Verdi: De' miei bollenti spiriti (from La traviata)

DVD+CD

Recorded live in concert in Barcelona, this DVD features Pavarotti performing in front of an international audience held spellbound as his dazzling, excitingly powerful voice fills the auditorium. The set also includes a bonus CD of 20 unforgettable live performances celebrating over 25 years of Pavarotti’s legendary career.

This DVD+CD set provides an opportunity to see and hear one of the greatest tenors the world has ever known. The concert covers a wide range of musical offerings, from very well-known works to lesser-known arias and sonnets. Viewers are introduced to Pavarotti through behind-the-scenes interviews and outtakes from the original concert recording that give rare insight into the planning and hard work that go into the creation of such a production.

Constantino was five years older than Caruso and was one of the “old School” of tenors. He sang effortlessly and his voice had an unmistakable character marked by a round, compact sound and a rapid, regular vibrato. He has never been granted a place among the great tenors, but certainly belongs there.

Born in Modena, a small town in northern Italy, Luciano Pavarotti (1935–2007) was the son of a baker and amateur tenor. He grew up surrounded by his father’s recordings of the day’s leading opera singers - including Giuseppe Di Stefano, Jan Kiepura, and Enrico Caruso - and he went on to become one of the most popular vocalists of all time. This 2-CD set includes arias from Verdi’s Rigoletto, Puccini’s Turandot, Mozart’s Così fan tutte, Massenet’s Manon, Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci and Bellini’s I Capuleti e i Montecchi.

Rosvaenge recorded exclusively for Electrola and Schlusnus for Grammophon. They had made just one duet record for Grammophon in 1933. These broadcast recordings are among the finest these two artists ever made, when both were at the height of their careers.

The biggest stars seize centre stage to sing the greatest scenes and arias of opera’s heroes and villains. This is a compilation of the calibre which only Decca and DG can offer. With 147 minutes of music, it offers remarkable value too.

2 CDs for the price of 1.

José Cura needs very little introduction. As well as being an operatic star, this Argentinean tenor is a trained composer and conductor. This concert was recorded live in the Erkel Theatre in Budapest in 2000 and also features an interview from 2008, 'Star Without Cult'

Giuseppe Campora (1923-2004) was an authentic tenore lirico spinto with an attractive timbre, excellent vocal placement AND solid technique. A selection of recordings on the HMV label from 1952 and 1957.