Everything about Zinka Milanov totally explained
Zinka Milanov née Zinka Kunc (born
May 17,
1906 in
Zagreb,
Croatia - died
May 30,
1989 in
New York City) was a
Croatian-born
operatic
dramatic soprano.
Born in
Zagreb, she studied with the
Wagnerian soprano
Milka Ternina and her
assistant Marija Kostrenčić. She also studied in
Milan with Campi and in
Vienna with Stickgolt. On
October 29,
1927, she made her operatic debut as Leonora in
Giuseppe Verdi's
Il Trovatore in
Ljubljana,
Slovenia. Her debut in her native Croatia, at the
National Theatre in
Zagreb, took place five weeks later as Marguerite in
Charles Gounod's
Faust
After an early debut in
Dresden (
November 5,
1928, also as Leonora), her great teacher, Milka Ternina wasn't pleased and much work commenced to perfect her technique. She performed in
Zagreb and
Ljubljana almost exclusively for the next six years. Later she became a member of the New German Theater in
Prague, where all performances were sung in
German. She was discovered by
Bruno Walter, who recommended her to the famous
conductor Arturo Toscanini for a performance of
Verdi's
Requiem in
Salzburg. In
1937, she made her debut at the
Metropolitan Opera, once again as Leonora. At that time she adopted the name Milanov, which was the stage name of her second husband, an actor. According to Milanov herself, "Kunc" wasn't "glamorous" enough for the Metropolitan Opera.
In
1947, Milanov left the Met when she married, for the third time,
Yugoslav general and diplomat Ljubomir Ilić, and returned to live in her native country for several years.
She was at the peak of her artistic and vocal powers when she made her debut at the
Teatro alla Scala as
Tosca in
1950. When
Rudolf Bing took over the Metropolitan Opera that very same year, Milanov returned and was hailed as a
primadonna assoluta.
Milanov had a beautiful, clear voice, especially in the upper register, and sang with splendid
legato. Vocally, she didn't come into her own until she was in her forties. In her younger years, her voice tended to become shrill. She excelled in the Italian parts for dramatic soprano and is best remembered for her Verdi interpretations (
Aida,
Amelia, Leonora).
She gave her final performance in
1966. After her farewell, Milanov remained active as a teacher.
She died in
New York.
Bibliography
- The Last Prima Donnas, by Lanfranco Rasponi, Alfred A Knopf, 1982. ISBN 0-394-52153-6
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