Lebendige Vergangenheit: Mattia Battistini

On this CD:

1. Don Giovanni, opera, K. 527 Là ci darem la mano
Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performed by Mattia Battistini, Emilia Corsi

2. Martha, opera Il mio Lionel
Composed by Friedrich von Flotow
Performed by Mattia Battistini

3. La favorita, opera A tanto amor
Composed by Gaetano Donizetti
Performed by Mattia Battistini

4. Dom Sébastien, roi du Portugal, opera O Lisbona, alfin ti miro
Composed by Gaetano Donizetti
Performed by Mattia Battistini

5. Zampa, opera Perché tremar
Composed by Ferdinand Herold
Performed by Mattia Battistini

6. Damnation de Faust, La, for mezzo-soprano, tenor, baritone, bass, chorus and orchestra, ("légende dramatique") H. 111 (Op. 24) Su queste rose
Composed by Hector Berlioz
Performed by Mattia Battistini

7. Ernani, opera Da quel di che t'ho veduta
Composed by Giuseppe Verdi
Performed by Mattia Battistini, Emilia Corsi

8. Ernani, opera Lo vedremo, o veglio audace
Composed by Giuseppe Verdi
Performed by Mattia Battistini, Aristodemo Sillich

9. Ernani, opera Vieni meco, sol di rose
Composed by Giuseppe Verdi
Performed by Mattia Battistini, Emilia Corsi

10. Ernani, opera O de' verd' anni miei
Composed by Giuseppe Verdi
Performed by Mattia Battistini

11. Ernani, opera Oh sommo Carlo
Composed by Giuseppe Verdi
Performed by Mattia Battistini, Luigi Colazza, Emilia Corsi, Aristodemo Sillich

12. Un ballo in maschera, opera Alla vita che t'arride
Composed by Giuseppe Verdi
Performed by Mattia Battistini

13. Un ballo in maschera, opera Eri tu che macchiavi
Composed by Giuseppe Verdi
Performed by Mattia Battistini

14. La Traviata, opera Di Provenza il mar
Composed by Giuseppe Verdi
Performed by Mattia Battistini

15. Hamlet, opera in 5 acts O vin discaccia la tristezza
Composed by Ambroise Thomas
Performed by Mattia Battistini

16. Hamlet, opera in 5 acts Come il romito fior
Composed by Ambroise Thomas
Performed by Mattia Battistini

17. Per la Patria, opera Bella Italia
Composed by Gioacchino Cocchi
Performed by Mattia Battistini

Tracks:

Don Giovanni: La Ci Darem La Mano
Martha: Il Mio Lionel
La Favorita: A Tanto Amor
Don Sebastiano: O Lisbona, Alfin Ti Miro
Zampa: Perche Tremar
La Dannazione De Faust: Su Queste Rose
Ernani: Da Quel Di Che T'ho Veduta
Ernani: Lo Vedremo, O Veglio Auidace
Ernani: Vieni Meco, Sol Di Rose
Ernani: O De' Verd' Anni Miei
Ernani: Oh Sommo Carlo
Un Ballo In Maschera: Alla Vita Che T'arride
Un Ballo In Maschera: Eri Tu Che Macchiavi
La Traviata: Di Provenza Il Mar
Amleto: O Vin Discaccia La Tristezza
Amleto: Come Il Romito Fior
Per La Patria: Bella Italia

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful singer in the bad, bad old style.......2005-08-08

I fully agree with the previous reviewer that Mattia Battistini was "The most amazing vocalist!" I must go further, however, in pointing out that he was both amazingly good and amazingly bad.

I strongly advise that anyone who contemplates buying this CD listen to the bleeding hunklets so conveniently provided on-line by Amazon. Short though they are, these tiny segments neatly demonstrate what was awfully good about Battistini and what was just awful.

On the good side, his voice was a true baritone, well-schooled, admirably focused and beautifully produced. The voice was free in its upper notes and sounded the same throughout its range, with no noticeable break in register.

On the bad side, it is the plainly evident that he had no more sense of rhythm than a convention of accountants and actuaries. It is plain that the accompaniment is adjusting to him rather than to any trivial and irrelevant demands from the various composers represented. (I can only wonder how any conductor's baton managed to stay with him before the invention of Silly Putty.) Then there is the matter of dramatic interpretation or, more precisely, the lack of it. The two excerpts from "Ballo in maschera," for ghastly example, are presented with all the fire and passion of a mid-morning weather report.

I recommend this CD to the historically curious. It offers a fine lesson in how a baritone voice should be trained for sound production and an even more powerful lesson in how not to use it.

The most amazing vocalist!.......2005-04-15

Battistini did not leap right away to stardom. He paved a singular path to excellence and earned his way to the unblemished reputation that has been sustained with the changing of the centuries. Was there ever a greater singer than Mattia Battistini? You answer that question. On this disc is some amazing and able singing that seems to go and go and just never stop. It is not so much a question of the voice but of the facility in the singing and the beauty of the freedom inherent in it.

The highlight of the CD is the Ernani duet. La Corsi is the most dramatic Elvira on record easily more arrogant than all the many others from Boninsengna to Arangi Lombardi and Cerquetti, up to to Price, Freni and the current crop.

For some beautiful Italian singing, Verdi and Mozart to die for, and to understand the whole concept of legato you can't and will not do better than hearing Battistini!

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