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Zinka Milanov née Zinka Kunc (May 17, 1906 in Zagreb, Croatia – 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 was not 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). In fact, while different sopranos since Milanov -- and during Milanov's own time -- may equal or even surpass Milanov in certain ways, Milanov remains altogether special in Verdi because of her comprehensive mastery (in her forties) of all these vocal requirements needed in Verdi:
1) "curvy" caressing legato,
2) morbidezza,
3) warmth and abandon,
4) firmly anchored low,
5) soaring top notes,
6) equalized scale,
7) proficient flexibility,
8) ready trill,
9) crisp diction,
10) secure intonation (after turning 40),
11) long breath,
12) seductive vocal quality and
13) spinto power.
Whenever her documented singing combines all these assets, she remains separate and apart, however remarkable her contemporary colleagues or subsequent successors may be in specific ways. Some like Callas or Caballe may have had an even finer musical style, or Arroyo an even more resilient top, or Tebaldi even more seductive vocal colors, etc., but no one since Milanov has had this basic proficiency in the full baker's dozen of assets cited here. That may not make Milanov better than anyone else, but it does make her unique from about 1950 on.
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
External links
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- This page was last modified on 1 November 2008, at 22:22.
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