Lucia Valentini Terrani

There are three absolutely amazing performances on this set, and not because the voices are more or less beautiful than usual: those of Victoria de los Angeles, Marilyn Horne, and Sesto Bruscantini. The first-named sings here with dramatic expression, cleanly executed coloratura runs, and trills, none of which she was known for through most of her career. By dramatic expression I do not mean the generalized drama of her Butterfly, but word-painting and attention to text, of getting inside the character. Her coloratura runs here are far more cleanly executed than on her famous recording of Il Barbiere di Siviglia. As for trills, yes, she attempted a couple of imperfect ones on her recordings, but none in her Jewel Song from Faust, neither the mono recording from 1952 nor the stereo remake of 1957, neither in Nedda’s 1953 “Ballatella” nor in Antonia’s music in the 1965 Contes d’Hoffman.

When Carlo Maria Giulini returned to conducting public performances of opera after an absence of fourteen years, he chose for the occasion one of the enduring comic masterpieces - Verdi's Falstaff. The composer was almost eighty when he broke the six-year silence following the premiere of Otello, and startled the musical world by revealing his complete mastery of comic invention. Renato Bruson, the renowned interpreter of Verdi and one of the leading lyric baritones of the day, sings the title role.

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.

Claudio Abbado’s career with Deutsche Grammophon stretched back over more than four decades. He was as much a man of the theater as he was one of the greatest of all late 20th century symphonic conductors, and many of his opera recordings remain unsurpassed in the catalog. Building on the huge success of Claudio Abbado – The Symphony Edition, comes The Opera Edition: 60 CDs presenting Maestro’s complete opera recordings for Deutsche Gramophone and Decca.

2017 is the tenth anniversary of the passing of the 20th Century’s most famous tenor – Decca marks this occasion to marvel once again at the sheer quality of the voice of ‘The People’s Tenor’ with a 101-disc collection presenting every role he ever recorded and performed. Every role since his debut recording of La Boh?me in 1961 is included, allowing critics, collectors and opera lovers once more to appreciate his truly exceptional gifts. Every single opera is presented in the best possible audio quality, remastered at Abbey Road under the supervision of former Decca engineers.

Decca proudly presents the Complete Works by Giuseppe Verdi in a single 75 CD box set. From the ever-popular “Aida” to the obscure “Alzira,” all 28 of Giuseppe Verdi's operas are here as well as his Sacred Works, Arias, Songs, Ballet Music, the String quartet and other rarities.

Most composers couldn't fill 20 CDs with all their works; it takes that many just to house the operas of one of the most prolific composers in classical music. These late-'70s recordings (featuring the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne under the direction of Antal Dorati) were groundbreaking at the time and remain cherished documents of some of Haydn's lesser-known works. You'll hear Armida (featuring Jessye Norman); La Fedelta Premiata ( Fidelity Rewarded ); Orlando Paladino ( Orlando the Paladin ); La Vera Costanza ( True Constancy , also with Norman); L'Incontro Improvviso ( The Unforeseen Encounter ); L'Infedelta Delusa ( Infidelity Outwitted ); L'Insola Disabitata ( The Desert Island ), and Il Mondo Della Luna (The World on the Moon ) plus additional arias

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.

2017 is the tenth anniversary of the passing of the 20th Century’s most famous tenor – Decca marks this occasion to marvel once again at the sheer quality of the voice of ‘The People’s Tenor’ with a 101-disc collection presenting every role he ever recorded and performed. Every role since his debut recording of La Boh?me in 1961 is included, allowing critics, collectors and opera lovers once more to appreciate his truly exceptional gifts. Every single opera is presented in the best possible audio quality, remastered at Abbey Road under the supervision of former Decca engineers.