The arias he wrote for this character are simply exquisite--and Sills put her forever imprimatur upon them. She sings them as beautifully as they could possibly be sung.
Having directed Baby Doe the ending left me speechless. I don't understand why the Met has never produced this. A true story it has everything for audiences to relate to.
Beverly said she used to get very emotional when she sang this. I can understand, it is just the most beautiful aria ever sung by the the most competent of Baby Doe's! Brava Beverly and Bravo Kestal !!!!XXXXXXXX!!!
Absolutely glorious performance. Beverly Sills was one of our greatest artists, love her so much. And I especially notice her ability to sing this role perfectly, without compromising her American accent -- which was obviously exactly right for Baby Doe. [So many American opera singers adopt British English pronunciations when singing in English (eliminating hard-R middles and endings to words, softening "ing"-endings, etc.) Sills bravely sings "Sound the battle's loud alaRms (not "alahms, as so many singers do), any foes I shall withstand; in the circle of his aRms (not "ahms") I am safe, in Beulah-land!"]
Like many of you, I regard this as my favorite aria in all of opera. I never had the chance to hear her sing it live, but I did get to hear sing all three of the leading female roles in a performance of Tales of Hoffman in Cincinnati, and I discovered something else remarkable about Beverly Sills: she was a superb actress. As Olympia, the automaton, as Giuletta, the courtesan, and as Antonia, the obsessed ingenue dying of consumption - very dissimilar roles - she was completely believable in each role.
I saw Sills in recital twice. So I never saw her in Baby Doe. However, I saw the 1965, 1995, 2005, and 2015 anniversary productions at Central City, where the piece premiered. This last scene reduces me to a puddle.
Moore and Sills will remain paired forever. An almost odd choice of subject matter for any artistic authorship brought to prominence by one particular voice, a potent voice, a pretty voice.
I went to the opera some years ago looking for an album or something about the opera. Nothing. I heard they are going to do it next summer. Would love to go
+Barbara Millard There is a website devoted to the opera. It can be found at babydoe.org Lots of information and pics there. This full-length recording can be purchased on Amazon.com, ebay, and elsewhere. The original was on vinyl but was issued in 1999 as a CD set. Sills wasn't the first Baby Doe, but in my opinion she will always be the best.
@ykaiilah You can contact wwwdotbabydoedotorg to inquire about past or future ghost hunting at the Tabor Opera House, the Clarendon Hotel, and the Matchless Mine.
This should come with a warning: seriously habit-forming! It is impossible for me to tell how to assign the credit for that effect, whether Moore's writing or Sill's performance. Who cares anyway; it's great.
@Liu666able Yes I do, Sills was incomparable in this music and she was NEVER flat, you flatulatent creep. And please do not talk about motion in the voice.. Sutherland had a huge wobble.
![UNCLE SOL SOLVES IT [1938] - Eddie Lambert, Beverly Sills](/img/n.gif)
The arias he wrote for this character are simply exquisite--and Sills put her forever imprimatur upon them. She sings them as beautifully as they could possibly be sung.
Baby Doe's other arias are more famous, but to me, this is the best one. Reduces me to a puddle every time.
Me too. Chills from the very first note.
Having directed Baby Doe the ending left me speechless. I don't understand why the Met has never produced this. A true story it has everything for audiences to relate to.
When she (reluctantly) auditioned for the role, the composer listened to her singing Baby Doe's arias, and said 'Miss Sills, you ARE Baby Doe'.
One of the most truly romantic blending of words and music!
Perfection, glorious singing.
Beautiful, what a wonderful talent she was, we are so lucky
Beverly said she used to get very emotional when she sang this. I can understand, it is just the most beautiful aria ever sung by the the most competent of Baby Doe's! Brava Beverly and Bravo Kestal !!!!XXXXXXXX!!!
Absolutely glorious performance. Beverly Sills was one of our greatest artists, love her so much. And I especially notice her ability to sing this role perfectly, without compromising her American accent -- which was obviously exactly right for Baby Doe.
[So many American opera singers adopt British English pronunciations when singing in English (eliminating hard-R middles and endings to words, softening "ing"-endings, etc.) Sills bravely sings "Sound the battle's loud alaRms (not "alahms, as so many singers do), any foes I shall withstand; in the circle of his aRms (not "ahms") I am safe, in Beulah-land!"]
The woman was MAGNIFICENT!
Beverly Sills inhabited this role from this opera.. She gives me goosebumps when she sings this music.
You are right.. and I prefer Sills ... always have and as Baby Doe she is just incomparable.
Like many of you, I regard this as my favorite aria in all of opera. I never had the chance to hear her sing it live, but I did get to hear sing all three of the leading female roles in a performance of Tales of Hoffman in Cincinnati, and I discovered something else remarkable about Beverly Sills: she was a superb actress. As Olympia, the automaton, as Giuletta, the courtesan, and as Antonia, the obsessed ingenue dying of consumption - very dissimilar roles - she was completely believable in each role.
I saw Sills in recital twice. So I never saw her in Baby Doe. However, I saw the 1965, 1995, 2005, and 2015 anniversary productions at Central City, where the piece premiered. This last scene reduces me to a puddle.
BRAVA, BRAVA, BRAVA!!!!!!!!!! Glorious, darling 'Bubbles'.
Moore and Sills will remain paired forever. An almost odd choice of subject matter for any artistic authorship brought to prominence by one particular voice, a potent voice, a pretty voice.
I went to the opera some years ago looking for an album or something about the opera. Nothing. I heard they are going to do it next summer. Would love to go
+Barbara Millard There is a website devoted to the opera. It can be found at babydoe.org Lots of information and pics there. This full-length recording can be purchased on Amazon.com, ebay, and elsewhere. The original was on vinyl but was issued in 1999 as a CD set. Sills wasn't the first Baby Doe, but in my opinion she will always be the best.
Thank you from me too, I did find some things but this is far better
google Horace Tabor and google Baby Doe to discover who these peeps were. This opera is based on a true story, a tragically, bittersweet true story !
i love these kind operas. wish they were standards.
@ykaiilah You can contact wwwdotbabydoedotorg to inquire about past or future ghost hunting at the Tabor Opera House, the Clarendon Hotel, and the Matchless Mine.
Horace at 1:30, hubba, hubba!!! I wonder when Ghost Adventures will investigate the Tabor-Doe town.
I believe that's John LaTouche, the librettist. Hunky!
By the way, the original 1959 recording of the opera was done IN ONE TAKE, just as if it were a performance.
For which the cast were paid a couple of hundred dollars each.
Tha's not Horace. That's John LaTouche, the librettist. All the same, he did die rather suddenly.
This should come with a warning: seriously habit-forming! It is impossible for me to tell how to assign the credit for that effect, whether Moore's writing or Sill's performance. Who cares anyway; it's great.
@Liu666able Yes I do, Sills was incomparable in this music and she was NEVER flat, you flatulatent creep. And please do not talk about motion in the voice.. Sutherland had a huge wobble.