is that of "Non mi ridestar", the Italian version of "Pourquoi me reveiller", a tenor aria from Massenet's Werther. Massenet transposed the protagonist's role downwards for baritone in a special version made especially for Battistini, harking back to an age when composers tailored their musical parts to fit the talents of one singer, and a singer of Battistini's stature could make almost any modifications seem acceptable. For those listeners sampling Battistini's discography for the first time, his touchstone recorded performances include versions of arias from Don Sebastiano, Macbeth, Don Carlos, Tannhäuser and L'Africana—plus a scintillating series of excerpts of Don Carlo's scenes from Ernani, arguably his greatest part, which he committed to wax in 1906. For an evaluation of Battistini's technique, style and legacy on disc, see his entry in Volume One of Michael Scott's survey The Record of Singing (published by Duckworth, London, 1977, ). Bibliography Elsa Boscardini, of the Istituto Eugenio Cirese in Rieti, has published a number of pamphlets about Battistini, namely: Mattia Battistini, breve profilo storico-biografico (1980); L'arte di Mattia Battistini (1981); Mattia Battistini entusiasma le platee umbre (1993); Mattia Battistini, il favorito di Pietroburgo (1994); Mattia Battistini, interprete delle melodie di Donizetti (1998); plus Dolores Figueroa y Solís, la esposa de Mattia Battistini (written in Spanish and illustrated). See also the following books: Celletti, Rodolfo (1996): The History of Bel Canto. Oxford & London, Oxford University Press; Celletti, Rodolfo (1964): Le grandi voci. Rome, Istituto per la collaborazione culturale; Chuilon, Jacques (1996): Battistini Le Dernier Divo. Paris, Romillat, AND, an English-language edition of Chuilon's detailed book, translated by E. Thomas Glasow, with a new preface by Thomas Hampson, and including a CD with 19 titles, and numerous rare photos from Chuilon's private collection, namely, Chuilon, Jacques (April 2009): Mattia Battistini, King of Baritones and Baritone of Kings, Lanham, MD, USA, Scarecrow Press ; Fracassini, G. (1914): Mattia Battistini. Milano, Barbini; Karl Josef Kutsch and Leo Riemens, editors (2000): Großes Sängerlexikon Basel, Saur; Lancellotti, A (1942): Le voci d' oro. Rome, Palombi; Monaldi, G (1929): Cantanti Celebri. Rome, Tiber; and Palmeggiani, Francesco (1977): Mattia Battistini, il re dei baritoni Milano, Stampa d' Oggi Editrice, 1949 (reprinted with discography, W.R. Moran, editor, New York, Arno Press). References External links History of the Tenor / Mattia Battistini / Sound Clips and Narration 1989 1856 births 1928 deaths Italian operatic baritones People from the Province of Rieti 19th-century Italian