She was called "Madame Milanov", and in the middle of the last century she was the greatest diva of the Metropolitan Opera. She was declared the greatest Aida and the greatest dramatic soprano of Italian opera.

Zinka

Mirogoj

She was declared the greatest Aida and the greatest dramatic soprano of Italian opera.

The inimitable talent of Zinka Kunc was visible from her childhood. Namely, already at the age of fifteen, she had such a well-placed voice that she could sing a high "cis".

She studied in Zagreb, studying with the Czech baritone Jan Ouřednik, as well as the vocal pedagogue Marija Kostrenčić and the great world opera diva Milka Trnina. But he owes his enviable level of singing ability mostly to his brother Božidar. He realized early on that his solo career could never be the way he predicted to his sister, so he subordinated all his vast knowledge to shaping the future queen of the New York Opera.

She made her debut in 1927 in Ljubljana as Leonora in Verdi's Troubadour. Namely, the director of the Zagreb Opera did not recognize her talent and refused to perform at the Croatian National Opera. But after her debut in Ljubljana, word about Zinka's magnificent success echoed in Zagreb, so the director decided to invite her to an audition.

However, Zinka did not get the job and had to wait for the arrival of the new director to finally get her first role in her hometown. Thus, from 1929 to 1936, Zinka played a series of roles in the Zagreb Opera, each of which was more difficult and demanding than the other. Finally, she received offers from abroad, so Zinka first went to Prague, and then received an offer from New York's Metropolitan Opera. She made her debut in it on December 7, 1937, when she sang Leonora in the Troubadour.

She was called Madame Milanov, and she was a real favorite of the New York audience. Since the Americans did not like the surname Kunc, Zinka performed as Zinka Milanov. The last name Milanov was invented, the stage name of her husband at the time, Serbian actor Predrag Marković.

She was declared the greatest Aida and the greatest dramatic soprano of Italian opera. Her philosophy was that on stage: - You have to give love to the audience. – as she always said. They say that she was very intelligent, and she could sing all her roles in three languages ​​- Croatian, German and Italian.

It is an urban legend that Tito himself was enchanted by her, if not in love with her. He always said she was a national treasure. However, the truth was that they were good friends. She sang for him at his birthday celebration in 1947 in Belgrade, while in return the leader gave her a small "spica" who was named Mikica and kept Zinka company for a good 19 years. Her longtime friend Bruce Burroughs told Nacional that Zinka, in addition to singing beautifully, also cooked divinely. Her best specialties were sarma and burek.

The last time the great opera diva sang in front of an audience was in her sixties, when she sang the opera "Andrea Chenier". She refused every performance after that. - I came as a queen and I leave as a queen! – was her explanation.

One of the biggest Croatian opera stars died in New York at the age of 83 from a stroke. "She was a diva with unique charisma and voice. "There are few singers who can be considered prima donnas. Many want it, few deserve it, few achieve it. Mrs. Milanov acquired that title in a democratic way, with the consent of her colleagues, among whom she was the untouchable first lady," they wrote about her.

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"Madame Milanov" was the queen of the New York Metropolitan scene