Legendary tenor Luciano Pavarotti often said that Verdi was his favorite operatic composer. He excelled in a number of major roles in Verdi operas, both on stage and in the recording studio.
This 3-CD set, celebrating Verdi’s bicentenary, features legendary tenor Pavarotti and several star colleagues in arias and extended scenes from eleven of Verdi’s operas, the Requiem and the rarely performed Inno delle nazioni (Hymn of the Nations), written for the 1862 International Exhibition in London that Verdi visited as Italy’s representative.
Excerpts from Aida, Un ballo in maschera, Ernani, La forza del destino, I Lombardi, Luisa Miller, Macbeth, Otello, Rigoletto, La Traviata, Il trovatore, Requiem Plus Hymn of the Nations
Artists include Joan Sutherland, Kiri Te Kanawa, Montserrat Caballé, Christa Ludwig, Margaret Price, Leo Nucci, Richard Bonynge, Lamberto Gardelli, James Levine, Lorin Maazel and Sir Georg Solti
The set also includes a George Hall article on Pavarotti and Verdi, production/concert and session of images and sung texts translated into English (cue pointed).