100 Best Opera Classics, a six-CD set, includes nearly eight hours of some of the most popular music from opera's golden age, from the late 18th century through the early 20th century. The selections are drawn from the archives of EMI, and although these might not necessarily be THE definitive interpretations of these pieces, it can be assumed that most all of the performances here meet a high artistic standard. The pieces come largely from the standard Italian, German, and French repertoire, with
Mozart,
Rossini, Bellini,
Donizetti,
Verdi,
Wagner,
Massenet, and
Puccini being the best represented composers. The variety of repertoire, the quality of performances, and EMI's budget price make this a set that should interest listeners looking for a broad assortment of operatic classics.