2018 marks 250 years since Gioachino Rossini's death in 1868. Messa per Rossini was composed in his memory by Verdi and 12 other notable Italian composers. Verdi himself composed the concluding Libera me, which he later used in his own Messa da Requiem. Conducted by Riccardo Chailly, this rare performance represents the work's triumphant return to the spiritual home of Verdi and Rossini: the Teatro alla Scala in Milan.