indispensable document a central singer

The Romanian soprano Virginia Zeani (born 1925) was one of those great singers whose long and impressive career is documented insufficiently on plates. From the beginning of the 50s to the late 70s, she sang on the great stages of the world, first of all the bel canto repertoire, later also heavier parts through to Aida. Your partners were called Gigli, Bergonzi, Kraus, Pavarotti and Domingo. Their key role was the Traviata that she had gesungegn 650 x onstage.

Why the record companies they (as well as Magda Olivero or Leyla Gencer) largely went, I do not know.

The more important is this aria Recital 1957 that the singer had taken shortly after her debut at La Scala, at the beginning of an international career. It shows them early 30s in top form. The voice is a soft einschwingender, warm timbre, shining in the highest soprano with a shimmering vibrato that they reduced in later years.

From the sound of her she has the insight and clarity of Victoria de los Angeles, the "tear" of Anita Cerquetti, the soft fullness of the young Renata Tebaldi, Renata Scotto of the attack - what more could you want? Technically it was perhaps not such a virtuoso like Callas, Sutherland or Gencer, but was also her bel canto roles more than just grown.

The original plate covers her core repertoire from with Traviata, Lucia di Lammermoor, La Sonnambula, I Puritani, La Bohème. As the seasons a former LP today fill not even half a CD, it was - as usual with the new series of Decca - supplemented with additional recordings, in this case a slightly later Puccini recital, the singer already from her something dramatic side shows and is just gorgeous.

An overdue vindication for otherwise only fans of live recordings common great singer.