Nicola Rossi Lemeni was born in Istanbul, Turkey on November 6, 1920. Rossi-Lemeni was the son of an Italian colonel and a Russian mother. In his prime he was one of the most respected bassos in Italy. The composer Ildebrando Pizzetti [1880-1968] wrote the opera Assassinio nella cattedrale (1958) specifically for Rossi-Lemeni. He was also a prize-winning poet and a painter.
Lemeni made his debut as Varlaam in “Boris Godunov” at La Fenice, Venice, in 1946. He sang at the Teatro alla Scala from 1947 to 1960, the Teatro Colón (1949) and Covent Garden (1952). He appeared at the Metropolitan Opera, opening the 1953/54 season, in “Faust” (with Jussi Björling, Victoria de los Ángeles and Robert Merrill, conducted by Pierre Monteux and directed by Peter Brook in his Met debut), followed by the title roles of Don Giovanni and Boris Godunov.
Rossi-Lemeni was married to Romanian soprano Virginia Zeani [1925-2023] Among his recordings are “Don Carlos” (with Mirto Picchi, 1951), “The Barber of Seville” (with de los Ángeles, 1952), and—opposite Maria Callas—"I puritani” (1953), “Norma” (1954), “Il turco in Italia” (1954) and “La forza del destino” (1954). He was then featured in two recordings of “La serva padrona”, the first (1955) conducted by Carlo Maria Giulini, the second (1959) alongside Zeani.
Rossi-Lemeni was a pontifical knight in the Order of St. Sylvester. He died of liver cancer in Bloomington, Indiana on March 12, 1991, at the age of 70.
He sang “Suona la tromba” on the score for 1971’s “What Am I Doing in the Middle of the Revolution?”.
LEMENI, Rossi (Nicola Rossi Lemeni) [11/6/1920, Istanbul, Turkey –
3/12/1991, Bloomington, Indiana, U.S.A. (liver cancer)] – opera singer, married
to opera singer Virginia Zeani [1925-2023] (1957-1991) father of Dr. Alessandro
Rossi Lemeni [1958- ], awarded pontifical
knight in the Order of St. Sylvester [1991].
What Am I Doing in the Middle of the Revolution? – 1971 [sings:
“Suona la tromba”]
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