Romanian soprano Virginia Zeani (above, as Violetta) made her Met debut in LA TRAVIATA on November 12, 1966, she was already a well-established star in Europe. She has made her operatic debut at Bologna in 1948 and her La Scala debut (as Handel's Cleopatra) in 1956. In 1957, at La Scala, Zeani created the role of Blanche de la Force in Poulenc's DIALOGUES OF THE CARMELITES.
In the course of her career, the soprano moved from bel canto roles like Lucia di Lammermoor and Elvira in PURITANI to such dramatic parts as Tosca and Aida; she sang Wagner's Elsa and Senta, too. She gave her last stage performances as Mere Marie in CARMELITES at San Francisco in 1982. She settled in Palm Beach, Florida where - as of this writing - she continues working with singers.
I was of course at Zeani's Met debut. It was my first season as an 'adult' opera-goer (I was 18) and I spent endless hours on the bus from Syracuse to New York City (a 6-hour trip), coming in for long weekends during which I would see three or four performances at The Met or New York City Opera.
Zeani already had a fan-base in New York City thanks to her pirated recordings - in the studio she recorded only Violetta and Tosca, plus an aria recital or two - and 'everyone' showed up for the Met debut, crowded together in Orchestra standing room and scattered throughout the sold-out house.
Zeani, an incredibly beautiful woman, looked absolutely gorgeous in the Cecil Beaton production which had been created for Anna Moffo. During Act I, the soprano and the evening's conductor, Georges Prêtre, sometimes parted company - I'm guessing she didn't even get an orchestral rehearsal - but the voice was wonderfully present in the big house. The faithful braced themselves expectantly for a high E-flat at the end of "Sempre libera" but surprisingly Zeani left it out. Despite this slight disappointment, the fans felt Zeani was an authentic Violetta and some of then ran across the Plaza to buy flowers for the diva.
Things improved vastly from her entry in Act II, and Zeani was really moving in the opera's final act, with an Olde School sense of passion and intensity as both singer and actress. She simply became the dying Violetta. There was an exciting ovation at the end, and Ms. Zeani was called out for three solo bows; she was clearly moved by the reception, weeping and smiling as the bravas rang out.
Despite the very warm reception accorded to Zeani at her Met debut, she only sang two more performances of Violetta at The Met, plus a concert performance of I VESPRI SICILIANI with the Company at Newport the following Summer.
But she was heard again at The Met in 1968 when the Rome Opera Company brought their production of Rossini's OTELLO to New York City; Zeani looked superb and was a vocally effective Desdemona.
Interestingly, November 12, 1966, marked the occasion of my seeing TRAVIATA twice in one day: I had been to a matinee at New York City Opera that afternoon, where the fascinating Patricia Brooks was singing Violetta.
Virginia Zeani sang Violetta nearly 650 times worldwide in the course of her career. I'll always be so glad that I caught one of them.