27 Facts About Virginia Zeani

Virginia Zeani created roles in several 20th-century operas, including Blanche in Poulenc's Dialogues of the Carmelites.

Virginia Zeani was married to the Italian bass Nicola Rossi-Lemeni from 1957 until his death in 1991.

Virginia Zeani spent her last years in Palm Beach County, Florida.

Virginia Zeani was born on 21 October 1925 in Solovastru, a central Transylvania village located in Romania.

Virginia Zeani 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.

Virginia Zeani 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 Madama Butterfly.

Virginia Zeani sought out the tenor Aureliano Pertile, who had long been one of her idols for the beauty of his phrasing and diction.

Virginia Zeani called at his house and, according to Zeani, when he opened the door she burst into tears and was unable to speak.

Virginia Zeani repaid him by running errands and helping his wife with household chores.

Virginia 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.

Virginia Zeani initially sang in Italian regional opera houses but began appearing abroad.

Virginia Zeani sang Violetta in Geneva in 1952 and at London's Stoll Theatre in 1953.

Virginia Zeani made her Florence debut as Elvira in I puritani in 1952, replacing Maria Callas, who had withdrawn from the production after two performances.

Virginia Zeani soon proposed and the couple married in 1957.

At the start of her career Virginia Zeani had specialised in coloratura roles including Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor, Elvira in I puritani, Gilda in Rigoletto, and Adele in Le comte Ory.

Virginia Zeani sang Elsa in Wagner's Lohengrin and Senta in his Flying Dutchman.

Virginia Zeani sang 69 roles in the course of her career in a wide-ranging repertoire.

Virginia Zeani sang in important revivals of Verdi's early and now rarely performed opera Alzira and belcanto operas such as Donizetti's Maria di Rohan and Rossini's Otello, but she sang in the world premieres and early performances of several 20th-century operas.

Virginia Zeani created the roles of Giannina in Jacopo Napoli's Un curioso accidente, Blanche in Poulenc's Dialogues of the Carmelites, Alissa in Raffaello de Banfield's Alissa and Irene in Renzo Rossellini's L'avventuriero.

Virginia Zeani continued teaching there after Rossi-Lemeni's death in 1991 and was awarded the title of Distinguished Professor of Music in 1994.

Virginia Zeani retired to West Palm Beach, Florida in 2004, but continued to teach students privately.

Virginia Zeani was awarded Indiana University's President's Medal for Excellence in 2012 and received Lifetime Achievement Awards from the National Association of Teachers of Singing in 2016 and the National Opera Association in 2017.

In 2017, the Virginia Zeani Festival had its inaugural season in Mures, Romania.

Virginia Zeani died in Florida on 20 March 2023, aged 97, following a lengthy cardiac respiratory illness.

Virginia Zeani's recorded legacy largely rests on the approximately 60 "pirate" and "off-air" recordings of full-length operas made in the course of her career.

Virginia Zeani was made Commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic in 1965.

Virginia Zeani has been the recipient of numerous opera awards, including the Puccini Award from the Fondazione Festival Pucciniano in 1992.