Offenbach: Va pour Kleinzach...Il était une fois à la cour (from Les Contes d'Hoffmann)

Nicolai Gedda, the most recorded tenor in history, is an exceptionally versatile artist who has excelled in a wide variety of operatic roles as well as in the art song. With a magnificent lyric tenor voice and extraordinary range, Gedda makes the notorious top D at the end of ‘Mes amis, écoutez l’histoire’ sound positively effortless. This collection offers a wealth of repertoire that has helped to cement Gedda’s reputation as one of the greatest tenors of his generation.

In 1955, he sang Jaquino in Beethoven's Fidelio for the reopening of the Vienna State Opera, and performed internationally in roles such as Mirko Zeta in The Merry Widow until the turn of the century. During all this time, the tenor Waldemar Kmentt gave countless dazzling performances on the world's greatest opera stages. This portrait in honour of his 80th birthday is an impressive reflection of his versatility, with excerpts from roles he performed at the Vienna State Opera, where he was based, and where he received the title of 'Kammersänger' and was eventually made an honorary member.The flexibility and brilliant timbre of his voice brought him many roles at the State Opera, both in the legendary Mozart Ensemble under Karl Böhm and as an 'Italian' tenor (though, as usual at that time, mostly in German).A brilliant rendering of the Italian tenor’s aria from Der Rosenkavalier in 1968 under Leonard Bernstein, concludes the cross-section of the prodigious career of a tenor who, ever modest, never relied on mere showmanship.

Plácido Domingo has been synonymous with the world of opera for nearly fifty years. In a career that has seen him perform 3,500 times, taking on more than 130 major tenor roles, encompassing music from Handel and Gluck to Menotti, Tan Dun and Daniel Catán, Domingo’s career has been unparalleled.

On 23 January 2011 Domingo celebrates his 70th birthday. To celebrate, we are planning a raft of releases, both new and old, with many incredible recordings drawn from his amazingly rich DG and Decca catalogue.

In chronological order, a fascinating 3-CD set celebrating four decades of Deutsche Grammophon and Decca recordings.

Two CDs dedicated to Opera - One CD of Latin American music, Viennese operetta, zarzuela, pop repertoire and religious music.

Limited, PRESTIGE edition.

152-page colour hardcover book.

Previously unreleased and rare tracks - Giordano's "Amor ti vieta" from his first recording (1968) and an unreleased aria from a Decca Don Carlo recording with Karajan and the Vienna Philharmonic from 1975.

Complete full-colour discography.

A new essay by critic Harvey Sachs.