. For over 40 years, he has shared the stage with superstars
like Luciano Pavarotti, Joan Sutherland, and Placido Domingo. Above all,
he is recognized for his portrayal of the title role in Verdi’s
Rigoletto, which he has performed more than 500 times in cities from New
York to Moscow.

Quilico brings his considerable experience and insight to Mr.
Rigoletto, a compilation of a series of taped interviews conducted by
his second wife, pianist Christina Petrowska. Both Petrowska’s
introduction and the ensuing conversation with Quilico illuminate some
of the mystery of vocal technique. He elucidates his “nine laws” for
singers as well as stressing the importance of patience and long-term
commitment to allow the voice to mature.

Quilico himself is an exemplar of his own art. He has never undertaken
a role for which he was not mentally and physically prepared. As a
result, he is still in remarkably fine voice and concertizing at 71. It
is also evident that Verdi is the composer who is closest to his heart.
The vocal and dramatic artistry of the American baritone Leonard Warren
was the most important influence in this regard.

One can respect Quilico’s decision not to discuss his private life,
and perhaps that is why the husband–wife interview format works
surprisingly well. (For this reason, his prefatory dedication to
Petrowska, which reads like a valentine, could also have been omitted.)
Less satisfying are his harsh words for the critics, especially in the
light of the appendix that is devoted to the rave reviews he has
garnered over the years. For the reader to judge, space should also have
been accorded to some of the negative reception Quilico received. But in
the main, Mr. Rigoletto is an enjoyable and often thought-provoking
testimonial to a distinguished career.