This is an entry in the Pavarotti discography which it is easy to forget and very well worth remembering. Though ''Pavarotti Premieres'' is its catchpenny title, the recital is really a valuable collection of rarities most (if not all) unpublished previously on records, all of them of interest in Verdi's development, as well as representing the famous tenor at his best. Two are orchestral pieces, the original Prelude to Simon Boccanegra and the Overture written for the Milan premiere of Aida but left unperformed and subsequently suppressed. Second thoughts are proved best in both cases, for the Boccanegra loses the magic of its sea-picture, and the Aida, grandly conceived and carefully written, adds nothing of substance to the opera (though it says much for Verdi's judgement that he could sacrifice a piece of work on which he had clearly lavished much attention).
Of the arias, most were written for a particular occasion and with a particular tenor in mind. The graceful cabaletta from I due Foscari was discovered by Julian Budden and challenges the tenor to bring forth his high E flat. ''Io la vidi'' is an early fragment, supposedly from an uncompleted opera called Il solitario ed Eloisa; the second tenor is confined at first to making helpful interpolations such as ''Are you transported?'' but is later admitted to partnership in a duet with his superior. Pavarotti, if occasionally overemphatic, is often remarkably polished and always generous in provision of voice and spirit. In some of the items he has a bathroom acoustic all to himself, which is tiresome but still worth putting up with for the sake of the unusual repertoire and the fine performances, both vocal and orchestral.'