Musica della R. Marina Italiana, conducted by Mo. Cav. Saba Matacena made 317 issued sides for Fonotipia between 1906 and 1911. The record given here is from their first day in the studios – they recorded twenty-five sides, of which sixteen were issued.

Bizet – Carmen – Intermezzo Act IV
Wagner – Lohengrin – Prelude Act III
Musica della R. Marina Italiana, Mo. Cav. Saba Matacena

Bizet – Carmen – Intermezzo IV – Matacena
Wagner – Lohengrin – Prelude Act III – Matacena

(mp3 files – click to play, or right click the link, then select “Save as”)

Fonotipia 39471, 39470 (Nos. 1927, 1926)
Matrices: XPh 1595m 1594
Recorded 9th February 1906

These performances are certainly spirited, but it is noticeable how ragged they are, when compared with the much more polished performances by the Coldstream Guards and the Garde Républicaine from around the same time.