Virginia Zeani
Virginia Zeani (born Virginia Zehan, October 21, 1925, in Transylvania, Romania) is a Romanian-Italian operatic soprano, regarded as one of the great sopranos of the 20th century and one of the great musical personalities in the history of Romania. The Venetian Arts Society named her "one of the most vocally and artistically gifted of the Grand Divas of the Golden Age" and a "Super Star in the history of opera".
Known both for her golden voice and her impeccable technique, Virginia Zeani is also famous for being one of the most beautiful opera singers of all time. Federico Fellini said that Virginia Zeani personified for him "the beauty of the opera singer" and confessed in a letter that he used to secretly admire her in the mornings when she was making vocalizations.
Maria Callas's former husband, Giovanni Battista Meneghini, once told Zeani: "Virginia, I have to tell you, you are one of the very few sopranos my wife is frightened of!"
She is one of the greatest interpreters of the role of Violetta Valéry (from Verdi's La traviata) in recorded history, being often called by the press and opera lovers "Violetta supreme". She is also the artist with the greatest number of performances in the role of Violetta ever, with an estimated 648 interpretations.
Zeani was a particular favorite of composer Francis Poulenc, who chose her to sing the lead role in the world premiere of his Dialogues of the Carmelites.
Following her retirement from the opera stage, Zeani remained active as a voice instructor at Indiana University, where she and her late husband, Nicola Rossi-Lemeni, were both Distinguished Professors. Zeani has since retired from Indiana University and currently resides in West Palm Beach, Florida, where she continues to teach, in particular for the Florida Grand Opera Young artist program and the Palm Beach Opera Young artist program.
Virginia Zeani has influenced numerous artists including Luciano Pavarotti, Plácido Domingo and Angela Gheorghiu, and enjoyed the admiration of many other personalities, such as Grace Kelly, Federico Fellini, Tyrone Power, Francis Poulenc, Ildebrando Pizzetti and Gian Carlo Menotti.
Zeani's pupils include Sylvia McNair, Maria Williams Kennedy, Elizabeth Kluegel, Nova Thomas, Marilyn Mims, Jeanne-Michèle Charbonnet, Stephen Mark Brown, Elizabeth Futral, Katheryn Krassovic, Vivica Genaux, Kirsten Blaise, Angela Brown, Cristy Lynn Brown, Patricia Risley, Christina Pier, Leah Partridge, Andrea Atkins, Mark Bowman, Kirsten Gunlogson, Kendrick Jacocks, Marina Levitt, Debra Mayer, Susan Patterson, Thomas Potter, Itzuko Shibata, and Peter Volpe. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
Known both for her golden voice and her impeccable technique, Virginia Zeani is also famous for being one of the most beautiful opera singers of all time. Federico Fellini said that Virginia Zeani personified for him "the beauty of the opera singer" and confessed in a letter that he used to secretly admire her in the mornings when she was making vocalizations.
Maria Callas's former husband, Giovanni Battista Meneghini, once told Zeani: "Virginia, I have to tell you, you are one of the very few sopranos my wife is frightened of!"
She is one of the greatest interpreters of the role of Violetta Valéry (from Verdi's La traviata) in recorded history, being often called by the press and opera lovers "Violetta supreme". She is also the artist with the greatest number of performances in the role of Violetta ever, with an estimated 648 interpretations.
Zeani was a particular favorite of composer Francis Poulenc, who chose her to sing the lead role in the world premiere of his Dialogues of the Carmelites.
Following her retirement from the opera stage, Zeani remained active as a voice instructor at Indiana University, where she and her late husband, Nicola Rossi-Lemeni, were both Distinguished Professors. Zeani has since retired from Indiana University and currently resides in West Palm Beach, Florida, where she continues to teach, in particular for the Florida Grand Opera Young artist program and the Palm Beach Opera Young artist program.
Virginia Zeani has influenced numerous artists including Luciano Pavarotti, Plácido Domingo and Angela Gheorghiu, and enjoyed the admiration of many other personalities, such as Grace Kelly, Federico Fellini, Tyrone Power, Francis Poulenc, Ildebrando Pizzetti and Gian Carlo Menotti.
Zeani's pupils include Sylvia McNair, Maria Williams Kennedy, Elizabeth Kluegel, Nova Thomas, Marilyn Mims, Jeanne-Michèle Charbonnet, Stephen Mark Brown, Elizabeth Futral, Katheryn Krassovic, Vivica Genaux, Kirsten Blaise, Angela Brown, Cristy Lynn Brown, Patricia Risley, Christina Pier, Leah Partridge, Andrea Atkins, Mark Bowman, Kirsten Gunlogson, Kendrick Jacocks, Marina Levitt, Debra Mayer, Susan Patterson, Thomas Potter, Itzuko Shibata, and Peter Volpe. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
Virginia Zeani lyrics
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