Showcasing the unique variety and quality of Kaufmann's award-winning recordings for Decca, this album contains some of the best-loved operatic repertoire and some of Kaufmann's greatest roles, conducted by masters such as Abbado, Pappano and Gardiner and recorded in resplendent Decca sound.

Central to the collection are the two great nineteenth-century operatic geniuses Verdi and Wagner, coinciding with their 200th anniversaries. Kaufmann is probably the only tenor able to sing both Italian and German opera with equal aplomb.

It also features extracts from some of the greatest works in the operatic canon including arias by Puccini, Bizet and Mozart, as well as two recordings of Mascagni and Richard Strauss which are NEW TO CD. He is joined by Renée Fleming for the duet from Puccini's 'La Rondine'.