Virginia Zeani
Encyclopedia
Virginia Zeani is a Romanian soprano
, particularly associated with the Italian repertory, especially the role of (Violetta) in "La traviata
".
, Romania
. She studied first in Bucarest, with Lucia Anghel, then with famed coloratura soprano Lydia Lipkowska
, and in Milan
, with the great tenor Aureliano Pertile
.
, deputising at short notice for Margherita Carosio
as Violetta in La traviata
, and was immediately offered a tour of thirty more performances. Violetta was a role she would sing an estimated 648 times around the world, during her career. Her partner that evening was tenor Arrigo Pola
(Alfredo), the voice teacher of Luciano Pavarotti
.
Her career was at first primarily focused in Italy, where she sang in many of the regional opera houses. She describes these years as "making the bones", singing many performances of big roles in smaller houses to gain strength and experience.
and Alexandria
in Egypt
, singing Violetta, Nedda, Michaela and most significantly Adina in L'elisir d'amore opposite the great Italian tenor Beniamino Gigli
. She was 24, he was 60.
In 1952 came an important step when, again at short notice, conductor Tullio Serafin
chose her to replace Maria Callas
as Elvira in i Puritani
in the Teatro Communale in Florence
. Soon her growing reputation led to invitations to many of the major opera houses of Europe, and Violetta was her debut role in Vienna
, and Paris
. She made her debut at La Scala
, Milan in 1956, as (Cleopatra) in Handel
's Giulio Cesare
, opposite Nicola Rossi-Lemeni
, whom she married shortly afterwards.
Despite having appeared in several successful tours of Great Britain
she had yet to appear at Covent Garden
. Her debut eventually came in 1960, once again as an emergency replacement, but this time for the indisposed Joan Sutherland
. She recalls arriving at the Royal Opera House
at 4pm, after a sleepless night and flights from Vienna via Paris. There was just time for costume fittings and a brief rest before she walked, for the very first time, onto the Covent Garden stage. She had never before met any of the cast and had to ask "Which one is my Alfredo?" That remarkable performance was broadcast world-wide and has been preserved on disc.
Zeani also appeared in Barcelona
, Leningrad
, Moscow
, Philadelphia, Bucharest etc. and eventually in New York
's Metropolitan Opera
, as Violetta, in 1966.
, (Gilda) in Rigoletto
, (Elvira) in I Puritani
, and the title role in Linda di Chamounix
, and lighter lyric roles such as Massenet's ("Manon") and (Marguerite) in Gounod's Faust
. As her voice matured she gradually turned to more dramatic roles including Puccini's Manon Lescaut
, Madama Butterfly
and Tosca
, and verismo operas including "Fedora" and Adriana Lecouvreur
. She tackled more Verdi roles including (Aida), (Desdemona), (Elisabetta), (Alzira) and (Lina) in Stiffelio
, as well as two Wagnerian heroines, (Elsa} in Lohengrin
and (Senta) in "The Flying Dutchman
". She created the role of (Blanche) in Poulenc's Dialogues des Carmélites in 1957 at La Scala, later performing his solo masterpiece for soprano La Voix Humaine
. In 1972 she enjoyed one of her greatest successes as (Magda} in Gian Carlo Menotti
's The Consul
.
In all she sang some 69 major roles and only ever cancelled two performances.
She sang with many famous colleagues including tenors Beniamino Gigli
, Mario Filippeschi
, Ferruccio Tagliavini
, Carlo Bergonzi
, Nicolai Gedda
, Alfredo Kraus
, Jon Vickers
, Luciano Pavarotti
, and Plácido Domingo
, mezzo sopranos Giulietta Simionato
, Fedora Barbiere, Shirley Verrett
, Lili Chookasian
, Grace Bumbry
, baritones Gino Bechi
, Tito Gobbi
. Nicolae Herlea
and basses Nicola Rossi Lemeni, Boris Christoff
, etc. A warm-voiced singer with stunning looks and an affecting stage presence, she made few commercial recordings, but many of her live performances exist as bootleg recordings and YouTube postings.
in Bloomington
, Indiana
. The couple were later both honored as "Distinguished Professors". After her husband's death in 1991 she taught at IU for many more years before moving to Florida
. There she continues to teach talented young singers, in particular for the Florida Grand Opera Young artist program and the Palm Beach Opera Young artist program. In 2010, having now taught for thirty years, the magazine Classical Singer named her Teacher of the Year.
Amongst Zeani's most famous pupils are Marilyn Mims, Susan Patterson, Sylvia McNair
, Stephen Mark Brown
, Elizabeth Futral
, Vivica Genaux
, Angela Brown
, Mark Nicolson
, Heidi Klassen, James Valenti
and Elīna Garanča
.
" and in May 2011 she travelled to the Elisabeta Palace in Bucharest where he invested her with the award.
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
, particularly associated with the Italian repertory, especially the role of (Violetta) in "La traviata
La traviata
La traviata is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on La dame aux Camélias , a play adapted from the novel by Alexandre Dumas, fils. The title La traviata means literally The Fallen Woman, or perhaps more figuratively, The Woman...
".
Early life
Zeani was born Virginia Zehan, in SolovăstruSolovastru
Solovăstru is a commune in Mureş County, Romania that is composed of two villages, Jabeniţa and Solovăstru. It has a population of 2,847: 94% Romanians, 5% Roma and 1% Hungarians.- See also :* List of Hungarian exonyms...
, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
. She studied first in Bucarest, with Lucia Anghel, then with famed coloratura soprano Lydia Lipkowska
Lydia Lipkowska
Lydia Lipkowska was a Russian operatic soprano. Born in Babino, she was trained at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory. She was committed to the Mariinsky Theatre from 1906–1908 and again from 1911–1913. She was a member of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City from 1909 -1911...
, and in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, with the great tenor Aureliano Pertile
Aureliano Pertile
Aureliano Pertile was an Italian lyric-dramatic tenor. He is considered to have been one of the most exciting operatic artists of the inter-war period, and one of the most important tenors of the entire 20th century.- Life and career :Pertile was born in Montagnana, Northern Italy, 18 days after...
.
Early career in Italy
With no previous stage experience, in May 1948 she made her professional debut in BolognaBologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
, deputising at short notice for Margherita Carosio
Margherita Carosio
Margherita Carosio was an Italian operatic soprano. She was one of the most remarkable light lyric sopranos of her generation. Her warm, expressive and expertly produced voice is preserved in many Parlophone and Ultraphon recordings made before World War II, as well as a memorable series made for...
as Violetta in La traviata
La traviata
La traviata is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on La dame aux Camélias , a play adapted from the novel by Alexandre Dumas, fils. The title La traviata means literally The Fallen Woman, or perhaps more figuratively, The Woman...
, and was immediately offered a tour of thirty more performances. Violetta was a role she would sing an estimated 648 times around the world, during her career. Her partner that evening was tenor Arrigo Pola
Arrigo Pola
Arrigo Pola was an Italian tenor who had an active international performance career during the 1940s through the 1960s. He then embarked on a second career as a celebrated voice teacher in both Italy and Japan. Among his notable pupils were tenors Luciano Pavarotti, Giuliano Bernardi, and Vincenzo...
(Alfredo), the voice teacher of Luciano Pavarotti
Luciano Pavarotti
right|thumb|Luciano Pavarotti performing at the opening of the Constantine Palace in [[Strelna]], 31 May 2003. The concert was part of the celebrations for the 300th anniversary of [[St...
.
Her career was at first primarily focused in Italy, where she sang in many of the regional opera houses. She describes these years as "making the bones", singing many performances of big roles in smaller houses to gain strength and experience.
National and international recognition
In January 1950 she was invited to star in a three month "tournee", or season, in CairoCairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
and Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, singing Violetta, Nedda, Michaela and most significantly Adina in L'elisir d'amore opposite the great Italian tenor Beniamino Gigli
Beniamino Gigli
Beniamino Gigli was an Italian opera singer. The most famous tenor of his generation, he was renowned internationally for the great beauty of his voice and the soundness of his vocal technique. Music critics sometimes took him to task, however, for what was perceived to be the over-emotionalism...
. She was 24, he was 60.
In 1952 came an important step when, again at short notice, conductor Tullio Serafin
Tullio Serafin
-Biography:Tullio Serafin was a leading Italian opera conductor with a long career and a very broad repertoire who revived many 19th century bel canto operas by Bellini, Rossini and Donizetti to become staples of 20th century repertoire...
chose her to replace Maria Callas
Maria Callas
Maria Callas was an American-born Greek soprano and one of the most renowned opera singers of the 20th century. She combined an impressive bel canto technique, a wide-ranging voice and great dramatic gifts...
as Elvira in i Puritani
I puritani
I puritani is an opera in three acts by Vincenzo Bellini. It was his last opera. Its libretto is by Count Carlo Pepoli, based on Têtes rondes et Cavaliers by Jacques-François Ancelot and Joseph Xavier Saintine, which is in turn based on Walter Scott's novel Old Mortality. It was first produced at...
in the Teatro Communale in Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
. Soon her growing reputation led to invitations to many of the major opera houses of Europe, and Violetta was her debut role in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, and Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. She made her debut at La Scala
La Scala
La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...
, Milan in 1956, as (Cleopatra) in Handel
HANDEL
HANDEL was the code-name for the UK's National Attack Warning System in the Cold War. It consisted of a small console consisting of two microphones, lights and gauges. The reason behind this was to provide a back-up if anything failed....
's Giulio Cesare
Giulio Cesare
Giulio Cesare in Egitto , commonly known simply as Giulio Cesare, is an Italian opera in three acts written for the Royal Academy of Music by George Frideric Handel in 1724...
, opposite Nicola Rossi-Lemeni
Nicola Rossi-Lemeni
Nicola Rossi Lemeni, , was a basso opera singer of mixed Italian-Russian parentage.Rossi Lemeni was born in Istanbul, Turkey, the son of an Italian colonel and a Russian mother. In his prime he was one of the most respected bassos in Italy...
, whom she married shortly afterwards.
Despite having appeared in several successful tours of Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
she had yet to appear at Covent Garden
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
. Her debut eventually came in 1960, once again as an emergency replacement, but this time for the indisposed Joan Sutherland
Joan Sutherland
Dame Joan Alston Sutherland, OM, AC, DBE was an Australian dramatic coloratura soprano noted for her contribution to the renaissance of the bel canto repertoire from the late 1950s through to the 1980s....
. She recalls arriving at the Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
at 4pm, after a sleepless night and flights from Vienna via Paris. There was just time for costume fittings and a brief rest before she walked, for the very first time, onto the Covent Garden stage. She had never before met any of the cast and had to ask "Which one is my Alfredo?" That remarkable performance was broadcast world-wide and has been preserved on disc.
Zeani also appeared in Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, Leningrad
Leningrad
Leningrad is the former name of Saint Petersburg, Russia.Leningrad may also refer to:- Places :* Leningrad Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, around Saint Petersburg* Leningrad, Tajikistan, capital of Muminobod district in Khatlon Province...
, Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, Philadelphia, Bucharest etc. and eventually in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
's Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
, as Violetta, in 1966.
Repertoire
In her early career she won considerable success in bel canto roles such as Lucia di LammermoorLucia di Lammermoor
Lucia di Lammermoor is a dramma tragico in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's historical novel The Bride of Lammermoor....
, (Gilda) in Rigoletto
Rigoletto
Rigoletto is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the play Le roi s'amuse by Victor Hugo. It was first performed at La Fenice in Venice on March 11, 1851...
, (Elvira) in I Puritani
I puritani
I puritani is an opera in three acts by Vincenzo Bellini. It was his last opera. Its libretto is by Count Carlo Pepoli, based on Têtes rondes et Cavaliers by Jacques-François Ancelot and Joseph Xavier Saintine, which is in turn based on Walter Scott's novel Old Mortality. It was first produced at...
, and the title role in Linda di Chamounix
Linda di Chamounix
Linda di Chamounix is an operatic melodramma semiserio in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. The Italian libretto was written by Gaetano Rossi. It premiered in Vienna, at the Kärntnertortheater, on May 19, 1842.-Performance history:...
, and lighter lyric roles such as Massenet's ("Manon") and (Marguerite) in Gounod's Faust
Faust
Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend; a highly successful scholar, but also dissatisfied with his life, and so makes a deal with the devil, exchanging his soul for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures. Faust's tale is the basis for many literary, artistic, cinematic, and musical...
. As her voice matured she gradually turned to more dramatic roles including Puccini's Manon Lescaut
Manon Lescaut
Manon Lescaut is a short novel by French author Abbé Prévost. Published in 1731, it is the seventh and final volume of Mémoires et aventures d'un homme de qualité . It was controversial in its time and was banned in France upon publication...
, Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. Puccini based his opera in part on the short story "Madame Butterfly" by John Luther Long, which was dramatized by David Belasco...
and Tosca
Tosca
Tosca is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900...
, and verismo operas including "Fedora" and Adriana Lecouvreur
Adriana Lecouvreur
Adriana Lecouvreur is an opera in four acts by Francesco Cilea to an Italian libretto by Arturo Colautti, based on the play by Eugène Scribe and Ernest Legouvé...
. She tackled more Verdi roles including (Aida), (Desdemona), (Elisabetta), (Alzira) and (Lina) in Stiffelio
Stiffelio
Stiffelio is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi, from an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on the play Le pasteur, ou L'évangile et le foyer by Émile Souvestre and Eugène Bourgeois...
, as well as two Wagnerian heroines, (Elsa} in Lohengrin
Lohengrin (opera)
Lohengrin is a romantic opera in three acts composed and written by Richard Wagner, first performed in 1850. The story of the eponymous character is taken from medieval German romance, notably the Parzival of Wolfram von Eschenbach and its sequel, Lohengrin, written by a different author, itself...
and (Senta) in "The Flying Dutchman
The Flying Dutchman
The legend of the Flying Dutchman concerns a ghost ship that can never make port, doomed to sail the oceans forever. It probably originates from 17th-century nautical folklore. The oldest extant version dates to the late 18th century....
". She created the role of (Blanche) in Poulenc's Dialogues des Carmélites in 1957 at La Scala, later performing his solo masterpiece for soprano La Voix Humaine
La voix humaine
La voix humaine is a one-act opera for one character, with music by Francis Poulenc to a libretto by Jean Cocteau, based on his 1930 play. La voix humaine was first performed at the Opéra-Comique, Salle Favart in Paris on 6 February 1959...
. In 1972 she enjoyed one of her greatest successes as (Magda} in Gian Carlo Menotti
Gian Carlo Menotti
Gian Carlo Menotti was an Italian-American composer and librettist. Although he often referred to himself as an American composer, he kept his Italian citizenship. He wrote the classic Christmas opera, Amahl and the Night Visitors, among about two dozen other operas intended to appeal to popular...
's The Consul
The Consul
The Consul is an opera in three acts with music and libretto by Gian Carlo Menotti, his first full-length opera. Its first performance was on March 1, 1950, at the Shubert Theatre in Philadelphia with Patricia Neway as the lead heroine Magda Sorel, Gloria Lane as the secretary of the consulate,...
.
In all she sang some 69 major roles and only ever cancelled two performances.
She sang with many famous colleagues including tenors Beniamino Gigli
Beniamino Gigli
Beniamino Gigli was an Italian opera singer. The most famous tenor of his generation, he was renowned internationally for the great beauty of his voice and the soundness of his vocal technique. Music critics sometimes took him to task, however, for what was perceived to be the over-emotionalism...
, Mario Filippeschi
Mario Filippeschi
Mario Filippeschi was an Italian tenor, particularly associated with the Italian repertory, renowned for his ringing upper register....
, Ferruccio Tagliavini
Ferruccio Tagliavini
Ferruccio Tagliavini was an Italian operatic tenor mainly active in the 1940s and 1950s...
, Carlo Bergonzi
Carlo Bergonzi
Carlo Bergonzi is an Italian operatic tenor. Although he performed and recorded some bel canto and verismo roles, he is above all associated with the operas of Giuseppe Verdi, including a large number of the composer's lesser-known works that he helped revive...
, Nicolai Gedda
Nicolai Gedda
Nicolai Gedda is a Swedish operatic tenor. Having made some two hundred recordings, Gedda is said to be the most widely recorded tenor in history...
, Alfredo Kraus
Alfredo Kraus
Alfredo Kraus Trujillo was a distinguished Spanish tenor of partly Austrian descent, particularly known for the artistry he brought to opera's bel canto roles...
, Jon Vickers
Jon Vickers
Jonathan Stewart Vickers, CC , known professionally as Jon Vickers, is a retired Canadian heldentenor.Born in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, he was the sixth in a family of eight children. In 1950, he was awarded a scholarship to study opera at The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto...
, Luciano Pavarotti
Luciano Pavarotti
right|thumb|Luciano Pavarotti performing at the opening of the Constantine Palace in [[Strelna]], 31 May 2003. The concert was part of the celebrations for the 300th anniversary of [[St...
, and Plácido Domingo
Plácido Domingo
Plácido Domingo KBE , born José Plácido Domingo Embil, is a Spanish tenor and conductor known for his versatile and strong voice, possessing a ringing and dramatic tone throughout its range...
, mezzo sopranos Giulietta Simionato
Giulietta Simionato
Giulietta Simionato was an Italian mezzo-soprano. Her career spanned from the 1930s until her retirement in 1966.-Life:Born at Forlì, Romagna, she studied in Rovigo and Padua, and made her operatic debut at Montagnana in 1928...
, Fedora Barbiere, Shirley Verrett
Shirley Verrett
Shirley Verrett was an African-American operatic mezzo-soprano who successfully transitioned into soprano roles i.e. soprano sfogato...
, Lili Chookasian
Lili Chookasian
Lili Chookasian is an American contralto who has appeared with many of the world's major symphony orchestras and opera houses. She began her career in the 1940s as a concert singer but did not draw wider acclaim until she began singing opera in her late thirties...
, Grace Bumbry
Grace Bumbry
Grace Bumbry , an American opera singer, is considered one of the leading mezzo-sopranos of her generation, as well as a major soprano for many years...
, baritones Gino Bechi
Gino Bechi
Gino Bechi was an Italian operatic baritone, particularly associated with the Italian repertory, especially in Verdi roles.-Life and career:...
, Tito Gobbi
Tito Gobbi
Tito Gobbi was an Italian operatic baritone with an international reputation.-Biography:Tito Gobbi was born in Bassano del Grappa and studied law at the University of Padua before he trained as a singer. Giulio Crimi, a well-known Italian tenor of a previous generation, was Gobbi's teacher in Rome...
. Nicolae Herlea
Nicolae Herlea
Nicolae Herlea is a Romanian operatic baritone, particularly associated with the Italian repertory, especially the role of Rossini's Figaro, which he sang around 550 times during his career....
and basses Nicola Rossi Lemeni, Boris Christoff
Boris Christoff
Boris Christoff was a Bulgarian opera singer...
, etc. A warm-voiced singer with stunning looks and an affecting stage presence, she made few commercial recordings, but many of her live performances exist as bootleg recordings and YouTube postings.
Teaching
Zeani retired from the operatic stage in 1983, but, together with her husband, Nicola Rossi Lemeni, in 1980 began to teach singing at the music school in Indiana UniversityIndiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
in Bloomington
Bloomington
Bloomington is the name of some places in the United States of America:*Bloomington, California*Bloomington, Idaho*Bloomington, Illinois** the Bloomington meteorite of 1938, which fell in Illinois, United States *Bloomington, Indiana...
, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
. The couple were later both honored as "Distinguished Professors". After her husband's death in 1991 she taught at IU for many more years before moving to Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. There she continues to teach talented young singers, in particular for the Florida Grand Opera Young artist program and the Palm Beach Opera Young artist program. In 2010, having now taught for thirty years, the magazine Classical Singer named her Teacher of the Year.
Amongst Zeani's most famous pupils are Marilyn Mims, Susan Patterson, Sylvia McNair
Sylvia McNair
Sylvia McNair is an American opera singer and classical recitalist who has also achieved notable success in the Broadway and cabaret genres. McNair, a soprano, has made several critically acclaimed recordings and has won two Grammy Awards....
, Stephen Mark Brown
Stephen Mark Brown
Stephen Mark Brown is an internationally known opera tenor. He has sung with Luciano Pavarotti on the television program "Pavarotti Plus" and he has also sung at La Scala...
, Elizabeth Futral
Elizabeth Futral
Elizabeth Futral is an American coloratura soprano who has won acclaim throughout the United States as well as in Europe, South America, and Japan....
, Vivica Genaux
Vivica Genaux
Vivica Genaux is an American coloratura mezzo-soprano. Her father, an American of Belgian-Welsh descent, was a biochemistry professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and her mother, Mexican-born of Swiss-German extraction, was a language teacher...
, Angela Brown
Angela Brown
Angela M. Brown is an African-American dramatic soprano particularly admired for her portrayal of Verdi heroines.-Early life and education:...
, Mark Nicolson
Mark Nicolson
Mark Nicolson is an American tenor opera singer, currently residing in New York City.Mark Nicolson was born in Galesburg, Illinois and grew up in Peoria, Illinois, where he attended Bradley University. He subsequently studied at University of North Texas College of Music and Indiana University,...
, Heidi Klassen, James Valenti
James Valenti
James Valenti is an American operatic tenor. Born in the town of Summit, New Jersey and raised in Clinton, he is a graduate of the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia...
and Elīna Garanča
Elina Garanca
-Biography:Garanča was born in the Latvian city of Riga into a musical family, her father a choral director, mother a lieder singer and singing teacher. Her mother Anita is a professor at the Latvian Academy of Music, an associated professor at the Latvian Academy of Culture, a vocal music teacher...
.
Awards
She was the recipient of many major awards including Commendatore of the Italian Republic. In 2010 King Michael of Romania awarded her his highest honour "Nihil sine DeoNihil Sine Deo
thumb|right|The Royal Motto of [[Romania]] on the middle and great [[Coat of arms of Romania|coat of arms]]Nihil Sine Deo, Latin for "Nothing without God", is used as a motto by the German Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen royal family....
" and in May 2011 she travelled to the Elisabeta Palace in Bucharest where he invested her with the award.
External Links
- Indiana University School of Music, Bloomington, Indiana
- Opera, November 2009 Jon Tolanski, Virginia Zeani, "Discreet Legend" article
- Cantabile article
- Four Arts, Palm Beach Florida Lecture/interview introduction
- Marcello Giordani Foundation celebratory concert and award to Virginia Zeani
- Canta che ti passa Virginia Zeani in dialogue with Sever Voinescu published 2011