Zinka Milanov

Zinka Milanov May 17 1906 – May 30 1989 Was A Croatian-Born Operatic Spinto Soprano Who Had A Major Career Centred On The New York Metropolitan Opera. Born In Zagreb Croatia As Zinka Kunc She Studied With The Wagnerian Soprano Milka Ternina And Her Assistant Marija Kostrenčić. She Also Studied In Milan With Carpi And In Berlin With Stückgolt. On October 29 1927 She Made Her Operatic Debut As Leonora In Giuseppe Verdi's Il Trovatore In Ljubljana Slovenia At The Young Age Of 21. 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 Teacher 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 Theatre In Prague Where All Performances Were Sung In German. She Was Discovered There By Bruno Walter Who Recommended Her To Arturo Toscanini For A Performance Of Verdi's Requiem In Salzburg. In 1937 The Soprano 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 The Article "Zinka Takes Off" Opera News November 2004 Vol 69 No. 5 It Is Stated That The Name Change Was Deemed Necessary Since The Gentlemen At The Met Feared The "implications Inherent In What They Predicted Would Be The Standard American Mispronunciation — But They Were Never Forthright With Her About It". On November 8 1937 Erich Simon Who Was In Charge Of Engaging Milanov Cabled Edward Ziegler The Assistant Manager Of The Met "Mme Zinka KUNZ-MARCOVIC Has Informed Me That She Wishes To Perform Under Her Husband's Stage Name MILANOV." Citation Needed In 1940 Ms. Milanov Was One Of The Featured Soloists In A Radio Performance Of Ludwig Van Beethoven's Missa Solemnis Along With Jussi Bjoerling Tenor Alexander Kipnis Bass Bruna Castagna Mezzo And The Westminster Choir. Toscanini Conducted The NBC Symphony Orchestra. She Was In A Romantic Relationship With Marshal Of Yugoslavia Josip Broz Tito Before He Married Jovanka Broz. In 1947 She Left The Met When She Married For The Third Time To Yugoslav General And Diplomat Ljubomir Ilić And Returned To Live In Yugoslavia. 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. Milanov Returned To The Metropolitan Opera The Same Year Invited By Rudolf Bing In His First Year There As General Manager. Citation Needed She Gave Her Final Performance In 1966 At The Closing Night Of The Old Metropolitan Opera House. Having Worked As A Voice Teacher While Still Performing Milanov Devoted Herself To Teaching After Her Retirement. Among Her Pupils Were Betty Allen Grace Bumbry Christa Ludwig Regina Resnik Dubravka Zubovic And Milka Stojanovic. She Recorded Prolifically From The 1940s Through To The 1960s. Her Voice Was Well-Suited To Italian Operas Such As Those Of Verdi Ponchielli Puccini And The Verismo Composers. She Died In New York City Aged 83. read less