I had the privilege of meeting the great opera singer Virginia Zeani in Fort Lauderdale in 2013. She died a few days ago at age 97.
Zeani made her debut in 1948 and by the time she retired 34 years later, she had sung Violetta in La traviata 648 times. A Distinguished Professor Emerita at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music where she taught for many years, Zeani lived in Palm Beach County, Florida.
Here is a photo I took, and are excerpts from two articles in Sun News from 2013.
“The angels must have wept every time she sang,” said one of her students at a gala event in Ft. Lauderdale to honour one of opera’s greatest stars.
Virginia Zeani is the subject of an upcoming biography by Roger Beaumont, who flew in from New Zealand for the event at Cinema Paradiso, hosted by the Venetian Arts Society. “Virginia Zeani was a soprano to be reckoned with,” he said. “She actually gives you something personal, not just the singing of notes. She is a very great lady.”
Beaumont says people at home can see Zeani in 40 of her 70 operatic roles on YouTube, thanks to the efforts of Yvonne Fuller in Cornwall, England. She has posted 240 clips of Zeani on the internet site.
Opera expert Professor Mario Hamlet-Metz told a sold-out audience at Cinema Paradiso of his first encounter with Zeani. It was in his home country of Chile, where he saw her perform in Santago in 1957. “Her performances were a life-changing experience for me. When she came on stage there was a big gasp in the audience- this was a Hollywood-style appearance.”
Hamlet-Metz characterised her voice as “warm and easily recognisable, with some characteristics that were quite unusual. She made such an impact on the city that she was in all the newspapers.”
“Music is the best thing a person can do in life,” declared the great opera star Virginia Zeani at her 88th birthday bash, held at the Riverside Hotel in Ft. Lauderdale on Oct. 25.
“Nothing can replace the incredible joy of emitting a sound and giving your heart. Everytime I sing I give me heart, and in the night it becomes more young!” This sentiment was greeted with great laughter and applause by a select audience at the event, hosted by the Venetian Arts Salon.
William Riddle, president of the Venetian Arts Salon, spoke with excitement about the film currently in production about the remarkable life of Virginia Zeani, whom he described as one of the most important figures in the history of 20th century opera.
Zeani said in an impromptu talk to the gathering that she “wants to encourage the young generation to have patience and learn a lot. Then they will learn, like me, that it’s a joy to arrive old.
“You are not old at 88 – you can start the life!”
Photo by C Cunningham: Zeani with Beaumont, against a backdrop of an image of Zeani from an operatic role.