The programme covers arias from all the best-loved operas in the repertoire, from Handel’s Serse and Semele through Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Così fan tutte, Verdi’s Rigoletto and Aida, Puccini’s Tosca and Turandot to Gounod’s Faust and Roméo et Juliette, and ends with extracts from Wagner’s Ring.

Also included are famous arias from oratorios and sacred works such as Handel’s Messiah, Rossini’s Stabat Mater and Petite Messe solennelle, and Verdi’s moving Requiem, as well as arias from all the most popular French operas, CD 3 includes items from the original French versions of works that are also widely known in their Italian translations, such as Rossini’s Guillaume Tell and Donizetti’s La Fille du régiment. Operetta is represented on CD 6 by two of the most popular arias by Franz Lehár: ‘Dein ist mein ganzes Herz’ (Das Land des Lächelns) and ‘Gern hab’ ich die Frau’n geküßt’ (Paganini) as well as one by Johann Strauss II: ‘Als flotter Geist...Ja, das alles auf Ehr’’ (Der Zigeunerbaron). Spanish zarzuela is also included with two items on CD 4: ‘Mi aldea’ (Los gavilanes) by Guerrero and ‘No puede ser’ (La taberna del puerto) by Sorozábal.

The singers include the greatest names of the present and the past, headed by the iconic three tenors Placido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti and José Carreras. The stars of today are represented by singers such as Rolando Villazón, Roberto Alagna and Ian Bostridge, while Wagner is sung by Klaus König, Peter Seiffert, Ben Heppner and Siegfried Jerusalem among others. The older generation of singers include Nicolai Gedda, Alfredo Kraus, Giuseppe di Stefano, Carlo Bergonzi and Luigi Alva, as well as two of the most famous tenors of all time: Jussi Björling and Beniamino Gigli.