Pally, Zenaida

(also Palli). Born June 10, 1919, in Bucharest. Rumanian mezzo-soprano. People’s Artist of the Socialist Republic of Rumania (1962).

In 1946, Pally graduated from the Bucharest Conservatory and became a soloist at the Bucharest Opera and Ballet Theater. She has a strong voice with a sweet and noble timbre and is gifted with a dynamic stage presence. She is one of the best contemporary performers of the role of Carmen. Her roles include the Sphinx in Enesco’s Oedipus, Smaranda in G. Dumitrescu’s Răscoala, Vania in Glinka’s Ivan Susanin (A Life for the Tsar),Konchakovna in Borodin’s Prince Igor, Azucena and Amneris in Verdi’s Il Trovatore and Aïda, and Adalgisa in Bellini’s Norma. She gives concerts and has toured many countries. She frequently visits the USSR, which she first toured in 1952. She was awarded the State Prize of the Socialist Republic of Rumania in 1954.