La Traviata Virginia Zeani Violetta supreme, in a rare Romanian live movie 1965

Virginia Zeani filmed singing "Sempre libera" and a brief excerpt from Act III in a live performance of La Traviata in Bucharest in 1965. By then she had been singing Violetta for eighteen years and was now performing heavier roles such as AIda and Madama Butterfly.
We live in the hope that more of this performance will emerge, especially the great lyric-dramatic passages which were always so impressive.in the theatre
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NB The recordings of Mme Virginia Zeani are mostly from radio broadcasts or private or in-house tapes. They were saved by her fans and later, without her permission, sometimes transferred to CDs by companies who pay her no royalties. They are now posted on KZbin so that new opera lovers can freely experience and enjoy her remarkable performances.

[@CharlotteinWeimar]

”It was my very great fortune to sing with Virginia Zeani in my first performances outside Italy. The first was in December of 1961 in Belgrade, and it was my first 'La Traviata'. In January of 1963, I appeared with her in my first 'Lucia di Lammermoor', this being in Amsterdam. It was an extraordinary experience for me to sing these two operas with Virginia Zeani, as these were two of her famous roles; and as you may realize, I learned very much from her intensity and commitment to her art, as well as from her great musicality. I sang with Virginia with great pleasure after this, but to have sung these two works with her for the first time was of course an incredible experience for me. Virginia Zeani has always held the highest artistic and musical standards during her long and very distinguished career.” - Luciano Pavarotti (1992)

[@herrbrucvald6376]

When I watch this, I really feel like I'm at the opera...I mean, this is the kind of singing that is truly "The Opera" as the art form it is meant to be, not like the creepy director-centered junk we see today....What a great diva! Brava! Brava!

[@DouglasWebsterTheArtOfSpeaking]

Thank you for sharing this. Finding it today, has brought back so many memories of her. And tears for the recollection. Her ability to replicate moments from this performance, without hesitation, in her Indiana studio twenty years later for the benefit of a questioning student was stunning and humbling. I treasure the time I enjoyed with her. And smile at her cutting comments when my life and musical choices did not align with those she wished for me... Bella Diva, indeed. Bless you, Madame Z.

[@CharlotteinWeimar]

Teresa Stratas, herself a fine Violetta, wrote after hearing her in Montreal in 1965 "You were just so ravishingly beautiful … but unbelievably we the audience were to be blessed with your equally exquisite voice. You enveloped us in your warm, liquid, even tone and drew us in to experience your joy and your heartbreak. Your Violetta is still the most beautiful I have ever seen or heard."

[@gioacchinopiazza4663]

Wow! where have you read/heard that? I'd like to know, because I admire a lot Mrs Stratas. Thamk you!

[@bauchmann9971]

She was right, although in a public contest it was Olivero's version that won the first price!

[@little-963]

Are these amplifiers??

[@vioricabalteanu8564]

Grandiosissima versione interpretativa dell 'Assoluta! Lunga vita serena a Virginia Zeani e che Dio la benedica!

[@liettennabenna]

Bellissima, meravigliosa , STUPENDA!!!! Mi ha ricordato tutte le volte che, negli stessi anni, l'ho vista all' Opera di Roma. Non si può dimenticare. Per me è il più grande soprano di tutto il '900. Grazie infinite per questo video... non se ne trovano altri simili?

[@manuelprietohernandez4820]

Fue una cantante irrepetible, siempre una intérprete maravillosa.

[@CharlotteinWeimar]

Madame Zeani herself has pointed out that, as is often the case, the whole piece is playing nearly a semitone too high. This means that the top Cs are very nearly C sharps and the voice sounds less rich than it should, Even so, despite this imperfection, it is still absolutely marvellous.

[@giovannipomella7966]

Bravissima zeani

[@CharlotteinWeimar]

@meganailsa Yes, wonderful! This rare movie appeared following Mme Zeani's recent visit to Romania. There must be more, possibly the whole opera, & we will try to get hold of it. The film gives a good idea of the great energy she put into her performances. She sings "Sempre libera with exhilarating bravura but I do hope we can see her "Ah fors'e lui", the duet with Germont, the Act 2 finale & the "Addio" which are the heart of the drama & in which she was quite simply unsurpassed.

[@JefRoberts]

What a treat to have a clip of her Violetta! This is truly truly something special

[@IrinaAbramovici]

Simply Divina!!!

[@kadoguy]

Many many thanks for this great archival treasure!

[@cantorandopera]

Heavenly!

[@TheSalvyMarino51]

Ha tutto! Meravigliosa!

[@gabrielapaladian5122]

Meravigliosa

[@coraberger4947]

R. i. P.

[@opertutto]

Extraordinay, and astonishing that this footage has materialized. No doubt the owners of the film can have the speed corrected with modern devices. It was probably filmed at the standard sound speed of 24 frames per second and readjusted in the transfer to video format.

[@lucianocinini8542]

io l'ho potuta vederee solo 3 volte in Tosca, in La Rondine e Piccolo Marat ed ho un ricordo meraviglioso, come artista e come persona.

[@meganailsa]

AT LAST SOME LIVE FOOTAGE OF MISS ZEANI'S MOST FAMOUS ROLE - AND AS USUAL SHE DOES NOT DISAPPOINT. WONDERFUL - DO YOU HAVE ANY MORE LIVE PERFORMANCES

[@aiulina]

RIP 😪😪

[@jordipanadesribera6890]

Mi piace!!

[@vanmusician]

She sang Violetta here in Vancouver a year or two after this. My impression was of a rather hard voice and personality. Perhaps the over 600 performances of the role had 'taken the shine off'.

[@hans-jurgenschmitz-liedtke8988]

Vers Clone to MC