Dubbed ‘the king of baritones’, Mattia Battistini (1856–1928) remains, along with Caruso and Melba, one of the legendary singers of the century. With his exceptional vocal range, Battistini’s repertoire consisted of over 80 rôles. He was especially renowned for his Verdi singing, and one of his staunchest admirers was the composer himself. This 2-CD set of Battistini’s earliest recordings begins with the first ‘G & T’s made in Warsaw in 1902, and includes the Gramophone Company records made in Milan in 1906 and 1911. Among the selections included are arias from operas by Mozart, Donizetti, Bellini, Rossini, Verdi, Puccini, Leoncavallo, Gounod, Thomas, Massenet, Wagner and Tchaikovsky, as well as songs by Denza and Tosti. These remarkable recordings vividly demonstrate the voice which John Steane describes as “the steadiest, least throaty and best defined of any baritone on record”.