Johan Botha was heard at the Vienna Staatsoper a total of 222 times before his untimely death. His powerful, truly great voice shone like a beacon across the world of opera. Though he was mostly known as a singer of the German opera repertoire, he also had amazing success with Italian operas which are documented on this double album. Alongside partners like Krassimira Stoyanova, Violeta Urmana and Dmitri Hvorostovsky he knew how to enthrall the Vienna Opera Community. The present release features arias from Italian standards such as Don Carlo, Aida, Otello, Tosca, Turandot, and others.