Virginia Zeani
Romanian opera singer (1925–2023) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Virginia Zeani Commendatore OMRI[1] (born Virginia Zehan; 21 October 1925 – 20 March 2023) was a Romanian-born opera singer who sang leading soprano roles in the opera houses of Europe and North America.
Virginia Zeani | |
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Born | Virginia Zehan (1925-10-21)21 October 1925 |
Died | 20 March 2023(2023-03-20) (aged 97) |
Occupations |
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Years active | 1948–1982 |
Spouse | |
Children | 1 |
Awards |
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Website | virginiazeani |
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 performed this role over 640 times.[2]
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. They both taught at Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music for many years (and continued to teach singing privately afterwards).[3][4][5][6][7][8] She spent her last years in Palm Beach County, Florida.