Virginia Zeani (born Virginia Zehan; 21 October 1925), Commendatore
OMRI is a Romanian-born opera singer who sang leading soprano roles in
the opera houses of Europe and North America. As a singer, she was
known for her dramatic intensity and the beauty, wide range, and
suppleness of her voice which allowed her to sing a repertoire of 69
roles ranging from the heroines in belcanto operas by Rossini and
Donizetti to those of Wagner, Puccini and Verdi. She also created
roles in several 20th-century operas, including Blanche in Poulenc's
Dialogues of the Carmelites. Zeani made her professional debut in 1948
as Violetta in La traviata, which would become one of her signature
roles; she has since sung the opera over 640 times. After her
retirement from the stage in 1982, she became a well-known voice
teacher. She was married to the Italian bass Nicola Rossi-Lemeni from
1957 until his death in 1991. A Distinguished Professor Emerita at
Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music where she taught for many
years, Zeani lives in Palm Beach County, Florida and has continued to
teach singing privately.Zeani was born on 21 October 1925 in
Solovăstru, a central Transylvania village located in Romania. She
has described to interviewers a childhood where despite bronchial
troubles, she was always singing, even when she was fetching water
from the river for cooking. She said that music had "entered her soul"
after hearing a band of gypsies one of whom was playing a hora on the
violin, and at the age of nine she became determined to be an opera
singer after hearing a performance of Madame Butterfly. When she was
13 a benefactor in the village paid for her to study singing in
Bucharest, first with Lucia Anghel, and then with Lydia Lipkowska.
Zeani sought out Lipkowska when she had begun to doubt Anghel's
assessment of her voice as a mezzo-soprano. Lipkowska agreed that her
voice was that of a soprano and trained her in that repertoire. After
World War II ended she emigrated to Italy and continued her vocal
studies in Milan. By then she knew the leading soprano roles in four
operas by heartâ€"the title role in Manon, Marguerite in Faust,
Violetta in La traviata and Mimì in La bohème. In Milan she had
extensive coaching with the conductor Antonio Narducci. She also
sought out the tenor Aureliano Pertile who had long been one of her
idols for the beauty of his phrasing and diction. She called at his
house and according to Zeani, when he opened the door she burst into
tears and was unable to speak. Pertile's wife ushered her inside and
after talking to her Pertile accepted her as a student on a non-paying
basis, giving her private lessons and allowing her to attend his
master-classes. She repaid him by running errands and helping his wife
with household chores.Zeani made her professional debut as Violetta in
La traviata at the Teatro Duse in Bologna in 1948 as a last-minute
replacement for Margherita Carosio. It was to become her signature
roleâ€"she sang it 648 times during the course of her career. She
initially sang in Italian regional opera houses but also began
appearing abroad. In 1950 and 1951 she sang in Egypt in private
concerts for King Farouk as well as in a series of operas in Cairo and
Alexandria. She also sang Violetta in Geneva in 1952 and at London's
Stoll Theatre in 1953. She had made her Florence debut as Elvira in I
puritani in 1952, replacing Maria Callas who had withdrawn from the
production after two performances. It was during the Puritani
performances that she first met her future husband, the Italian bass
Nicola Rossi-Lemeni. They met again in 1956 when she made her La Scala
debut as Cleopatra in Handel's Giulio Cesare. Rossi-Lemeni was her
Giulio Cesare. He soon proposed and the couple married in 1957. A year
later their son Alessandro was born. Zeani and Rossi-Lemeni made their
home in Rome and would appear together in thirteen more operas.
OMRI is a Romanian-born opera singer who sang leading soprano roles in
the opera houses of Europe and North America. As a singer, she was
known for her dramatic intensity and the beauty, wide range, and
suppleness of her voice which allowed her to sing a repertoire of 69
roles ranging from the heroines in belcanto operas by Rossini and
Donizetti to those of Wagner, Puccini and Verdi. She also created
roles in several 20th-century operas, including Blanche in Poulenc's
Dialogues of the Carmelites. Zeani made her professional debut in 1948
as Violetta in La traviata, which would become one of her signature
roles; she has since sung the opera over 640 times. After her
retirement from the stage in 1982, she became a well-known voice
teacher. She was married to the Italian bass Nicola Rossi-Lemeni from
1957 until his death in 1991. A Distinguished Professor Emerita at
Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music where she taught for many
years, Zeani lives in Palm Beach County, Florida and has continued to
teach singing privately.Zeani was born on 21 October 1925 in
Solovăstru, a central Transylvania village located in Romania. She
has described to interviewers a childhood where despite bronchial
troubles, she was always singing, even when she was fetching water
from the river for cooking. She said that music had "entered her soul"
after hearing a band of gypsies one of whom was playing a hora on the
violin, and at the age of nine she became determined to be an opera
singer after hearing a performance of Madame Butterfly. When she was
13 a benefactor in the village paid for her to study singing in
Bucharest, first with Lucia Anghel, and then with Lydia Lipkowska.
Zeani sought out Lipkowska when she had begun to doubt Anghel's
assessment of her voice as a mezzo-soprano. Lipkowska agreed that her
voice was that of a soprano and trained her in that repertoire. After
World War II ended she emigrated to Italy and continued her vocal
studies in Milan. By then she knew the leading soprano roles in four
operas by heartâ€"the title role in Manon, Marguerite in Faust,
Violetta in La traviata and Mimì in La bohème. In Milan she had
extensive coaching with the conductor Antonio Narducci. She also
sought out the tenor Aureliano Pertile who had long been one of her
idols for the beauty of his phrasing and diction. She called at his
house and according to Zeani, when he opened the door she burst into
tears and was unable to speak. Pertile's wife ushered her inside and
after talking to her Pertile accepted her as a student on a non-paying
basis, giving her private lessons and allowing her to attend his
master-classes. She repaid him by running errands and helping his wife
with household chores.Zeani made her professional debut as Violetta in
La traviata at the Teatro Duse in Bologna in 1948 as a last-minute
replacement for Margherita Carosio. It was to become her signature
roleâ€"she sang it 648 times during the course of her career. She
initially sang in Italian regional opera houses but also began
appearing abroad. In 1950 and 1951 she sang in Egypt in private
concerts for King Farouk as well as in a series of operas in Cairo and
Alexandria. She also sang Violetta in Geneva in 1952 and at London's
Stoll Theatre in 1953. She had made her Florence debut as Elvira in I
puritani in 1952, replacing Maria Callas who had withdrawn from the
production after two performances. It was during the Puritani
performances that she first met her future husband, the Italian bass
Nicola Rossi-Lemeni. They met again in 1956 when she made her La Scala
debut as Cleopatra in Handel's Giulio Cesare. Rossi-Lemeni was her
Giulio Cesare. He soon proposed and the couple married in 1957. A year
later their son Alessandro was born. Zeani and Rossi-Lemeni made their
home in Rome and would appear together in thirteen more operas.
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