Mattia Battistini
Mattia Battistini (born February 27, 1856 in Rome , † November 7, 1928 in Colle Baccaro ) was an Italian opera and concert singer ( baritone ).
Life
Mattia Battistini grew up in a medium-sized family. His father Barone Poggio di Casalino was a professor of anatomy at a Roman university and wished that his son would also study medicine. Instead, Battistini began vocal training with Eugenio Terziani and Venceslao Persichini , and later with Luigi Mancinelli and Augusto Rotoli in Rome.
On December 11, 1878, the opera La favorita by Gaetano Donizetti was to be performed in the Teatro Argentino, but the committed singer was not available. The 22-year-old student Mattia Battistini, who had just completed an audition, was hired. The performance was a success.
He later sang at the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires , at the Teatro Pedro II in Rio de Janeiro , at the Teatro São José in São Paulo and at the Covent Garden Opera . He sang mainly in Austria , Spain , Italy and Russia . There he was honored by the tsar.
In 1892 he took part in the world premiere of Pietro Mascagni's opera I Rantzau . Jules Massenet rewrote the title role of his opera Werther for baritone for Battistini . Even Giuseppe Verdi estimated the singer very much. However, there was a discord between the two artists when Battistini turned down the lead role in Verdi's Falstaff . Richard Wagner declared Battistini's interpretation of the aria O du mein lovely Abendstern from the opera Tannhäuser to be his favorite version.
Battistini is considered to be one of the outstanding singing personalities of his time. His flawless vocal technique was particularly famous. Contemporaries called it La gloria d'Italia or Il Re dei baritoni .
He died of an asthma attack in 1928 , a few weeks before his 50th anniversary on stage.
literature
- Karl-Josef Kutsch , Leo Riemens : Large Singer Lexicon (Saur Verlag)
- Jürgen Kesting: The Great Singers (Claasen Verlag)
- Jens Malte Fischer: Big Voices (Suhrkamp Verlag)
Web links
- Mattia Battistini at Operissimo on the basis of the Great Singer Lexicon
- Portrait of Mattia Battistini
- biography
- Works by and about Mattia Battistini in the catalog of the German National Library
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Battistini, Mattia |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Italian opera and concert singer (baritone) |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 27, 1856 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Rome |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 7, 1928 |
| Place of death | Colle Baccaro |