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In a career spanning more than 50 years, Luciano Pavarotti brought opera to the masses, singing with a host of popular artists from Bono and Meat Loaf to Frank Sinatra and Elton John.  He won five competitive Grammy Awards, a pair of Emmys, and a Kennedy Center Honor, along with numerous recognitions from his native Italy, France, and Monaco.  At the time of his death on September 6, 2007 at the age of 71, he had sold over one hundred million records, while The Three Tenors – the opera supergroup he formed with Jose Carreras and Placido Domingo – earned the best-selling classical album of all time with their 1990 debut.  On April 25, Decca will reissue remastered editions of two of Pavarotti’s most beloved recordings, including a collaborative album with Henry Mancini, on both CD and vinyl LP.

Pavarotti’s 1975 album The World’s Favourite Tenor Arias is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and leads off Decca’s reissue program.  The compilation drew on recordings made between 1969 and 1973 in London, Vienna, and Berlin with conductors Leone Magiera, Richard Bonynge, Zubin Mehta, Nicola Rescigno, and Herbert von Karajan.  The 10-track sampler offers a taste of the Pavarotti artistry with classic and familiar arias from Puccini’s La Boheme and Tosca; Bizet’s Carmen; Verdi’s Aida, Il Trovatore, and Rigoletto; Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci; and more.  The retrospective wasn’t Pavarotti’s first; a 1973 set celebrated his moniker as King of the High Cs.  But Favourite Tenor Arias was marketed to a general audience, beginning with the relaxed cover photo depicting him casually in an outdoor setting rather than in stage costume or makeup.  Chances are numerous opera collections began with this record, which is receiving its first vinyl reissue in four decades.

Almost a decade later, in 1984, Pavarotti teamed with four-time Academy Award, twenty-time Grammy winner Henry Mancini, the American conductor-arranger-composer of Italian descent, for Mamma.  The 15-song set recorded in Geneva paid tribute to the Italian popular songs of Pavarotti’s youth; he had previously won a Grammy in 1980 for the collection of Neapolitan songs, O Sole Mio.  Both Pavarotti and Mancini were in fine, playful form; the latter even brought a twist of his beloved Pink Panther theme to “In Un Palco Della Scala.”  Conducting the orchestra and chorus, Mancini brought lushness, spirit, and abundant heart to this material. He and Pavarotti would reunite in 1987 for another volume of Italian pop favorites, Volare.

Both titles have been newly mastered from the original tapes housed in the Decca vaults and are due in all formats on April 25.  You’ll find the track listings and pre-order links below.  As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Luciano Pavarotti, The World’s Favourite Tenor Arias (Decca SXL 6649, 1975 – reissued Decca, 2025) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

1. Vesti la giubba (Il Pagliacci)
2. M’appari (Martha)
3. La fleur que tu m’avais jetée (Carmen)
4. Che gelida manina (La Boheme)
5. La donna è mobile (Rigoletto)
6. Quel trouble inconnu…Salut! Demeure chaste et pure (Margarete)
7. E lucevan le stelle (Tosca)
8. Se quel guerrier io fossi! – Celeste Aida (Aida)
9. Nessun Dorma (Turandot)
10. Di quella pira (Il Trovatore)

Luciano Pavarotti and Henry Mancini, Mamma (Decca 411 959-1, 1984 – reissued Decca, 2025) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

1. Mamma
2. Non Ti Scordar Di Me
3. Lolita
4. Musica Proibita
5. Firenze Sogna
6. Vivere
7. Parlarmi D’amore, Mariu
8. In Un Palco Della Scala With Apologies To Pink Panther)
9. Addio, Sogni Di Gloria
10. Voglio Vivere Cosi
11. Chitarra Romana
12. Rondine Al Nido
13. La Ghirlandeina
14. La Mia Canzone Al Vento
15. Vieni Sul Mar
16. La Campana Di San Giusto​