Verdi: La donna è mobile (from Rigoletto)

Here is Plácido Domingo’s first glorious contribution to Verdi Year – a wide-ranging anthology of his starring roles, over two hours of glorious singing

From Alfredo's Brindisi to Manrico's Di quella pira, with extended extracts from his parade role, Otello, all the hits and favourites are there (La donna è mobile, Celeste Aida, Quando le sere al lacido, Fontainebleau!, Lunge da lei, Un dì felice, Questo o quella, Ingemisco)

Rarities as well, including selections from Alzira, I due Foscari, Oberto and Il Corsaro

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.

The operas of Verdi today form the mainstay of the repertoire of opera houses all over the world. Some of his music has become absorbed into popular culture from being used in TV adverts and film soundtracks, as well as being performed by the most famous classical singers of the day in concerts and on records. Pieces from the same opera are grouped together, beginning with the famous drinking song from La traviata: ‘Libiamo’, followed by other popular favourites from La traviata, Rigoletto and Il trovatore, among them being the swaggering ‘La donna è mobile’ and the powerful Anvil Chorus. The first CD concludes with extracts from two earlier operas: Ernani and Macbeth, the latter providing one of Verdi’s most impressive soprano scenas in which the scheming Lady Macbeth calls on the powers of evil to assist her in murdering King Duncan. The second CD opens with the heartfelt chorus: ‘Va, pensiero’ from Nabucco, sung by the Hebrews in exile longing for their homeland. Then come more well-known arias and choruses from Verdi’s later operas like Un ballo in maschera, La forza del destino and Aida. After extracts from his moving Requiem Mass, we hear the Fire Chorus from another of Verdi’s Shakespearian settings: Otello and the programme ends with three items from what some now consider to be Verdi’s finest work, the historical drama Don Carlo.

Released to coincide with Verdi’s anniversary year (1813 to 2013.) A unique and carefully-crafted personal selection of Verdi arias and songs that takes us on a musical journey from Verdi's earliest compositions 1838 to the very last he wrote for the tenor voice: the beautiful aria from Falstaff "Dal labbro il canto estasiato vola" 1893

Featuring familiar, universal favourites such as “La donna e mobile” and “Questo o quella”, alongside less familiar gems from across Verdi’s operatic output.

Recorded in Turin, with the world-class Orchestra del Teatro Regio di Torino, and under the direction of award-winning conductor, Gianandrea Noseda.

Rolando owes his international breakthrough to Verdi: he has made opera history in La Traviata, Rigoletto and Don Carlo, as well as being a celebrated interpreter of the breath-taking Requiem. This is Rolando’s own personal tribute to one of history’s most popular composers.

‘Arrivederci’ follows the massive success of Vittorio’s debut album ‘In The Hands of Love’. The album shot into the top 10 of the UK album chart, and the hottest new tenor was quickly snapped up to perform duets with Nicole Scherzinger and the legendary Lionel Richie. Vittorio Grigolo had sensationally arrived.

A stunning collection of thirteen of the best Italian songs and opera arias personally chosen by Vittorio Grigolo, his second album for Sony Classical, proves just why his recent appearance in Faust at the Royal Opera House garnered rave reviews. Inspiring critics to proclaim Vittorio as “Irresistible” – Daily Telegraph and “Explosively dynamic” – The Independent, the performance has secured Vittorio’s place as an opera star for a brand new generation.

‘Arrivederci’ combines Grigolo’s selection of songs from the past century that are steeped in Italian tradition with a handful of beautiful arias. Recorded with Pier Giorgio Morandi conducting the Orchestra del Teatro Regio di Parma, this album is a deeply personal homage to the music with which the great tenors of the past have thrilled generations of music lovers.

From incomparable arias such as Verdi’s La donna è mobile (Rigoletto) and Giordano’s Amor ti vieta to the quintessentially Neapolitan tunes of Core ‘ngrato (Cardillo) and Mattinata (Leoncavallo), ‘Arrivederci’ reflects the sounds and traditions of a period in Vittorio’s life he will never forget.

Vittorio Grigolo, born in Tuscany and raised in Rome, became a soloist in the choir of the Sistine Chapel at the age of nine, sang the role of the shepherd boy in Puccini’s Tosca in the Rome Opera alongside Luciano Pavarotti at 13, and at 23 was the youngest tenor ever to debut at la Scala in Milan. So far, he has sold over 350,000 albums worldwide.