The most comprehensive edition devoted to Gioachino Rossini marking his 150th anniversary. Born in 1792, Rossini was the most popular opera composer of his time. Although he retired from the Opera scene in 1829, he continued to compose in other genres, including sacred music, piano and chamber works. He did gather his late works under the ironic title Péchés de vieillesse (Sins of Old Age), which veils a true collection of masterworks.

There's no doubting Gioachino Rossini's sincerity in his Stabat Mater – he himself was so moved by the piece that he couldn't bear to attend the work's dress rehearsal or any of its first performances – but still, his setting of the Latin text is, strictly speaking, only a sacred work. With its heightened drama, its passionate lyricism and its histrionic virtuosity, it is actually an emotional work, a work in which the composer takes the Latin text as an opportunity to demonstrate its feelings on the subjects of grief and death.

Boris Godunov is a work that, with its long, continuous scenes and monumental structure, does not lend itself easily to a highlights disc, especially if the intention is to give a fair cross-section of the opera. The producers of this compilation, drawn from a complete recording originally issued by Erato, wisely concentrate the choice on a few substantial chunks, covering most of Boris’s part. To this they add a couple of snippets that can stand on their own, out of context.

While all four solo performances are superb, one has only to sample the finale to Act I to discover what an electrifying team they make…If Pavarotti dominates by the sheer ardour of his singing, overall this is a totally gripping performance, unlikely to be surpassed on DVD. (The Penguin Guide)

Giuseppe Verdi was commissioned by the Paris Opera to write a grand opera for the Great Exhibition of 1855. The opera's subject was to be the Sicilian Vespers, the infamous massacre of the French by Sicilians in 1282 Palermo. Verdi's librettist for the work was Eugène Scribe and difficulties arose at once. Verdi, who favored lean realistic drama, was handcuffed by the French grand opera formula with its five act form, lavish choruses and ballet. The work with its original French title, 'Les Vêpres siciliennes' premiered to great acclaim but Verdi was never pleased with it. Eventually it was translated into Italian and this is the version that has survived.

Decca presents Florez once more in one of his great stage roles with this performance of Donizetti's irresistible comedy filmed at the Zurich Opera House. The title role of the irascible Don Pasquale is sung by the great Italian bass, Ruggero Raimondi (who famously played Mozart's Don Giovanni in Joseph Losey's classic 1978 film). A largely traditional but creative, fun production of a classic. Extras include trailers from the DVD release of two operas that also feature Florez, "Il barbiere di Siviglia" and from "La Fille du Regiment" featuring the song "Oh Mes Amis".

Jean-Pierre Ponnelle’s landmark production of Mozart’s most human comedy provides the perfect setting for this superb cast under James Levine’s ebullient leadership. The philandering and arrogant Count Almaviva (Thomas Allen) is no match for his wily servant Figaro (Ruggero Raimondi), whose soon-to-be-wife Susanna (Kathleen Battle) is as manipulative as she is charming. Add in one beautiful, disillusioned Countess (Carol Vaness) and one irrepressible, testosterone-laden teenage boy (Cherubino, played by Federica von Stade), and it’s no wonder some critics say this is the perfect opera.

The Maggio Musicale in Florence is the oldest and one of the most famous music festivals in Italy. When it’s director, Zubin Mehta, celebrated his 70th birthday, the staging of Giuseppe Verdi’s Falstaff was part of the festivities. The opera was conducted by Zubin Mehta himself and directed by Luca Ronconi.

Contemporary Rome is the setting for this unique and highly innovative version of Puccini’s Tosca, performed in the Roman locations – and at the same times of day – as Puccini had written into his score. Thus the action opens in the beautiful 16th-century church of Sant’Andrea della Valle at noon, where Cavaradossi (Domingo) meets the fugitive Angelotti, moves to the Farnese Palace that evening where Tosca (Catherine Malfitano) dramatically makes a pact with the lustful Scarpia (Ruggero Raimondi), and finally to the battlements of the Castel Sant’Angelo at dawn the following day where the final drama is played out.

A studio recording made in association with staged performances in Vienna in 1989 features the very beefy Vienna Philharmonic conducted by Abbado with Agnes Baltsa’s tangy mezzo giving a very characterful portrayal as Isabella. …[E]xpert Rossinians Corbelli and Enzo Dara sing Haly and Taddeo and are joined by a very characterful Ruggero Raimondi as Mustafa. Despite the size of the band, the performance goes along with zip with the finale of act one particularly invigorating.

It takes a long time to find such a distinguished conductor who, in his early 20s, has already conducted orchestras such as the Berlin Philharmonic, the London Symphony Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic with great success. You will find what you are looking for in this class with the conductor Daniel Harding, who was born in 1975. After many great CD recordings, Harding's work can now be experienced in a fascinating DVD production: in the recording of Mozart's opera »Così fan tutte« at the Aix-en-Provence Festival in 2005 - staged by Patrice Chéreau, the director of the legendary Bayreuth-Rings from 1980. Elina Garança, the new star in the Mozart heavens (who released a sensational Mozart recital on Virgin Classics in November 2005), is there as Dorabella.

Raimondi has advantages: the dark coloring of his voice, the vocal menace, the power of his bass." The three ladies - especially the Te Kanawa has become livelier, more insistent - Maazel has the singers and Mozart firmly in hand.

– Hermes Lexikon

This is one of those great Rossinian singing competitions in which everyone–and, in particular, the listeners–wins. Composed as a piece of occasional entertainment for the coronation of Charles X in Paris, Rossini borrowed liberally from his recent comic success Le Comte Ory and fashioned a musical necklace chock filled with one shiny bauble after another. Each character has a showpiece aria, from the highs of soprano Cecilia Gasdia as a melodramatic poetess all the way down to the basso realms of Samuel Ramey and Ruggero Raimondi. The ensembles are as delicious as the solos, and Claudio Abbado, in a very theatrical mood (this was recorded live) keeps everything going wittily and with great elan. The plot is practically nonexistent, but with singing like this, it's hard to complain.

This double CD makes an excellent introduction to two great works even if other individual recordings might be preferable. This is particularly true of the Mozart in that although the ladies are peerless vocally, Barenboim's conducting is quite heavy and neither Gedda - typically somewhat pinched and throaty at times - nor Fischer-Dieskau - too light and woolly of tone for the bass-baritone required - is ideal.

The production and video direction are by British film-maker Ken Russell who puts his own stamp on the production. Russell told an interviewer he felt the plot was "silly" so he turned Marguerite into a young nun, eliminated the Walpurgis Night ballet, had Marguerite use sign-language for Valentin's deaf-mute children, and had Mephistopheles disrespectfully urinating in the stoup in church. However, the overall effect is visually engrossing, the vivid sets and costumes by Karl Toms are effective. And the singing is outstanding.