Virginia Zeani - Masterclass

[TheVerdiBaritone]

Those of you who want a good treatise on correct singing- Look for Virginia Zeani's interview in the magazine "Classical Singer."

[arschneider1]

This is a video of the New Zealand Opera School, held every year in Wanganui to help young singers in their vocal and artistic development. I have just attended this year's school and it is incredible to see where the people who are in this video have ended up!

[Operaddict]

Dear friend,

She is teaching you to sing like a woman, not a man. Woman are all about placement, lightness, forward singing, masque. They sing in their head voice. Men sing in chest voice. Yes, there are some things the same...but we do not sing like women. This is the reason there are so few great male singers these days. Most study with women.

[thehix]

@Operaddict Exactly . A woman will never understand and never be able to teach men to sing. We have falsetto, they do not have the kind of chest voice we have :).



[Hotchkapotchka]

@thehix That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever herd. FYI just about every world class male singer in the world today has sought her advice. I have taken voice with many teachers, many famous ones, both men and women....never did I have a clue of how much potential I had until I walked into Zeani's studio. You should go to one of her masterclasses and challenge her.... go ahead and make a fool of yourself. I mean, you kind of did already by posting this nonsense.

[Webarton]

Lol she sounds like a great teacher, certain a great singer she is. But her students are very swallowed and throaty.

[promopera]

If we have to judge by these students, there is nothing spectacular about their teachers....

[Alieaz]

What, like Simon O'Neill? You know he sings at the met and all around the world as a Wagner specialist? Haha.

[mausetieger]

LOVE her glasses! :D

[Federicopera]

Please wear proper clothes, she is a five star artist not a shop assistant.

[basenjidiva]

Aspiring singers, pay attention!!! You will find no finer teacher. Retiring from the stage, after thirty years as Prima Donna Assoluta of Rome Opera, Zeani and her late husband, Nicola Rossi-Lemeni made second, remarkable careers, teaching at Indiana Univerity, where--for the firt time in the history of the University, both husband & wife were elevated to the rank of Distinguished Professors! Some feat, indeed!

You will find no better anywhere...ever! So, if you want to sing, LISTEN!

[loredinusa]

Do you know how one could get a lesson from her? I searched at Indiana Univ. and she is not there anymore.Any tip would be good, if I don't ask too much. Thank you anyway!

[basenjidiva]

Please send your contact information to me, & I shall forward that to Mme. Zeani, along with any other info. about yourself that you want me to include. She doesn't use email, but if she chooses, she will permit you to telephone her. I'm sure you understand that ,as her friend, I cannot release her contact info. without her permission. I shall look forward to hearing from you.

Good luck, and the best of wishes.

Basenjidiva

[jd03150]

@basenjidiva There has been considerable recent interest in Opera World, a group of 500+ opera enthusiasts on Yahoo regarding Madame Zeani. I have no interest in bothering the lady but I would be very interested in learning more about her current activities, health,etc for the info of the group. Please contact me via jd03150@yahoo.com if you would and could help in this regard. Incidentally, you online name tells me you are a lover of one of the greatest breeds. Rgds, Jim Davis, Kiev, Ukraine

[distefano13069609]

@basenjidiva I love my teacher :)

[CharlotteinWeimar]

I have now posted the whole of Zeani's unrehearsed debut performance as Violetta at Covent Garden in 1960. She had had no sleep and only meets the other singers as she steps onto the stage. This is La Traviata as real drama AND beautifully sung. Unmissable.

[loredinusa]

Where is she teaching at the moment? So silly of me that I didn't go to talk to her when she was in Romania. I was a few feet from her, and didn't dare. Now I am trying to find her and probably have to pay a lot of money to travel where she would be...?

[augustovalenca]

Very little Virginia in this video. Although ANYTHING from her is better than nothing...

What a fenomenal Artist.

[CharlotteinWeimar]

Thank you very much for this, but please can you post some more of Zeani actually teaching the students? .

[dconfessgrl]

what program is this for?

[CharlotteinWeimar]

Virginia was technically so secure as well as the most beautiful, passionate Violetta imaginable. An admirer of Callas, she was very different, but in her own way just as compelling. A great teacher, always encouraging, who helped me get back to performing after a long break.

[rwprof]

One of Indiana University's two greatest voice teachers (the late Margaret Harshaw was the other).

[pagerbear]

I count as one of the blessings of my life the fact Margaret Harshaw did not accept me as a student. I heard terrible things about her teaching the entire time I was at IU.

[rwprof]

Hardly. Her students were always the best at IU. That's why they were always cast. Zeani came in at a close second.

[Vairguy09]

Cast maybe, but screamers. I sang with several and was not impressed.  They had a tendency to push the voice.

[meloow2005]

no comment, just a great teacher

wonderful

[colibridelapampa]

What a difference with mirella´s masterclasses!!! That is really nice

[tudorbarbos]

I'd like to see more of this

[ncrunch]

This is a wondeful video. Very informative.

[Canuckoperafan]

Yes, really interesting. Thanks so much for posting it. Is it in New Zealand? I noticed Simon O'Neil is in the clip and he is a New Zealander...

[FABRIZIO82]

Very interesting!!!! Thank you so much!!!