In the wake of the beloved Russian baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky's untimely passing in November 2017, tributes, memorials and musical event dedications have flowed non-stop. But none thus far has matched the sheer scope, power and sonic splendor of this all-Russian performance of Verdi's blockbuster Requiem Mass. The all-star cast of soloists- soprano Dinara Alieva, mezzo-soprano Olesya Petrova, tenor Francesco Meli and bass Dmitry Belosselsky- sing their hears out for Dmitri, under the baton of the vaunted Maestro Yuri Temirkanov leading the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra and the Bolshoi Theater Chorus. The result is an incredibly heartfelt and moving musical tribute to one of the greatest baritones who has ever lived.

Commissioned in 1846, MacBeth offered Verdi the opportunity to make a qualitative leap in his career and it's premiere was triumphantly received by audiences. Yet the libretto had proved problematic and many Italian critics did not share the composer's reverence for Shakespeare. Verdi surmounted all concerns with an opera that valued brevity but also preserved the play's most important elements. The formidable final concertato stands as one of his greatest achievements thus far, his pacing and detailing of the opera as a whole far surpassing his previous works. This production preserves the preferred 1865 revision of the work, sung in Italian and retaining the original 1847 finale.

One of Giuseppe Verdi's most dramatic, profound and moving works, the Requiem (1874) was written in heartfelt response to the passing of poet, novelist and Italian patriot Alessandro Manzoni in 1873. This superb reading, witnessed and recorded in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1960 under the masterful and knowing direction of Carlo Maria Giulini, features the then relativity new Philharmonia Orchestra (founded 1945) and Chorus, with a cast of vocal soloists that featured, on the women's side, Joan Sutherland and Fiorenza Cossotto, Luigi Ottolini and the recently deceased Ivo Vinco on the men's.

After the great success that Il Trovatore received in Paris, Verdi was proposed to compose a French version of the opera to suit the tastes of the local public. The original work, based on the Spanish play El trovador by Antonio Garc�a Guti�rrez, had a libretto by Cammarano, which was translated into French by �milien Pacini. Le Trouv�re was first staged in Brussels in 1856 and premiered at the Paris Opera in 1857. In this new version the composer added some music in act 3 for the gypsie ballet scene, extended the finale of act 4 and made several other revisions. The plot is highly dramatic and captivating: Verdi portrays strong characters who deal with war, obsession and revenge. To use director Robert Wilson's words "this is a family tragedy, and in many ways, it is a very contemporary story." Wilson's approach to the opera aims at preserving it's emotional strength by using a very essential d�cor, whose main element is light: "As a director, when I design the stage and lighting, I think about if what I see can help me hear better. Le Trouv�re requires a tremendous amount of concentration, so the set I designed is abstract in order to create a space for the music in the Farnese. I have designed an environment in concrete, creating a juxtaposition to the theatre's ornate interior. [...] Light in my work functions as part of the architectural whole. It is an element which helps us hear and see. Without light there is no space. To light a world that Verdi has described as so dark, one needs light to make the space darker." In the set's background the director also uses some photos by American photographer Robert Rosenkranz. This production was staged in the splendid Teatro Farnese of Parma, which was built in 1628 and belongs to the Complesso Monumentale della Pilotta, one of the oldest museums in Italy. Extra content: Interview with the curator of the Museum subtitled in all languages.

Jose Cura, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Yvonne Naef and Veronica Villarroel lead the star cast of Verdi's blazingly passionate opera, in Elijah Moshinsky's new Royal Opera House production co-produced with Teatro Real Madrid, with sets by the noted film designer Dante Ferretti and costumes by Anne Tilby.

Aleksandra Antonenko, Marina Poplavskaya, and Carlos Alvarez star in this production of the Verdi opera with Riccardo Muti conducting the Vienna Philharmonic.

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Tenor Feliciano Labo Had a Prestigious, If Overshadowed, Career That, After His 1954 Debut, Maintained a High Quality and a Remarkable Professional Honesty. His Wide Vibrato, Homogeneous Color and Perfect Timbre - Shaded Dark As Bronze - in General Opinion Made Him the Perfect Verdi Tenor. Aside Labo for This 1964 'Il Trovatore' Is a Singer Whose Voice and Career Was in Some Ways Similar to His: The American Soprano Anna De' Cavalieri (Anne McKnight), Another Authentic Verdi Voice Who Debuted Under Toscanini As Musetta in la Bohe?Me in 1946 But Sadly Left Behind a Fairly Scant Discography.

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Sesto Bruscantini (1919-2003) was one of the most refined bel canto interpreters post-WWII. His Mozart, Rossini, Pergolesi and Donizetti roles are absolutely referential; he was a pioneer of the Rossini Renaissance in the 1950’s. He career began as a bass, but after some ten years he switched to baritone roles. He possessed a dark, somber timbre and commanded excellent phrasing. This 1963 broadcast of Rigoletto is previously unreleased. Rare excerpts of Bruscantini in two bass roles are included.

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