Luciano Pavarotti - 20TH Century Masters: Millennium Collection (RMST) (CD)

All Music Guide

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. A more standard release is Romantica, a single disc containing 20 tracks (eight of them repeated here) listing for about 20. 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 HipO imprint: 17 tracks in 57½ minutes at a list price just under 10. 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 multidecade 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, All Music Guide Read more Less