For those who can countenance the idea of a "best of"
Luciano Pavarotti compilation to begin with, there may be some confusion why another one is needed, what with the existence of 1998's The Ultimate Collection and 2002's
Romantica: The Very Best of Luciano Pavarotti, both of which have considerable overlap with the present album. The answer involves marketing, as record labels have identified different levels of interest in the general audience willing to have one omnibus
Pavarotti album in their collections. At the top of the line is The Ultimate Collection, which contains 41 tracks (14 of which are repeated here) spread across two CDs and generally retails for something over 30 dollars. A more standard release is
Romantica, a single disc containing 20 tracks (eight of them repeated here) listing for about 20 dollars. If that's still too much, then
The Best of Luciano Pavarotti: 20th Century Masters/The Millennium Collection is the cheapest
Pavarotti compilation available from major label Universal through its Hip-O imprint: 17 tracks in 57 and a half minutes at a list price just under ten dollars. For that, one gets a mixture of famous opera arias including "La Donna è Mobile" from Rigoletto and "Nessun Dorma!" from Turandot along with such songs as "Funiculi, Funicula" and "Ave Maria." The selections, three of which are live recordings, come from throughout
Pavarotti's multi-decade career on Decca Records, and many of his most famous performances are included. If the consumer is looking for a good, inexpensive highlights disc, without going to the really cheap ones of questionable legality also clogging the record racks, this is the way to go. ~ William Ruhlmann