The causal listener looking for a collection of Verdi favorites might infer from the generic Viva Verdi title that this is one. Actually, the collection of purely instrumental music here hasn't often been treated or recorded as a group, and some of the pieces qualify as genuinely rare. The early Verdi operas have true overtures (or "sinfonias") in the manner of Rossini, and several of those (that for Alzira is by no means a common item, and it feels like a young composer trying to get away from the Rossini idiom) are included here. The later operas sometimes had instrumental preludes for each act, introducing moods or even thematic content to come. If this is what you're after, veteran conductor Riccardo Chailly delivers a satisfying collection here. The chief attraction is the Filarmonica della Scala, the house band of the La Scala opera house and the group with historically the strongest connection to this music. It's a small group, not augmented to symphony orchestra size, and Chailly retains its opera-house dimensions while polishing the sound beyond what you might hear at an average performance. The result is sharp readings with lots of detail in the winds and brasses. The recording was made not at La Scala itself but at the Auditorium di Milano, a modern hall Chailly knows well through his work with his Orchestra Verdi, and the sound has an attractive lightness that fits his aims here. If a collection of instrumental pieces by one of opera's greats is what rings your bell, this is a good pick.
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