Mattia Battistini (baritone) - The Complete Recordings
rec. 1902-1924
Giuseppe Bellantoni (baritone) - Selected Fonotopia recordings
rec. Milan, 1910/11
Full track-listing below
MARSTON 56002-2 [6 CDs: 466:51]
Vocal collectors will be thrilled with this release by Marston, as it’s the first time, to my knowledge, that Mattia Battistini’s complete recordings have been issued together, in one set, on CD. All were recorded acoustically. There have been single CD volumes from labels such as Pearl, Preiser, Romophone and Symposium, but for the completist, this Marston six-CD set will be the one to go for.
My admiration for the singer, dubbed ‘King of Baritones’ goes back several years, when a friend of mine, moving house, was strongly urged by his wife to downsize his collection. Many vocal LPs came my way, including a Rubini (gv 34) of the singer, and a 7 LP set of ‘his complete surviving recordings’ (EMI EX 29 0790 3). Even this comprehensive collection is missing Wagner’s Da scheinest du … O du mein holder Abendstern (Tannhäuser), transferred from a privately-made 2-minute cylinder recorded in Berlin circa 1898. Good to have, and it’s included here as an appendix item. Also included is a test pressing of an alternative unreleased take of the ‘Te Deum’ from Tosca, cut in June 1911.
Battistini was born in Rome in 1856. His father was a doctor, and initially he also took up medicine, later changing to law. This was eventually abandoned to study singing with Venceslao Persichini, who was based at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia. Persichini also counted amongst his students Giuseppe De Luca and Titta Ruffo. Battistini debuted as Alonso in Donizetti’s La favorita in 1878 at the Teatro Argentina in Rome. This was a springboard to a glittering career lasting the rest of his life. In 1881 he undertook a tour to South America, performing in Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. In 1883 he made his Covent Garden debut, and in 1888 he revisited South America on what was to be his last transatlantic journey, having developed a fear of sailing. It is significant that he never appeared at the Met, or any other American opera house for that matter. From 1893 he travelled, on several occasions, to Russia and Poland, where he would focus his career for the next ten years. He was in his sixties before he made his debut at the Paris Opéra, by which time the French had virtually given up all hope of seeing him in the flesh. His Golden Jubilee as a singer occurred in 1928, when he was seventy-two. His plans were to appear in Donizetti’s La favorita, his debut opera, but sadly his hopes remained unfulfilled. He became sick and died in November of that year.
The singer’s earliest records were made in Warsaw in 1902 for the Gramophone and Typewriter Company and, by that time, he was in his mid-forties, having already been singing professionally for twenty-four years. He continued to make records for that company (later becoming The Gramophone Company) until 1924 when he was sixty-eight. It is regrettable that he never quite made it into the electrical age, which began a year later in 1925. In 1920, due to some animosity with Fred Gaisberg, the company’s producer, Battistini briefly broke his contract with HMV by making two records with La Société Suisse des Disques Phonographiques d’Art in Zürich. By this action he forfeited all the royalties on his HMV recordings. Careful diplomacy won out in the end, and he returned to the fold a year later, agreeing that all future recordings for HMV would be made for a flat payment. This would have been no loss to him, as Gaisberg described him as ‘vain, very rich and cantankerous’; he was probably alluding to him travelling around like a stately monarch with thirty trunks in tow, each embossed with the initials ‘MB’, containing his costumes.
Listening to these recordings, the first thing that struck me was the beauty of sound Battisini achieves in the full range of the voice, as in Massenet’s Pourquoi me réveiller (Ah! non mi ridestar) from Werther. There’s also A tanto amor from Donizetti’s La favorita, recorded in 1906, which is ardent, superbly controlled and gives an indication of the singer’s emotional commitment to the music. La favorita remained in his repertoire throughout his career and he re-recorded the aria in 1924. His sound production seems quite effortless, and is gilded with an opulence of tone and infinite shadings of colour. His seamless legato and elasticity of rhythm are also distinguishing features, all supported by complete breath control. His magnificent technique can be heard in the 1902 Largo al factotum (Rossini), and in Bel sogno beato di pace from Bellini’s I Puritani from 1911. This technical accomplishment stayed with him throughout his career as evidenced by Verdi’s E la fè che giurai? … Urna fatale (La Forza del Destino), recorded as late as 1924 when he was in his late sixties. Then there’s the drama and fervent lyricism in Son cifre di Riccardo! … Bella è di sol vestita from Donizetti’s Maria di Rohan, one of my favourites. This lyricism is also present in the Neapolitan songs, which Battistini invests with the same detail, nobility, elegance and beauty that he lavishes on the operatic items.
In Mozart’s Alfin siam liberati, Zerlinetta gentil … Là ci darem la mano from Don Giovanni, Battisini is partnered by the soprano Emilia Corsi, who I found undistinguished and disappointing. The soprano Ebe Boccolini is more engaging and pleasing to the ear in Baigne d’eau mes mains et mes lèvres (D’acqua aspergimi) from Massenet’s Thaïs. Here both voices seem to blend better. Maria Mościska (soprano) also makes a sympathetic partner in Un buon servo del visconte (Linda di Chamonix/Donizetti) and Madamigella Valéry? ... Pura siccome un angelo (La Traviata/Verdi).
It’s a treat to have the inclusion, as a filler for CD 6, of ten sides featuring the baritone Giuseppe Bellantoni (1880-1946), Fonotipia recordings set down in Milan 1910-1911. His name is completely new to me, but I was captivated by his rich sonorous tone, and the expressive contours he brings to the music. Apparently, his stage career finished relatively early in 1930.
Ward Marston and J. Richard Harris have done a sterling job with these audio restorations. Michel Aspinall, himself a singer and teacher, has written the extensive booklet notes. These run to 44 pages and provide, not only a biographical portrait of the singer, but analytical insights into the performances. A selection of black and white photographs, depicting Battistini in various operatic roles, adorn the booklet. Ward Marston adds a personal note at the end, and explains the ‘painstaking task’ of selecting the best source copies for his digital transfers.
Many singers and musicians at the time these recordings were made regarded Battistini as the greatest singer they had ever heard. These included singers such as Alexander Kipnis and Frances Alda, the violinist Albert Spalding and the pianist Arthur Rubinstein, who also regarded Caruso similarly. Many connoisseurs and collectors of historical vocal recordings still, to this day, hold Battistini in high esteem considering him, together with Titta Ruffo (1877–1953), as the greatest Italian baritone singer on disc. Listening to these wonderful recordings, one can see why.
Stephen Greenbank
CD 1 (76:44)
GRAMOPHONE & TYPEWRITER, LTD.
Warsaw, 1902
Recorded by Franz Hampe
1. DON GIOVANNI: Fin ch’han dal vino (Mozart) 2:35
(439z) 52663
2. TANNHÄUSER: Wie Todesahnung … O du mein holder Abendstern (Forier di morte … Oh! tu bell’astro incantator) (Wagner) 3:17
(440z) 52664Transposed up a tone to A
3. EUGENE ONEGIN: Kogdabizhizndomashnimkrugom (Se dell’Imen la dolce cura) (Tchaikovsky) 2:55
(441z) 52665
4. DON GIOVANNI: Deh vieni alla finestra (Mozart) 2:21
(442z) 52666
5. La mantilla (Álvarez) 2:48
(443z) 52667
6. Occhi di fata (Denza) 2:41
(444z) 52668
7. Ancora (Tosti) 3:13
(445z) 52669
8. THE DEMON: Ne plach, ditya (No, non plorar tu piangi invano) (Rubinstein) 2:45
(446z) 52670
9. IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA: Largo al factotum (Rossini) 3:17
(447z) 52671
10. FAUST: Avant de quitter ces lieux (Dio possente) (Gounod) 3:25
(448z) 52672
11. LA FAVORITA: In questo suolo ... Ah! l’alto ardor (Donizetti) 3:44
with Tilde Carotini, mezzo-soprano (449z) 54034
GRAMOPHONE & TYPEWRITER, LTD.
Milan, 12 November 1906
Recorded by Frederick W. Gaisberg
12. PER LA PATRIA: Or limpida m’appare la superba visione! (Cocchi) 3:19
(866c) 052140
GRAMOPHONE & TYPEWRITER, LTD.
Milan, mid-November1906
Recorded by Frederick W. Gaisberg
13. ERNANI: Oh de’ verd’anni miei (Verdi) 3:06
(874C) 052141
14. ERNANI: Da quel dì che t’ho veduta (Verdi) 4:24
with Emilia Corsi, soprano (876c) 054103
15. UN BALLO IN MASCHERA: Alla vita che t’arride (Verdi) 3:18
(877c) 052142
16. ERNANI: Lo vedremo o veglio audace (Verdi) 3:22
with Aristodemo Sillich, bass (879c) 054105x
17. ERNANI: Lo vedremo o veglio audace (Verdi) 3:19
with Aristodemo Sillich, bass (879 ½c) 054105
18. ERNANI: Vieni meco, sol di rose (Verdi) 2:33
with Emilia Corsi, soprano; and chorus (880c) 054106
19. ERNANI: O sommo Carlo (Verdi) 4:03
with Emilia Corsi, soprano; Luigi Colazza, tenor; Aristodemo Sillich, bass; and chorus (881c) 054107
20. DON GIOVANNI: Alfin siam liberati, Zerlinetta gentil … Là ci darem la mano (Mozart) 4:19
with Emilia Corsi, soprano (882c) 054104
21. MARTHA: Povero Lionello … Il mio Lionel perirà (Flotow) 3:53
(883c) 052143
22. LA FAVORITA: A tanto amor (Donizetti) 4:01
(884c) 052144
23. DOM SÉBASTIEN: Ô Lisbonne, ô ma patrie! (O Lisbona, alfin ti miro) (Donizetti) 4:05
(885c) 052145
CD 2 (79:13)
GRAMOPHONE & TYPEWRITER, LTD.
Milan, mid-November 1906
Recorded by Frederick W. Gaisberg
1. UN BALLO IN MASCHERA: Eri tu che macchiavi (Verdi) 4:23
(886C) 052146
2. LA DAMNATION DE FAUST: Voici des roses (Su queste rose) (Berlioz) 3:34
(888c) 052147
3. ZAMPA: Pourquoi, pourquoi vous troubler (Perchè tremar?) (Hérold) 4:02
(889c) 052148
THE GRAMOPHONE COMPANY, LTD.
Milan, 2 June 1911
Recorded by Frederick W. Gaisberg
4. PAGLIACCI: Si Può? [Prologue] (Leoncavallo) 7:37
(260ai/261ai) 052305/052306
5. WERTHER: J’aurais sur ma poitrine (Avrei sovra il mio petto) (Massenet) 3:32
(262ai) 052307
6. WERTHER: Pourquoi me réveiller (Ah! non mi ridestar) (Massenet) 3:36
(263ai) 052308
7. HAMLET: Comme une pâle fleur (Come il romito fior) (Thomas) 3:03
(267ai) 052309
8. Le soir (Gounod) 4:05
(268ai) 052310
9. Amour, amour (Tosti) 3:08
(269ai) 052311
THE GRAMOPHONE COMPANY, LTD.
Milan, 3 June 1911
Recorded by Frederick W. Gaisberg
10. TOSCA: Tre sbirri, una carrozza [Te Deum] (Puccini) 3:50
with chorus (270ai) 052312
11. TOSCA: Tre sbirri, una carrozza [Te Deum] (Puccini) 3:47
with chorus (271ai) unpublished
12. HAMLET: O vin dissipe la tristesse (O vin discaccia la tristezza) (Thomas) 3:43
with chorus (272ai) 052302
13. THAÏS: Baigne d’eau mes mains et mes lèvres (D’acqua aspergimi) (Massenet) 3:26
with Ebe Boccolini, soprano (273ai) assigned 054318 but published only on HM 47
14. TANNHÄUSER: Als du in kühnem Sange (Allor che tu coll’estro) (Wagner) 3:16
(274ai) 052303
15. FAUST: O sainte médaille … Avant de quitter ces lieux (O santa medaglia ... Dio possente) (Gounod) 4:11
(275ai) 052313
16. I PURITANI: Ah! per sempre io ti perdei (Bellini) 3:12
(276ai) 052314
THE GRAMOPHONE COMPANY, LTD.
Milan, 6 June 1911
Recorded by Frederick W. Gaisberg
17. THAÏS: Baigne d’eau mes mains et mes lèvres (D’acqua aspergimi) (Massenet) 3:09
with Attilia Janni, soprano (277ai) unpublished
18. THAÏS: Baigne d’eau mes mains et mes lèvres (D’acqua aspergimi) (Massenet) 3:11
with Attilia Janni, soprano (278ai) 054317
19. MARIA DI ROHAN: Son cifre di Riccardo! … Bella è di sol vestita (Donizetti) 3:57
(281ai) 052315
20. I PURITANI: Bel sogno beato di pace (Bellini) 2:59
(284ai) 052316
21. LA TRAVIATA: Mio figlio! Oh, quanto soffri … Di Provenza il mar (Verdi) 3:32
(285ai) 052317
CD 3 (79:49)
THE GRAMOPHONE COMPANY, LTD.
Milan, 6 June 1911
Recorded by Frederick W. Gaisberg
1. TANNHÄUSER: Blick’ ich umher in diesem edlen Kreise (Nel rimirar quest’adunanza) (Wagner) 4:00
(286ai) 052318Transposed up a semi-tone to E
2. TANNHÄUSER: Wie Todesahnung … O du mein holder Abendstern (Forier di morte … Oh! tu bell’astro incantator) (Wagner) 3:32
(287ai) 052304Transposed up a tone to A
3. Culto (Denza) 2:59
(288ai) 052319
4. Ideale (Tosti) 3:19
(289ai) 052320
5. O ma charmante (Quaranta) 3:45
(290ai) 052321
6. Mia sposa sarà la mia bandiera (Rotoli) 4:26
(291ai) 052322
THE GRAMOPHONE COMPANY, LTD.
Milan, 7 June 1911
Recorded by Frederick W. Gaisberg
7. La serenata (Tosti) 3:16
(292ai) 052323
8. La gondola nera (Rotoli) 3:51
(293ai) 052324
9. Non m’ama più (Tosti) 3:54
(294ai) unpublished
10. Non m’ama più (Tosti) 4:08
(295ai) 052325
11. Mia sposa sarà la mia bandiera (Rotoli) 4:16
(296ai) 052326 issued only in Russia and GermanySung in B Minor; a semi-tone higher than matrix (291ai)
THE GRAMOPHONE COMPANY, LTD.
Milan, 25 May 1912
Recorded by Edmund J. Pearse
12. L’AFRICAINE: Fille des rois (Figlia di regi) (Meyerbeer) 4:21
(214af) 052357
13. L’AFRICAINE: Mais, pour lui, pour Vasco (Ma per questo stranier) (Meyerbeer) 3:07
(215af) 052358
14. L’AFRICAINE: L’avoir tant adorée … Écrase-moi, tonnerre! (Averla tanto amata … O folgor, su me piomba!) (Meyerbeer) 3:41
(216af) 052359
15. LINDA DI CHAMOUNIX: Ambo nati in questa valle (Donizetti) 4:24
(217af) 052360
THE GRAMOPHONE COMPANY, LTD.
Milan, 27 May 1912
Recorded by Edmund J. Pearse
16. QUO VADIS?: Errer à travers les mers (Errare per l’ampio mar) (Nouguès) 4:16
(218af) 052361
17. QUO VADIS?: Vois, Phoebé elle-même (Or Febea pur essa) (Nouguès) 3:24
(219af) 052362
18. LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR: Cruda funesta smania (Donizetti) 4:09
(220af) 052363
THE GRAMOPHONE COMPANY, LTD.
Milan, 28 May 1912
Recorded by Edmund J. Pearse
19. PAGLIACCI: Decidi il mio destin (Leoncavallo) 2:58
with Maria Mościska, soprano (221af) 054389
20. PAGLIACCI: E allor perché (Leoncavallo) 3:53
with Maria Mościska, soprano (222af) 054390
21. RIGOLETTO: O mia Gilda! (Verdi) 4:08
with Maria Mościska, soprano (223af) 054392
CD 4 (73:45)
THE GRAMOPHONE COMPANY, LTD.
Milan, 28 May 1912
Recorded by Edmund J. Pearse
1. LINDA DI CHAMOUNIX: Un buon servo del visconte (Donizetti) 4:42
with Maria Mościska, soprano (224af) 054393
2. LA TRAVIATA: Madamigella Valéry? ... Pura siccome un angelo (Verdi) 4:04
with Maria Mościska, soprano (225½af) 054395
THE GRAMOPHONE COMPANY, LTD.
Milan, 29 May 1912
Recorded by Edmund J. Pearse
3. GUILLAUME TELL: Mon fils … Sois immobile (Ti benedico, figlio mio … Resta immobile) (Rossini) 4:37
(226af) 052364
4. QUO VADIS?: Amici, l’ora attesta è questa (Nouguès) 4:30
(227af) 052365
5. OTELLO: E qual certezza sognate … Era la notte (Verdi) 4:06
(228af) 052366A portion of this aria is transposed up a semi-tone to D-flat
6. Delizia [Trauerwalzer No. 2, D. 365] (Schubert) 4:17
(229af) 052367
7. HÉRODIADE: Vision fugitive (Vision fuggitiva) (Massenet) 3:29
(233af) 052368
THE GRAMOPHONE COMPANY, LTD.
Milan, 30 May 1912
Recorded by Edmund J. Pearse
8. MACBETH: Perfidi! All’Anglo contro me … Pietà, rispetto, amore (Verdi) 4:17
(234af) 052369
9. NÉRON: Hymen! Hymen! fils d’Uranie (Imen! Imen, sòrte di vita) [Epithalamium] (Rubinstein) 3:26
(235af) 052370
10. Occhi di fata (Denza) 2:38
(236af) 052371
THE GRAMOPHONE COMPANY, LTD.
Milan, 2 June 1913
Recorded by Frederick W. Gaisberg
11. DON GIOVANNI: Deh, vieni alla finestra (Mozart) 2:08
(17569b) 2-52847
12. LA FAVORITA: Vien, Leonora … Ah! Mia Leonora … De’ nemici tuoi lo sdegno (Donizetti) 4:50
(17570b/17571b) 2-52848/2-52849
13. Malìa (Tosti) 2:53
(2807c) 052403
14. DON CARLO: Felice ancor io son … Per me giunto (Verdi) 3:48
(2808c) 052404
15. DON CARLO: O Carlo ascolta (Verdi) 5:03
(2809½c) 052405
THE GRAMOPHONE COMPANY, LTD.
Milan, 3 June 1913
Recorded by Frederick W. Gaisberg
16. UN BALLO IN MASCHERA: Ve’, se di notte (Verdi) 3:46
with Elvira Barbieri, soprano; Vincenzo Bettoni, bass; and chorus (2812c) 054449
17. ERNANI: Uscite … Vedi come il buon vegliardo (Verdi) 4:39
with Elvira Barbieri, soprano; Giuseppe Tommasini, tenor; and Vincenzo Bettoni, bass (2813½c) 054450
18. IL TROVATORE: Qual voce, come! tu, donna? … Mira, di acerbe lagrime (Verdi) 3:03
with Elvira Barbieri, soprano (2815½c) 054452
19. IL TROVATORE: Conte! Ne cessi? Grazia! … Vivrà! Contende il giubilo (Verdi) 3:29
with With Elvira Barbieri, soprano (2816c) 054453
CD 5 (79:43)
THE GRAMOPHONE COMPANY, LTD.
Milan, 3 June 1913
Recorded by Frederick W. Gaisberg
1. FAUST: Par ici, par ici, mes amis! … Écoute-moi bien, Marguerite! (Per di quà … Non val … Stammi ad udir, Margherita!) (Gounod) 7:03
with Elvira Barbieri, soprano; and chorus (2817c/2820c) 054454/054455
2. FAUST: Par ici, par ici (Per di quà … Non val) (Gounod) 2:28
with Elvira Barbieri, soprano; and chorus (2819c) unpublished
3. UN BALLO IN MASCHERA: Ve’, se di notte (Verdi) 3:34
with Elvira Barbieri, soprano; Vincenzo Bettoni, bass; and chorus (2821c) 054449x
La Société Suisse des Disques Phonographiques d’Art
Zürich, ca. 1920
4. Ideale (Tosti) 4:00
(C5002) C3002
5. Caro mio ben (Giordani) 3:39
(C5008) C3003
THE GRAMOPHONE COMPANY, LTD.
Milan, 21 May 1921
Recorded by Raymond R. Sooy
6. La mantilla (Álvarez) 2:49
(BA1-2) 7-62029
7. LE ROI DE LAHORE: Aux troupes du Sultan … Promesse de mon avenir (Le barbare tribù … O casto fior) (Massenet) 4:05
(CA2-3) 2-052201
8. Vittoria, vittoria, mio core! (Carissimi) 2:37
(BA3-1) 7-52192
THE GRAMOPHONE COMPANY, LTD.
Milan, 22 May 1921
Recorded by Raymond R. Sooy
9. RUY BLAS: Io scacciato! Io bandito! … Ai miei rivali cedere (Marchetti) 4:16
(CA4-1) 2-052202
10. DON CARLO: Felice ancor io son … Per me giunto (Verdi) 3:52
(CA5-1) 2-052203
THE GRAMOPHONE COMPANY, LTD.
Milan, 23 May 1921
Recorded by Raymond R. Sooy
11. TANNHÄUSER: Wie Todesahnung … O du mein holder Abendstern (Forier di morte … Oh! tu bell’astro incantator) (Wagner) 3:40
(CA6-2) 2-052204 Transposed up a tone to A
12. ERNANI: O sommo Carlo (Verdi) 3:47
with Giuseppe Taccani, tenor; Jannina De Witt, soprano; and chorus (CA7-2) 2-054118
13. RIGOLETTO: No, vecchio, t’inganni … Sì, vendetta! (Verdi) 2:26
with Lulu Hayes, soprano (BA8-2) 7-54018
14. LA GIOCONDA: Così mantieni il patto? … Ebbrezza! delirio! (Ponchielli) 4:24
with Jannina De Witt, soprano (CA9-2) 2-054119
THE GRAMOPHONE COMPANY, LTD.
Milan, 24 May 1921
Recorded by Raymond R. Sooy
15. MARIA DI ROHAN: Voce fatal di morte (Donizetti) 3:27
(CA10-1) 2-052207
16. LA FAVORITA: Vien, Leonora … De’ nemici tuoi lo sdegno (Donizetti) 4:22
with Alberto Trevisan, flute obbligato (CA11-1) 2-052208
17. LA FORZA DEL DESTINO: E la fè che giurai? … Urna fatale (Verdi) 4:10
(CA12-2) unpublished
18. LA FORZA DEL DESTINO: E s’altra prova rinvenir potessi? … Egli è salvo! (Verdi) 2:42
(BA13-2) 7-52194
THE GRAMOPHONE COMPANY, LTD.
Milan, 26 May 1921
Recorded by William J. Beckwith
19. MARIA DI ROHAN: Voce fatal di morte (Donizetti) 3:44
(CM24) unpublished
20. LA FAVORITA: Vien, Leonora … De’ nemici tuoi lo sdegno (Donizetti) 4:18
(CM26) unpublished
21. MARIA DI RUDENZ: Egli ancora non giunge … Ah! non avea più lagrime (Donizetti) 4:17
(CM27) 2-052209
CD 6 (77:37)
THE GRAMOPHONE COMPANY, LTD.
Milan, 22 February 1924
Recorded by George W. Dillnutt
1. LA FORZA DEL DESTINO: E la fè che giurai? … Urna fatale (Verdi) 4:00
(Ck1418-1) 2-052251
2. UN BALLO IN MASCHERA: Alla vita che t’arride (Verdi) 2:51
(Bk1422-1) 7-52264
3. LA FAVORITA: A tanto amor (Donizetti) 3:51
(Ck1423-1) 2-052253
THE GRAMOPHONE COMPANY, LTD.
Milan, 24 February 1924
Recorded by George W. Dillnutt
4. DON CARLO: O Carlo ascolta … Io morrò (Verdi) 3:40
(Ck1419-3) 2-052252
5. UN BALLO IN MASCHERA: Non è su lei, nel suo fragile petto … Eri tu che macchiavi (Verdi) 4:48
(Ck1424-1) 2-052254
THE GRAMOPHONE COMPANY, LTD.
Milan, 25 February 1924
Recorded by George W. Dillnutt
6. LE NOZZE DI FIGARO: Non più andrai (Mozart) 3:48
(Ck1427-2) 2-052255Transposed up a semi-tone to D-flat
7. PARIDE ED ELENA: O del mio dolce ardor (Gluck) 3:42
(Ck1428-2) 2-052256
8. Si vous l’aviez compris (Denza) 3:38
(Ck1429) 2-032079
THE GRAMOPHONE COMPANY, LTD.
Milan, 27 February 1924
Recorded by George W. Dillnutt
9. IL GUARANY: Olà dunque, miei bravi! … Senza tetto, senza cuna (Gomes) 3:32
(Ck1432-3) 2-052257
10. DON GIOVANNI: Deh, vieni alla finestra (Mozart) 2:08
(Bk1433-3) 2-52265
11. La partida (Álvarez) 4:14
(CK1434-2) unpublished
APPENDIX 1
Mattia Battistini’s only non-commercial recording
12. TANNHÄUSER: Da scheinest du … O du mein holder Abendstern (Or splendi tu … Oh! tu bell’astro incantator) (Wagner) 2:15
Privately made 2-minute cylinder recorded Berlin circa 1898Transposed up a semi-tone to A-flatNote: The cylinder runs out of time before the end of the aria.
APPENDIX 2
Giuseppe Bellantoni, baritone
1880-1946
Selected Fonotipia Recordings, Milan, 1910-1911
13. Occhi di fata (Denza) 3:31
16 March 1910 (XPh 4274-1) 62468
14. L’ultima canzone (Tosti) 3:01
16 March 1910 (XPh 4275-1) 62469
15. Luna cortese (Valente) 2:52
21 March 1910 (XPh 4285-1) 62467
16. Chianiutedda mia (Graffeo) 3:12
21 March 1910 (XPh 4286-1) 62466
17. UN BALLO IN MASCHERA: Alla vita che t’arride (Verdi) 3:03
24 March 1910 (XPh 4298) unpublished
18. SAFFO: Di sua voce il suon giungea (Pacini) 3:35
16 January 1911 (XPh 4495-1) 92784
19. SAFFO: Mesta elegia Saffo sciogliendo ... Un’ Erinni atroce, orrenda (Pacini) 3:08
17 February 1911 (XPh 4531-1) 92785
20. HÉRODIADE: Vision fugitive (Vision fuggitiva) (Massenet) 3:44
26 October 1910 (XPh 4400-1) 92679
21. RUY BLAS: Ai miei rivali cedere (Marchetti) 3:03
29 October 1910 (XPh 4405-1) 92730
22. SIEGFRIED: Wache, wala! (Veglia, Wala!) (Wagner) 6:00
25 November1910 and 16 January 1911 (XPh 4423-1/XPh 4498-1) 92725/92726
CD 1: Accompaniment: Tracks [1-11] with piano; Tracks [12-23] with orchestra conducted by Carlo Sabajno. Language: All tracks sung in Italian except: Track [5] sung in Spanish. Track 12: The record label gives the title incorrectly as “Bella Italia.”
CD 2: Accompaniment: Tracks [1-7, 10-21] with orchestra conducted by Carlo Sabajno; Tracks [8-9] with Carlo Sabajno, piano. Language: All tracks sung in Italian except: Tracks [8-9] sung in French. Track 5: The record label gives the title incorrectly as “Ma come dopo il nembo,” which is sung toward the middle of the record.
CD 3: Accompaniment: Tracks [1-2, 12-21] with orchestra conducted by Carlo Sabajno Tracks [3-11] with Carlo Sabajno, piano; Language: All tracks sung in Italian except: Track [5] sung in French. Tracks 16-17: The titles of these arias are given incorrectly on the original labels
CD 4: Accompaniment: Tracks [1-5, 11-19] with orchestra conducted by Carlo Sabajno; Tracks (6-10) with Carlo Sabajno, piano. Language: All tracks sung in Italian. Track 4: This aria was written for Battistini to an Italian text, and is not part of the French score.
CD 5: Accompaniment: Tracks [1-3, 6-7, 9-20] with orchestra conducted by Carlo Sabajno; Tracks [4-5] with piano accompaniment; Track [8 and 21] with Carlo Sabajno, piano. Language: All tracks sung in Italian except: Track [6] sung in Spanish. Track 21: Battistini sings “Ella ancora non giunge,” having changed the original text
CD 6: Accompaniment: Tracks [1-7, 9-10] with orchestra conducted by Carlo Sabajno; Track [8] accompanied by violin, cello, and piano; Tracks [11-12] with piano; Tracks [13-17] with Angelo Bettinelli, piano; Tracks [18-22] with orchestra. Language: All tracks sung in Italian except: Track [8] sung in French; Track [11] sung in Spanish
