Verdi: Messa da Requiem (recorded in 2002)

Claudio Abbado Conducts A Live Gala Performance Of Verdi's Requiem With Roberto Alagna, Angela Gheorghiu And The Berlin Philharmonic

There could have been no more fitting event and no greater sense of occasion than the live performance of Giuseppe Verdi's profoundly moving Messa da Requiem on 27th January 2001 - the exact centenary of the composer's death - bringing together some of the world's finest musicians today to perform it.

The night was led by one of the greatest champions of Verdi, Claudio Abbado; in a thrilling gala concert at the Berlin Philharmonic witnessed live by a capacity audience and by millions more on the Internet, TV, and radio. And thanks to EMI Classics, who were there to record it, the night was immortalised on DVD