I was a huge fan of Anna Netrebko.

The mesmerizing run of Trovatore in October 2015 at the Met, a few months after we learned that Hvorostovsky was dying

Here in Chicago, I’ve had many a shot at listening to Riccardo Muti as a Verdi conductor.

I’ve never been shy about my adoration of Anna Moffo.

My favorite Verdi performance is the iconic 1960 RCA recording of Otello with Jon Vickers in the title role and the Rome Opera Orchestra and Chorus under the baton of the masterly Tullio Serafin.

Tebaldi, at La scala, in one of her nights of glory, where the voice poured out effortlessly, singing with utter conviction, and no soprano ever appealed to God more fervently.

My contribution this month honors the great Sherrill Milnes in his electrifying performance of Iago’s credo (1979, Met).

Much as I love the Abbado Deutsche Grammophon studio set, this 1980 San Francisco Opera live Simon Boccanegra under Lamberto Gardelli has an emotional punch.

Bring on the drama, mama!

Nadine Sierra‘s Gilda at the Metropolitan Opera had that rare quality of sounding both immaculate and spontaneous, as if Verdi’s lines were being discovered in the moment rather than executed.

Tito Gobbi‘s performance of Rigoletto’s “Cortigiani, vil razza dannata” offers the most musically and dramatically complete portrait of Verdi’s tortured court jester that I have ever heard.

Stiffelio has always been the dark horse of early Verdi operas.

I have very few opportunities to see real-life opera divas, but when Natalie Dessay chose to debut her first Traviata at Santa Fe, there was no way I was going to miss it.

The air held a real charge that night in SF’s War Memorial Opera House.

This is one of those rare performances that makes you believe that everything Verdi was greater Way Back When.

Nothing prepared me for the Soviero experience

A well-known Met Aïda with a starry cast from 1967 is TildyDiva’s Favorite Verdi Performance

My favorite Verdi performance is Claudio Abbado Don Carlo opening of the Scala.

The purely musical performance preserved here is thrilling, ratcheted to a higher intensity than the Deutsche Grammophon studio recording

Victoria de los Ángeles has always been my Violetta of choice, a portrayal that never ceases to move me.

Before the screams of horror begin, it says ‘favorite’, not best.

Elisabeth Grümmer was, of course, very good at Wagnerian prayers, but she also shines in this Verdi prayer.