In this recording, Fedora Barbieri is only 23 years old!
1. Armida Parsi Pettinella She debuted in 1893 and had a successful career in different italian opera theaters. She often sang at La Scala where in 1895 she appeared as Anna Bolena in ‘’Henri VIII’’ of Saint-Saëns. In the next year, she again sang at La Scala, but this time as Dalila in ‘’Samson et Dalila’’ of the same composer. As Dalila she performed aslo in 1902 at Teatro Verdi in Pisa. The singer who was married to conductor Pettinella guested among other things in London, Paris, Madrid and Buenos Aires; already in 1896 she made guest appearance at the Academy of Music in New York where she sang the role of Madelon in the American première of the opera ‘’Andrea Chénier’’ of Giordano. Guest apperances followed in Monte Carlo as Eboli in Verdi’s ‘’Don Carlos’’ (1906), in 1908 at the Teatro Real in Madrid in ‘’Amleto’’ of A. Thomas. She spent her old age at the Casa di Riposo Giuseppe Verdi In Milan. 2. Giuseppina Zinetti She studied singing under Oreste Poli in Milan she made her debut in 1913 at the Teatro Massimo in Palermo as Flora/Annina in ‘’Traviata’’ of G. Verdi. After her retirement (1936) she taught singing in Milano. Her daughter Lina Zinetti had a successful career as an opera singer. Roles: Suzuki, Azucena, Amneris, Dalila, Mignon, Carmen, Isabella 3. Bruna Castagna Born in Bari, located in the South of Italy, Castagna began her study of music at age seven, training first as a pianist. By her early teens, she was recognized in her region as a player of real potential, but she elected at that point to forgo the piano in favor of pursuing a career as a singer. After voice studies in Milan, she made her stage debut rather hastily as Marina in Boris Godunov in 1925. She was only 20, but her success at Mantua's Teatro Sociale prompted conductor Tullio Serafin to offer a contract for performances at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. Castagna subsequently sang in the Argentine capital for three seasons. Meanwhile, La Scala offered the mezzo opportunities not usually made available to artists so young and she remained with that theater for the ensuing three years from 1925 to 1928. Arturo Toscanini, who had previously become familiar with her work, bid Castagna return to Milan, believing that he had found in her an artist able to do justice to the mezzo works of Rossini and the other bel canto composers. L'italiana in Algeri, unlike the composer's Il barbièri di Siviglia, could not be sung by a soprano. A true mezzo was required and, upon the staging of a new production in 1933, Castagna was hailed by the critics as one who could bring such important works back into the repertory. At Barcelona's Liceo, she undertook Carmen for the first time; it would soon become one of her signature roles. She made her New York stage debut on March 2, 1936, singing a strong Amneris and winning the approval of the city's music critics. Two other roles, following in quick succession, added to her reputation. Her Azucena in Il Trovatore was found a searing dramatic presence with voice to match. 4. Fedora Barbieri Barbieri did not begin formal study until her eighteenth year. While working in the shop owned by her parents, she often sang to pass the long hours. One day, a knowledgeable customer heard her and insisted that she begin voice lessons; for two years, she worked with Federico Bugamelli in her native city, followed by nine months' study with Luigi Toffolo. Her debut as a singer took place at San Giusto Church which had been the site of her baptism years before. For advanced study, she moved to Florence where she became a pupil of the famous dramatic soprano Giulia Tess (who had herself begun her career as a mezzo soprano). Barbieri made her stage debut in Florence on November 4, 1940, in Cimarosa's Il matrimonio segreto. Her appearance as Fidalma was followed the next day by the role of Azucena in Verdi's Il trovatore. After her beginnings in Florence, Barbieri sang for two and a half years at La Scala in Milan, initiating her relationship with that theatre as Meg Page in Falstaff. In 1943, she retired for two years to begin married life as the wife of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino director, Luigi Barlozetti. Her return to the stage in 1945 took place as Amneris in Verdi's Aida at the Teatro Verdi in Florence. Her career thereafter grew in depth and breadth as she undertook increasing numbers of roles in both the Verdi and bel canto repertories both at La Scala and elsewhere. In 1950, Barbieri was chosen by Rudolf Bing to perform the role of Princess Eboli in the new Metropolitan Opera manager's calling card production of Don Carlo. The acclaim she received in that much-heralded cast assured her presence at the Met for a total of nine seasons, during which she sang such additional roles as Amneris, Azucena, Dame Quickly, Carmen, Laura, and Adalgisa in Bellini's Norma (in which she, together with Maria Callas, opened the 1956 - 1957 season).
