Virginia Zeani Anna Bolena "Piangete voi?"

[Rita0Moldao]

Faboulous!!!

[Homoclassicus]

The tempi are a little too rushed for me and she does seem to breathe in more passages than necessary, finishing some phrases with a bit more effort than would be ideal. That said, the uniqueness of her timbre, the undeniable presence of her singing and the even way with which the aria flows, both musically and dramatically, make me enjoy this performance a lot. That said, the comments below remind me how people say "incomparable" too easy with past singers and are too picky with current ones.

[enzogiordan]

Yes it is nicely sung without flaws but too fast to be believable (to the lyrics) and a bit bland (too evenly sung). I'm sorry but the great Zeani does not show her ability to show neither drama nor introspective qualities here.

[basenjidiva]

Matchless vocality! Perfect passaggio with undetectable transitions. Perfect diction. Absolute control with agility, incomparable sensitivity, and incredibly expressive interpretive ability; the quintessential demonstration of Bel Canto!

Bravissima, La Zeani!

[pagerbear]

Is there a recording of Coppia iniqua?

Just imagine if she'd done this role on stage!

[CharlotteinWeimar]

@pagerbear Not to my knowledge. I think she only ever performed this one aria in concerts.

[1970heinz]

uhmmm... buona interpretazione ed emissione, ma con queste cadenze evita molte difficoltà, arrangia un po' troppo coi tempi svelti, e mi pare che l'aria sia addirittura abbassata di mezzo tono

[marywardify]

Wonderful! Beautiful singing, with a gorgeous voice full of grief and pain. The great Virginia Zeani deserves to be much more widely known. This is the finest interpretation of this aria I have heard, next to that of the incomparable Maria Callas.

[MAPIAKALLAS]

she is great but nothing like the great divina maria callas... here zeani seens to have a small tinu voice for this dramatic coloratura thats my opinion for me Callas does a better job..

[CharlotteinWeimar]

@MAPIAKALLAS Anna Bolena was undoubtedly one of Callas's "miraculous" roles and not one which Zeani ever performed complete. But recordings are often misleading & seldom do justice to Zeani's unique timbre. I heard them both several times around 1958-62 in Covent Garden & can say unequivocally that Zeani's voice was bigger, fuller & technically far more secure.

[saverioorlando]

Virginia bella,brava,intelligente.I saw at live her Traviata and La serva padrona of Pergolesi.

[allanaki]

Un giorno la Signora Zeani mi disse: Una bella anima come te puo' solo avere una bella voce (all'epoca cantavo) Ora, cara Signora Zeani, permettimi ch'io ti ripeta le stesse tue parole: Una bella anima come te poteva solo avere una voce stupenda come la tua !

[SENAFOREVER]

Madam Zeani's artistry is so great...

[PopoliDiTessalia]

Absolutely superb!!!!

Thank you so much CharlotteinWeimar!

[bogdankos]

simply whohohohohohoaw... stratosferica la zeani...

[SENAFOREVER]

My dear this is fabulous. Thanks for sharing.

[polemius01]

Coincidently, I just listened to Maria Chiara's recording of this same aria 2 days ago. MC's silvery voice was at its youngest recorded point. VZ's voice is fuller and more dramatic at this point in her career, yet she handles the coloratura with ewase and aplomb. VZ's vocalism and characterization benefit from her wide stage experience, and her great heart, She puts herself into everything she sings.

Brava, indeed to VZ and CiW!

[basenjidiva]

OMG, this is breathtaking!

I can't imagine what more one could do with this aria! Such a plangent, moving delivery of this pathetic excerpt. Zeani's vocality is stupendous...

... and, that face! Her face! It's nothing short of illegal to be that gorgeous!

Thank you for this posting, Charlotte; it's a treasure that will continue to bring the thrill of operatic wonder to all of us, for years to come.

Brava, CharlotteinWeimar!

Brava, Virginia Zeani!!!