While complaining about Mozart and his treatment of tenors, I mentioned that Verdi may be the composer who wrote the most great music for each voice type.

It could be that Verdi wrote 28 operas and there's bound to be something for everyone with that much music.

That's partially true but there are individual operas that Verdi wrote which contain great music for all voices.

Aida, Il Trovatore, Don Carlo, and the Requiem all have good balance.

The 4th act of Trovatore alone is a fantastic example. The act starts with an aria for soprano D'amor sull'ali rosee, on the rosy wings of love. The aria is followed by the miserere, Lord have mercy, duet for soprano, tenor, and off stage chorus.

Next is a duet for the baritone and soprano, Mira d'acerbe lagrime, see the bitter tears I shed.

A duet for the mezzo and tenor, Ai nostri monti ritornermo, again to our mountain we shall return, becomes a trio for the mezzo, tenor, and soprano.

To conclude the opera, the baritone is added for the quartet Prima che d'altri vivere, rather than live as another's.

As you might surmise, it's not a happy ending.

Verdi gives everyone a moment to shine in this act but the soprano has the most singing to do in the finale. The show is named after the tenor but Verdi almost named it for the mezzo's character, Azucena. The baritone get's shut out a little in the last act but he gets to live at the end of the drama.

Rarely does an opera conclude with this kind of vocal satisfaction for the audience.

I took special care in selecting a clip for this. I came up with an audio only clip from the Met. I wasn't aware but the notes on the clip say that this recording documents both Corelli and Price's debuts at the Met. Both were at the top of their vocal powers. It does not get any better than this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNOurn-R4es&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL