They both taught at Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music for many years (and continued to teach singing privately afterwards).

[10] As a young adult during World War II she began studying with Ukrainian soprano Lydia Lipkowska in Bucharest.

Zeani stated of her experience during this time I had no high notes at all at that point in my life, but after she accepted me and I worked with her for three months I had an incredible range.

[10]After World War II ended, Zeani emigrated to Italy and continued her vocal studies in Milan.

[7][11] Zeani made her professional debut as Violetta in La traviata at the Teatro Duse in Bologna in 1948 as a last-minute replacement for Margherita Carosio.

She made her Florence debut as Elvira in I puritani in 1952, replacing Maria Callas, who had withdrawn from the production after two performances.

She created the roles of Giannina in Jacopo Napoli's Un curioso accidente (Bergamo, 1950), Blanche in Poulenc's Dialogues of the Carmelites (Milan, 1957), Alissa in Raffaello de Banfield's Alissa (Geneva, 1965) and Irene in Renzo Rossellini's L'avventuriero (Monte Carlo, 1968).

She also sang Mary Vetsera in the first staging of Barbara Giuranna's dodecaphonic opera Mayerling (Naples, 1960), a role written expressly for her.

Her other roles in 20th-century works include Magda Sorel in The Consul and Eunomia in Adriano Lualdi's Il diavolo nel campanile (both under Tullio Serafin at the Maggio Musicale in Florence) and multiple performances of La voix humaine in the 1970s.

[9] In 1980 Zeani and Rossi-Lemeni settled in the United States where they had been offered teaching positions at Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music.

Among her many students at the Jacobs School who went on to international careers as opera singers are Angela Brown, Nicole Chevalier, Vivica Genaux, Sylvia McNair, Marilyn Mims, Mark Nicolson, Susan Patterson, Elizabeth Futral, Marina Levitt and Ailyn Perez.

Zeani retired to West Palm Beach, Florida in 2004, but continued to teach students privately.