I was so privileged to have seen Ms. Sills several times with the N.Y. City Opera. The mad scene in "Lucia" is forever embedded in my memories. She was a delightful and beautiful star. She is greatly missed.
This is when she was still under the vocal guidance of the fabulous Estelle Liebling, and it shows in this unbelievably incredible performance!! No one else comes anywhere CLOSE to this level of magnificence! Not then, and CERTAINLY not now!
What range! Her beautiful voice floats effortlessly to the top of her unbelievable range. And besides all of that she is just such a nice person--no narcissistic tendencies here.
A magnificent piece of singing of a very difficult bel canto aria. This was Beverly Sills before she took on the three Donizetti Queens (Anna Bolena, Roberto Devereux and Maria Stuarda) and one can detect none of the shrillness and strident qualities that later crept into her voice. She could have had a much longer stage career had she elected not to sing those heavier roles, but she wanted to conquer those Three Queens and she did so commandingly, and never once regretted it. She was a risk taker and I salute her for it. The singing heard here is exquisite but Sills wasn't the type of artist to allow herself to ossify in this kind of operatic repertoire. She was a unique and much beloved lady.
She had already sang for over 30 years..I think the vocal cords just can't take the long stress of an operatic career longer than that... the body gives out. We ain't 20 no more! 😆 men can go a little longer with our thick tough cords, but not the highest sopranos...
Her voice is like silk, her delivery divine. What a blessing to be able to listen to her, even now, beyond her death. And besides being the best Bel Canto singer to grace the planet, she was truly a kind and compassionate human being.
I am a complete Opera ignoramus, and love reading all the comments here. Fascinating. I intend to purchase a CD of this glorious voice and fill my home with it. Thank you for posting this.
The voice shimmers with beauty, and Sills was far and away the best singing actress I've ever seen. Most opera singers park their bodies on stage and sing. They have no idea what to do on a stage.
I understood this was recorded in 1967 in a Cologne studio for broadcast on German Radio. Incomparable and stupefyingly gorgeous singing. Brava Beverly and Bravo maestrojimbo!!!!
Any simple song can become more beautiful. Sills has a beautiful voice and expression. Songs I sing simply cannot impart the power of what she worked so hard to add. This would be the lace on the wedding dress.
I've sang a lot of arias, but only because of Beverly. I heard her sing when I was young and aspired to her amazing vocal placement, and agility, the depth and range of her performances to me are the pinnacle of the craft, the love for the music, and not for praise. A singular performer.
Considering this is a live recording it is magnificent! I have the studio recorded Donizetti and Bellini Heroines LP and CD and she is even MORE stunning on that production and one just cannot comprehend that an individual could actually sing like that! Bravissima!
Absolutely thrilling. I quite agree with Uncle Louie. Brilliant as this recording is, the Westminster LP version is even more exciting. There, Sills sings an octave instead of a minor sixth as in this recording. The high note comes from nowhere; it is tack on. The effect is astounding. It has been an absolute thrill for me to hear that recording every time, even after so many years.
I've always felt that Westminster LP of bel canto arias (the one with her in the green dress on the cover, I believe?) was an incredible album. The conductor was Jussi Jalas. What a pity the entire disc was never issued intact on CD... or am I wrong? Along with the French arias album conducted by Charles Mackerras, it ranks with her finest recordings. Thanks for posting! :)
@@treesny I've got a CD of the Westminster bel canto arias. And another re-issue is also available on some streaming platforms such as Tidal and Apple Music.
Amazing singing. I know Sills and Sutherland often sang the same repertoire, and I don't mean to take anything away from Sutherland,; Sutherland may have had the bigger voice, but nowhere near the passion of Sills. Sill repeatedly gave me chills.
Wow! Thanks for this version. I have the Westminster LP which I have played many many times. The "O Quante Volte" cut is my favorite on that album. Now that I know there is a re-release, I shall not rest till I get my hands on it. Love Sills forever!
@maestrojimbo You have one up on me Jim, I haven't heard the new re release. THAT recording just has to be one of the wonders of Beverly Sills. Sheer vocal brilliance that is unrivalled. Beverly said that she didn't know if she would ever get the chance to record anything else in her lifetime. She was determined to 'hit the listener over the head' with all of her ornamentation. I am happy to report that I still suffer from concussion!!!
So beautiful. This is simply the best if this aria Her studio recording has at least one more interrelated high note which is even more beautiful. Well that’s what I think anyway. This aria on that recording will ring in my memory until I die.
Absolutely fabulous and I don't argue with any of you but I think the studio recording being slower is more elegant in it's embellishments. I miss the trills and the two octave leap at the end and there was more pathos is the slower tempo. I remember her fans ripping up the telephone books into confetti at the State Theater during her curtain calls after Roberto Devereux. A magnificent singer, supreme stylist and wonderful human being. We'll miss you forever, Beverly.
If you've got it honey..."Flaunt It!!".......that was the essence of bel canto...when written.......For example Caballe may have cut Lucia down to its "basics" on her recording, some years ago, but was that truly by choice or vocal capability necessity.......Chief of the "Callas widowers" as I admit to being, I'm not beyond owning up to the fact that Maria's motives were often more akin to the latter too, rather than any artistic rationale......................I'm thrilled by the Joans and the Beverly's of this world giving it ALL, when they've got it to give.....and one in the eye for the unimaginative "I Puritani"........Cromwell has been dead for a great many centuries!!!!.......THANK GOD!!!...Ha ha ha
I have a readers digest recording she recorded of this, this is perfect but her floaty upper silver pure clarity still makes me cry,Only 78 when she passed
The W. LP is slightly different. If I had to choose - I'd choose the recording. Why? It's Unfukin'believable. Most beautiful aria she ever recorded and- in her absolute prime.
The recording, it was her first solo recording, is astonishing. I love it for what it is. But it does gild the lily, overly embellished and with some trills that are not exactly beautiful, if you know what I mean. This performance is perfection, and simpler in the sense of less is more, and the less more beautiful. You rarely will hear a performance by any singer, of any vocal range and in any genre, as perfect as this one by Sills in 1971 in Köln.
@Palmerito The newer release has been out for a few years, but it is not the entire album. By the way, you probably know that the entire opera was recorded also, with O Quante included of course. That version is much different that you'd expect, but still excellent. The choice of using Janet Baker was genius - their voices blend as well as Horne and Sutherland. Gedda is also on that recording and the three are perfect together.
She was so perfect in this lyrico-coloratura repertoire, perhaps even more in French roles such as Manon. Her Baby Doe is still the gold standard. I think the heavier roles such as the Bolena and Devereaux did a lot of damage to her shimmering and delicate instrument.
@petelovesbevsills You are most likely correct - there's no applause or audience sound. I used to have the record but this cd doesn't have the correct info - just says Koln, 1968 and Paris 1971. I remember that Una voce poco fa was on the live recital (Koln) and was the best I'd ever heard her sing. Have you heard that? (Also another Zerbinetta).
@petelovesbevsills Pete-even though I love this performance, the Bellini and Donizetti Heroines recording is startling, mesmerizing and over-the-top by comparison. I used to listen to it over and over in disbelief that anyone could sing like that! The reissue in the past few years is in better sound. The early Westminster label recordings did not really capture the lower overtones in her voice . In her live performance I was pleasantly surprised at how much better she sounded.
maestrojimbo I have the LP of Bellini Donizetti Heroines. I had brought it to my audio guru for a listen on his super equipment. Wow, what a revelation! And then he cleaned the record in his machine. I couldn’t believe the difference, it was absolutely magical, a huge improvement in sound! My audio guy is not particularly into opera but he stopped work and came over to listen. And kept listening. Beverly was that great!
I adore Sills, Sutherland & Callas. All for different reasons. If you can't learn how to appreciate what each brings to the table then to me you aren't a real opera aficionado.
Bervely Sills is a huge belcantist singer, but I don't really understand why she needed to add those top notes and some Donizetti's way of vocalizing that have nothing to do with Bellini. What does actually make the essence of the music of Bellini is the simplicity and purity of the melody. No need at all to add any note. It´s a pity because the voice and phrasing are beautiful.
commento saggio e intelligente! per me il vero problema non è stilistico. la verità è che Beverly Sills era un fenomeno e come tale disturba con il suo genio e il suo strumento unico. il personaggio della Giulietta di Signora Sills e molto più convincente da quelli di Anna Netrebko,Natalie Dessay e la loro compagnia. l'estetismo sterile moderno ha ucciso la bellezza divina della voce. nel 21 secolo viviamo in un mondo sordo,ceco e maleducato e non sappiamo fare la differenza tra una voce amplificata e una voce lirica vera. ah,e per dirla tutta la vera arte lirica da più di 30 anni non esiste più,è un fatto.
Embellishments are what all singers did in the era of bel canto. This is not Verdi, or Wagner. Or Mozart, for that matter, although Bartoli embellishes his music. Sills sang in the manner born of the bel canto composers. You might not like her embellishments, but you may not criticize her for embellishing.
Bellini was in advance in his time in opening the door to romanticism in opera. Nothing to do with Rossini and even Donizetti, but introducing the young Verdi. I read many books about him and he never accepted imbellishments excepted "cadences". It's true that singers even la Malibran used to sing their way but never in front of him. Bad tradition has gone and on unfortunately but at present less and less. You may like this way of singing Bellini but it is far from his intentions. Every note is in the right place outcoming in perfection.
I don't agree with you angalafan. I too have studied the three maestros of bel canto and whereas maestro Bellini's music in some of his operas IS different in style (Norma and Casta diva comes to mind immediately) to that of maestros Rossini and Donizetti, yet there were of his operas that absolutely lent themselves to the bel canto coloratura's embellishments and nowhere have I read of maestro Bellini forbidding those embellishments in his work! I Capuleti e i Montecchi and La Sonnambula, Il Pirata and I Puritani were four of the operas more frequently performed that lent themselves to allowing the coloraturas to use their own embellishments and I have never read in any of the books or online articles that I have studied that maestro Bellini expressed any opposition to this! Ms Sills in this live radio concert recording does a fabulous job and in her studio recording a few years earlier is even MORE STUPENDOUS!
I was so privileged to have seen Ms. Sills several times with the N.Y. City Opera. The mad scene in "Lucia" is forever embedded in my memories. She was a delightful and beautiful star. She is greatly missed.
I didn't have the opportunity to see her on stage but I have heard that she was absolutely impressive!
This is when she was still under the vocal guidance of the fabulous Estelle Liebling, and it shows in this unbelievably incredible performance!! No one else comes anywhere CLOSE to this level of magnificence! Not then, and CERTAINLY not now!
What range! Her beautiful voice floats effortlessly to the top of her unbelievable range. And besides all of that she is just such a nice person--no narcissistic tendencies here.
A magnificent piece of singing of a very difficult bel canto aria. This was Beverly Sills before she took on the three Donizetti Queens (Anna Bolena, Roberto Devereux and Maria Stuarda) and one can detect none of the shrillness and strident qualities that later crept into her voice. She could have had a much longer stage career had she elected not to sing those heavier roles, but she wanted to conquer those Three Queens and she did so commandingly, and never once regretted it. She was a risk taker and I salute her for it. The singing heard here is exquisite but Sills wasn't the type of artist to allow herself to ossify in this kind of operatic repertoire. She was a unique and much beloved lady.
She had already sang for over 30 years..I think the vocal cords just can't take the long stress of an operatic career longer than that... the body gives out. We ain't 20 no more! 😆 men can go a little longer with our thick tough cords, but not the highest sopranos...
@@jimbuxton2187I think caballe held on to her voice better than most
Her voice is like silk, her delivery divine. What a blessing to be able to listen to her, even now, beyond her death. And besides being the best Bel Canto singer to grace the planet, she was truly a kind and compassionate human being.
I am a complete Opera ignoramus, and love reading all the comments here. Fascinating. I intend to purchase a CD of this glorious voice and fill my home with it. Thank you for posting this.
The voice shimmers with beauty, and Sills was far and away the best singing actress I've ever seen. Most opera singers park their bodies on stage and sing. They have no idea what to do on a stage.
No one could sings like LA FENOMENA ❤❤❤
One of the most exquisite voices in opera.
Just stunningly beautiful - who can sing that today like that ? NO ONE
I understood this was recorded in 1967 in a Cologne studio for broadcast on German Radio. Incomparable and stupefyingly gorgeous singing. Brava Beverly and Bravo maestrojimbo!!!!
Any simple song can become more beautiful. Sills has a beautiful voice and expression. Songs I sing simply cannot impart the power of what she worked so hard to add. This would be the lace on the wedding dress.
I've sang a lot of arias, but only because of Beverly. I heard her sing when I was young and aspired to her amazing vocal placement, and agility, the depth and range of her performances to me are the pinnacle of the craft, the love for the music, and not for praise. A singular performer.
I feel really bad for the nine people who don't like this.
they can hear, but can't understand. I pity them
Madame Sills vous m'émeuvez toujours votre voix me fait penser aux anges du paradis, jamais je ne me lasserai de vous écouter
Absolutely stunning! What a great Bel Canto singer !
music that runs up and down the spine, seemingly effortless and yet impossible at the same time. one of a kind.
Considering this is a live recording it is magnificent! I have the studio recorded Donizetti and Bellini Heroines LP and CD and she is even MORE stunning on that production and one just cannot comprehend that an individual could actually sing like that! Bravissima!
It is not live. It was recorded in the studios of the Norddeutsche Rundfunk in Cologne. That's why the recording quality is so good.
Most perfect belcanto.
R.I.P. Divina!
Davvero bravissima.
Stile, eleganza, voce.
this one is even more beautiful from her first recorded one, that voice upper range floats us up to heaven
Wonderful timbre and singing !!!!!
"O quante volte" from "I Capuleti e i Montecchi" - Vincenzo Bellini. Brava Beverly Sills!
I still miss her. :'(
Gorgeous Singing!!!!
Sills' performance simply takes my breath away, every time I listen. It's so beautiful and pure!
Truly astonishing that this is live!
This was Sills at her best.
Absolutely thrilling. I quite agree with Uncle Louie. Brilliant as this recording is, the Westminster LP version is even more exciting. There, Sills sings an octave instead of a minor sixth as in this recording. The high note comes from nowhere; it is tack on. The effect is astounding. It has been an absolute thrill for me to hear that recording every time, even after so many years.
You hit it!
Is there a UA-cam ink to the Westminster recording?
I've always felt that Westminster LP of bel canto arias (the one with her in the green dress on the cover, I believe?) was an incredible album. The conductor was Jussi Jalas. What a pity the entire disc was never issued intact on CD... or am I wrong? Along with the French arias album conducted by Charles Mackerras, it ranks with her finest recordings. Thanks for posting! :)
Yes, yes, yes!
@@treesny I've got a CD of the Westminster bel canto arias. And another re-issue is also available on some streaming platforms such as Tidal and Apple Music.
This is a glorious performance and I love the Donizetti additions !!!!!
WOW, I never heard this before sung by Bev. just wonderful!! Thanks for posting this!
Sills was a wonder. Technically vocally interpretavely . She thrilled.
magnifique ! Merci beaucoup
Amazing singing. I know Sills and Sutherland often sang the same repertoire, and I don't mean to take anything away from Sutherland,; Sutherland may have had the bigger voice, but nowhere near the passion of Sills. Sill repeatedly gave me chills.
Magnifique B hills ! Merci beaucoup !
The entire Cologne radio recital is amazing singing.
Stupenda!
Beautiful
The best coloratura in history. Staggering.
Wow! Thanks for this version. I have the Westminster LP which I have played many many times. The "O Quante Volte" cut is my favorite on that album. Now that I know there is a re-release, I shall not rest till I get my hands on it.
Love Sills forever!
@maestrojimbo You have one up on me Jim, I haven't heard the new re release. THAT recording just has to be one of the wonders of Beverly Sills. Sheer vocal brilliance that is unrivalled. Beverly said that she didn't know if she would ever get the chance to record anything else in her lifetime. She was determined to 'hit the listener over the head' with all of her ornamentation. I am happy to report that I still suffer from concussion!!!
So beautiful. This is simply the best if this aria Her studio recording has at least one more interrelated high note which is even more beautiful. Well that’s what I think anyway. This aria on that recording will ring in my memory until I die.
"L'aura che spira intorno mi sembra un tuo sospir". She beautifully matches the text with the music.
Beverly in her prime...listen to how close her vibrations are.... amazing.
Absolutely fabulous and I don't argue with any of you but I think the studio recording being slower is more elegant in it's embellishments. I miss the trills and the two octave leap at the end and there was more pathos is the slower tempo. I remember her fans ripping up the telephone books into confetti at the State Theater during her curtain calls after Roberto Devereux.
A magnificent singer, supreme stylist and wonderful human being. We'll miss you forever, Beverly.
inolvidable voz
If you've got it honey..."Flaunt It!!".......that was the essence of bel canto...when written.......For example Caballe may have cut Lucia down to its "basics" on her recording, some years ago, but was that truly by choice or vocal capability necessity.......Chief of the "Callas widowers" as I admit to being, I'm not beyond owning up to the fact that Maria's motives were often more akin to the latter too, rather than any artistic rationale......................I'm thrilled by the Joans and the Beverly's of this world giving it ALL, when they've got it to give.....and one in the eye for the unimaginative "I Puritani"........Cromwell has been dead for a great many centuries!!!!.......THANK GOD!!!...Ha ha ha
Bravo !!
Outstanding😱!
THE BEST
I have a readers digest recording she recorded of this, this is perfect but her floaty upper silver pure clarity still makes me cry,Only 78 when she passed
She retired from performing at age 50.
Stupefacente...
SUBLIME !
MAGNIFICA !
SPLENDIDA !
DIVINA .
The W. LP is slightly different. If I had to choose - I'd choose the recording. Why? It's Unfukin'believable. Most beautiful aria she ever recorded and- in her absolute prime.
The recording, it was her first solo recording, is astonishing. I love it for what it is. But it does gild the lily, overly embellished and with some trills that are not exactly beautiful, if you know what I mean. This performance is perfection, and simpler in the sense of less is more, and the less more beautiful. You rarely will hear a performance by any singer, of any vocal range and in any genre, as perfect as this one by Sills in 1971 in Köln.
Perfect. Period.
@Palmerito
The newer release has been out for a few years, but it is not the entire album. By the way, you probably know that the entire opera was recorded also, with O Quante included of course. That version is much different that you'd expect, but still excellent. The choice of using Janet Baker was genius - their voices blend as well as Horne and Sutherland. Gedda is also on that recording and the three are perfect together.
Divine!
Maravilhosa! Bravissima!
This recording should have gone to space along with Bach etc... in the capsule..
Tecnica e gusto sublime! Swing ok
Every once in a while an angel is allowed out to show us their are better places we can go
Her last few notes, and Pavoratti's last 2 notes singing Nessun Dorma insure their their musical immortality.
PAVORATTI?
GRANDE INTERPRÉTATION
Wow, no one like her.
Callas and Sills are the queens of Bel Canto and specially Bellini. Period!
What did Callas think of Sills?
She was so perfect in this lyrico-coloratura repertoire, perhaps even more in French roles such as Manon. Her Baby Doe is still the gold standard. I think the heavier roles such as the Bolena and Devereaux did a lot of damage to her shimmering and delicate instrument.
She owned Donizetti's music.
But this is Bellini!
My God it is, of course. Might better say Bell Canto, covering both.
Gary N. Reese Pity she never sang "BEATRICE DI TENDA", " IL PIRATA" and "LA STRANIERA" by the same author!
@MrAndredekock Yes, I agree! I wore out ay least 3 D and B LPs .
@petelovesbevsills
You are most likely correct - there's no applause or audience sound. I used to have the record but this cd doesn't have the correct info - just says Koln, 1968 and Paris 1971. I remember that Una voce poco fa was on the live recital (Koln) and was the best I'd ever heard her sing. Have you heard that? (Also another Zerbinetta).
The voice of a Goddess..
SUBLIME!!!
@petelovesbevsills
Pete-even though I love this performance, the Bellini and Donizetti Heroines recording is startling, mesmerizing and over-the-top by comparison. I used to listen to it over and over in disbelief that anyone could sing like that! The reissue in the past few years is in better sound. The early Westminster label recordings did not really capture the lower overtones in her voice . In her live performance I was pleasantly surprised at how much better she sounded.
maestrojimbo I have the LP of Bellini Donizetti Heroines. I had brought it to my audio guru for a listen on his super equipment. Wow, what a revelation! And then he cleaned the record in his machine. I couldn’t believe the difference, it was absolutely magical, a huge improvement in sound! My audio guy is not particularly into opera but he stopped work and came over to listen. And kept listening. Beverly was that great!
Che usignolo!
The only person who manages to have ZERO dislikes. Amazing.
Actually, most of my opera friends dislike her intensely. It is rare and a pleasure to find someone who cherishes her as much as I do.
and still zero 2 yrs later ;)
Gary N. Reese Disliked her? Why?
Surely because they preferred Sutherland, right?
I adore Sills, Sutherland & Callas. All for different reasons. If you can't learn how to appreciate what each brings to the table then to me you aren't a real opera aficionado.
한국의 가을날씨처럼 투명하고 높은 지고의 격조! 정녕 신이 내린 맑고 순수한 소프라노..
Please translate into English.
Definitely not of ‘this’ world!
Maria Callas got all the plaudits, but she never sounded as good as this. Pure bliss.
Bervely Sills is a huge belcantist singer, but I don't really understand why she needed to add those top notes and some Donizetti's way of vocalizing that have nothing to do with Bellini.
What does actually make the essence of the music of Bellini is the simplicity and purity of the melody. No need at all to add any note. It´s a pity because the voice and phrasing are beautiful.
commento saggio e intelligente!
per me il vero problema non è stilistico.
la verità è che Beverly Sills era un fenomeno e come tale disturba con il suo genio e il suo strumento unico.
il personaggio della Giulietta di Signora Sills e molto più convincente da quelli di Anna Netrebko,Natalie Dessay e la loro compagnia.
l'estetismo sterile moderno ha ucciso la bellezza divina della voce.
nel 21 secolo viviamo in un mondo sordo,ceco e maleducato e non sappiamo fare la differenza tra una voce amplificata e una voce lirica vera.
ah,e per dirla tutta la vera arte lirica da più di 30 anni non esiste più,è un fatto.
I am inclined to agree. Bubble's voice here is lovely and fresh, but this Bellini aria is perfection as written, and isn't helped by embellishments.
Embellishments are what all singers did in the era of bel canto. This is not Verdi, or Wagner. Or Mozart, for that matter, although Bartoli embellishes his music. Sills sang in the manner born of the bel canto composers. You might not like her embellishments, but you may not criticize her for embellishing.
Bellini was in advance in his time in opening the door to romanticism in opera. Nothing to do with Rossini and even Donizetti, but introducing the young Verdi. I read many books about him and he never accepted imbellishments excepted "cadences". It's true that singers even la Malibran used to sing their way but never in front of him. Bad tradition has gone and on unfortunately but at present less and less. You may like this way of singing Bellini but it is far from his intentions. Every note is in the right place outcoming in perfection.
I don't agree with you angalafan. I too have studied the three maestros of bel canto and whereas maestro Bellini's music in some of his operas IS different in style (Norma and Casta diva comes to mind immediately) to that of maestros Rossini and Donizetti, yet there were of his operas that absolutely lent themselves to the bel canto coloratura's embellishments and nowhere have I read of maestro Bellini forbidding those embellishments in his work! I Capuleti e i Montecchi and La Sonnambula, Il Pirata and I Puritani were four of the operas more frequently performed that lent themselves to allowing the coloraturas to use their own embellishments and I have never read in any of the books or online articles that I have studied that maestro Bellini expressed any opposition to this! Ms Sills in this live radio concert recording does a fabulous job and in her studio recording a few years earlier is even MORE STUPENDOUS!