Virginia Zeani - Care compagne... Sovra il sen (La sonnambula - Napoli 1959)

Virginia Zeani sings Amina's entrance aria from ''La Sonnambula'', by Vincenzo Bellini, in a performance given at the Teatro San Carlo di Napoli in 1959. This recording shows Virginia Zeani in marvelous form, only a few months after giving birth to her son. Here is an anecdote about this particular production from the ''interview-biography'' on Mme Zeani's life, ''Canta che ti passa'', written by Sever Voinescu, which is currently being translated in English: ''Then, shortly after I sang in La Sonnambula in Napoli and I was completely up to the mark with all the voice agility that is expected for this part. Nevertheless I did face my share of malice against me on that occasion. A certain soprano whose name I shall not divulge called the general manager of the Napoli Opera House and told him that my voice was no longer what it used to be prior to child birth and that I was no longer fit to sing in La Sonnambula. Following that phone call the general manager offered me only four performances and scheduled that other soprano to appear in two performances. Moreover he brought her to Napoli to be on a stand by at any moment I might perform below expectations. After attending the first rehearsal, when my voice sounded as good as ever and I was basically playing with the notes, the general manager exclaimed to me: “You have no idea, Virginia, how much evil is in this world” and he told me the whole story.''