Farewell to Virginia Ziani, the legendary soprano

They have been an artistic couple for years with tenors like Alfredo Krause or Placido Domingo. But also to many others, such as Virginia Zanni (1925-2023) who encountered her in her long artistic career. with Extensive repertoirewill be your number Closely related to Violetta Valerie, the heroine of “La Traviata” verdi that She has sung on more than 600 occasions In half the world, she was born in Transylvania on October 21, 1925, as Virginia Zahan, on Monday, March 20, and died in Florida (USA) at the age of 97, as she was hospitalized since last summer, suffering from various complications due to her advanced age. At a young age, he moved with his family to Italy, where he mastered lyrical singing. She made her debut in Bologna in May 1948 as Violetta, using the last name that made her famous ever since.

He lived a golden age at the Liceu in Barcelona. He appeared in Spain in 1949 in San Sebastian and at the Oviedo Opera Festival where he translated “La Bohème”, “Carmen”, “Pagliacci” and “Traviata” to, after a decade and already dedicated, he made his debut in Madrid with L’elisir d “amore” and “Traviata” (1958) where he later also became Cio-Cio San (Madama Butterfly, 1965). But it was in Barcelona where he built Close relationship with the high school audience that lasted for more than a decade; He made his debut at the Gran Teatre in 1963 with, of course, “La Traviata”He also sang Il piccolo Marat for Mascagni, returning the following year with La Bohème and in 1965 with Madama Butterfly, before in 1967 he repeated his Mimì and added Alyssa (of Raffaello de Banfield) and Suor Angelica. Some follow him Unforgettable performances of “Manon Lescaut” (1971), “Tosca” (1975) and “Fedora” (1977)on all three occasions with Placido Domingo.

Teacher

With his repertoire already expanded to “verista” heights, Zeani taught in all kinds of rolesincluding French, Russian and German operas, for being one of the first of the four female characters in Les contes d’ Hoffmann, as well as for shaping Active part of the bel canto “renaissance”.the movement that pRossini, Bellini, Donizetti and Verdi saved I from oblivion. In 1956 he married Bass Nicola Rossi Lemini, with whom she had her only son, Alessandro.

The soprano has taken her education to the major stages of the world, from London or Vienna to New York, Cairo or Santiago de Chile. Raffaello de Banfield wrote “Alyssa” for her.who also sang in Liceu, while Poulenc Do the same with a personality Blanche de la Force from ‘Dialogues des Carmelites’‘, a surname with which she retired from the San Francisco stage in 1982. Since then she has devoted herself to teaching, as educator to several generations of singers.