# MEZZO/CONTRALTO TOURNAMENT (Round 1, Match 5): Barbieri vs Parsi-Pettinella



## Bonetan (Dec 22, 2016)

Fedora Barbieri, Italy, 1920-2003






Armida Parsi-Pettinella, Italy, 1868-1949






'O mio Fernando' from Donizetti's _La Favorita_.

Who's singing did you prefer and why?


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

I'm not familiar with Ms. Parsi-Pettinella, and I must say she seems to have quite an instrument and uses it with great confidence. Even the awful recording, which does her timbre no favors, can't disguise her big, brilliant high notes, which burst triumphantly out of the old 78rpm grooves. Barbieri is not so free _in alt,_ and I have to admit I've always thought of her as a "character" singer; there's something tough and aggressive in her sound, almost as if it's chest voice from top to bottom, that doesn't soothe my soul. That said, she projects a nice tender quality in the cavatina.

I'll have to pass on this one.


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## Azol (Jan 25, 2015)

Neither fits the aria in my opinion: Barbieri sounds more like Mamma Lucia and Parsi-Pettinella does not lend any emotional depth to the performance.
YouTube all of the sudden took pity on me and offered another version of the same aria, coming from Agnes Baltsa, so I listened to it as well and felt comforted.
Undecided for now.


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## Dimace (Oct 19, 2018)

The second video / recording is from A bis Z unacceptable. Also the way die Frau Armida is performing is (for my taste) very alt modisch and reminds me B class movies before the WWII. (I don't know die Frau and I don't want to be unfair, but is the way I see the outcome.) Fedora is Fedora... Very good and powerful singing, right tempo, all the notes are playing nicely and organic. She is best with Verdi, of course, but also here she is doing very well (not though exceptional) *She is MET singer, from the top drawer and she has my vote. *


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Both are incredibly good. Barbieri has a glorious voice but is more of a contralto and is a bit disappointing in the high lying bits. I had never heard of Armida but was very impressed. She hits high notes similar to the soprano Gertrude Grob Pradl... like an arrow hitting a bullseye. It is hard to win me over from the beauty of Barbieri's huge instrument but Armida did.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

I'm a Barbieri baby. I love the power of her voice and the emotion she brings to the aria.
I just happen to prefer her sound but I must quickly acknowledge the wonderful chest tones of Parsi-Pettinella.


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## Allegro Con Brio (Jan 3, 2020)

Barbieri does just about everything right - incredible low register, vibrant sound, nice phrasing - but I thought her top notes were a bit sour and disappointing. Parsi-Pettinella has a very unique voice, lighter than Barbieri but with better (though still not ideal) high notes and with a timbre that I can only describe as “singing into a bottle.” My problem with her was that I missed the richness, dramatic involvement, and more pleasing overall sound of Barbieri. So even though I acknowledge her technical faults, Barbieri gets my vote.


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