Angelo Masini & Mattia Battistini

ANGELO MASINI
1844-1926
Italian tenor.

Masini began studying voice with G. Minguzzi in 1862. In 1867 he made his debut in Modena, and later performed in Mantua, Bologna, Venice, and Palermo. He toured many countries (appearing in Russia in 1877). From 1879 to 1903, Masini sang in the Italian Opera during its guest tours in St. Petersburg. He performed lyrical and dramatic parts including Radames in Aïda by Verdi, Almaviva in The Barber of Seville by Rossini, Fernando in La Favorita and Nemorino in L’Elisir d’Amore, both by Donizetti, and Turiddu in Cavalleria Rusticana by Mascagni. One of the outstanding Italian artists of the 19th century, he continued the tradition of the bel canto school. He left the stage in 1905.


Mattia Battistini
1856 – 1928
Italian baritone.
Battistini dropped out of law school to study singing, first with Emilio Terziani and then with Venceslao Persichini. Battistini worked with conductor Luigi Mancinelli and the composer Augusto Rotoli, and he consulted with baritone Antonio Cotogni, in an effort to refine his technique. Début at the Teatro Argentina, Rome, as Alfonso in “ La favorite” by Donizetti 1878 1883, he undertook his first visit to the Royal Opera House at London's Covent Garden, where he appeared as Riccardo in “ I Puritani “ by Bellini . . Debut at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples in 1886 . From 1892 onwards, Battistini established himself at Russia's two imperial theatres in Saint Petersburg and Moscow: the Mariinsky and the Bolshoi . Returned London Covent Garden for appearances in 1905–1906,He sang at Warsaw, Saint Petersburg, Moscow ,Odessa , Milan, Lisbon, Barcelona, Madrid, Berlin, Vienna, Prague, Budapest and Paris. Principal rôles included Don Carlo “ La forza del destino” Di Luna “ Il trovatore” Rigoletto “, Rigoletto,”, Amonasro “Aïda”, Don Carlo “Ernani” all by Verdi, Gonzales “il Guarany” Gomes, Riccardo “ I Puritani” Bellini, and Ashton “Lucia di Lammermoor” by Donizetti.