11 sopranos in Roberto Devereux's cabaletta part 3/3

[liguten]

CABALLE THE FIRST!!!!!!!!!

[thereza25]

@liguten I agree

[arturo8402]

Sills was amazing as Elizabeth, what the voice lacks in heft, it makes up for in beauty and agility!!

[dougbalt]

I was pleasantly surprised with Nelly Miricioiu. Just can't overemphasize how coloraturafan and others on youtube have expanded society's appreciation for a larger variety of opera singers' work.

[giant469]

Pity indeed, Coloraturafan, that there's no video associated with Sills' cabaletta: Beverly must not only be heard, but also seen, and VAI's recording is a masterpiece. In my opinion, Caballé -- wonderful Lucrezia and Gemma -- was not credible as Elisabetta, whose role, unfortunately, is not made of arie and cabalette only (at the end of the 1st act, for instance, Caballé sounds exhausted, not to talk about "Quel sangue versato").

[troppofiato]

Why include only the second half of Caballe's cabaletta? The high C at the end of the first verse alone obliterate's Sill's bird-like approach to this dramatic music.

[emf1918]

If anyone wants to hear vocal perfection then i urge you to listen to Caballe's vivi ingrato - the breath control and piano top notes are heavenly. if you can get a copy of her tanti affeti from la donna del lago from 1970 it is a master class in bel canto no one can surpass this amazingly gifted singer, at the heights of her powers she was the embodiment of her art....and she is a beautiful human being to boot!!! long live caballe!!!

[dt195k2]

This series of 3 videos for these 11 ladies in 5 decades was lots of fun to watch/hear. It was great to have at least 1 rep in each decade with voices both familiar and not so familiar. Overall though IMHO it seems Ms. Sills has the gold medal, though all were enjoyable. In her 1st book Sills noted she considered Elizabeth her finest artistic achievement and she may be right (tho I do like her studio Anna a lot). Thanks for all your work posting these.

[mmbriggs]

sills and city opera had a continuing arrangment with wolf trap festival outside washington, d.c. in va. that is where she sang her outdoor summer devereuxs, as well as her violetta, and marie in fille du regiment. these performances were in the mid to late 1970's. sills retired from singing in 1980.

[mmbriggs]

yes and as for sills norma, i was there for the first of her newark performances-- imissed the earlier boston run of normas--and she was no less than incredible. her casta diva was sung leggiero and she her tone was incredilby pure, delicate, and steady. when she came out for her cutain calls, sills for once, was still in character, that is, still shaken by the her performance and in tears

[mmbriggs]

i was there on opening night for sills first devereux at nyco and she was no less than incredilbe. and because the role was so little sung before sills in nyc, i don't believe the critics of the public understood how incredibly difficult the role is, as shown by other singers who have assumed it since, based on sills popularizataion of it, and provide a record of the pitfalls that sills overcame in all respects. and i haven't even touched upon her incredilbe acting . she was queen elizabeth.

[MastersoftheOpera]

Amen! She popularized the role. Not even Maria Callas ever sang it. It's a role that is said to be as difficult as Norma (which Sills also sang by the way). She lived the part, she sang with expressive dramatic deliverance, fury and sensitivity. She is the Queen. R.I.P. Bev

[mekarts2]

Strictly talking about this cabaletta I find Miricioiu to be superior to Gencer and Caballe (which don't seem to be in their element with the coloratura). I find it quit odd how people dismiss Miricioiu's performances (in general) - she's a stunning actress, capable of singing a wide variety of roles, very committed. Her voice is quite small but then again, it all depends on the acoustics of the theater.

[tetrazzini]

@mekarts2 Completeley share your opinion

[yodavidnavarro]

Sills' the best Elisabethan!

[primohomme]

Out of them the only one with the right tone and low register for this role is Gencer, but the best coloratura...Sills.

[OperaBuff1935]

I love Beverly Sills and I love her performance in all of the Donizetti "Queen" operas. I was blessed to be a chorus member in all 3 of them -Summer Opera Theater of Washington, D.C.- summers of 1989, 1990,and 1991.I think Deveraux was 1991 but I'd have to get my programs out to check.Staging was great! Costumes were fabulous, lots of chorus, all in Italian. Staged and costumed by the late John Lehmeyer of Baltimore. I loved every minute of it. I can still sing some of it. Brava, divas!

[Dymension]

Ooh, check those dates again...Sills was retired by 1989. Unless of course you were referring to performances which didn't feature Sills...

[hwhap13]

The recording of The Three Queens with Beverly Sills is by far the best of them all out there.

[enfava]

She was amazing! Unfortunately the vibrato set a shadow in her final performances but... she was unique and her voice, perfect!

[beefnotfish]

If you haven't listenend to the Sills recording of this...you MUST! Really...If given a chance(and who gets it?) to see a star in their prime do this role...wouldn't you go see BEverly Sills????? I would!

[sevoflurane]

I have always loved this cabaletta, and it was Sills who made me love it. It requires a flexibility in coloratura and the ability to make the coloratura sound dramatic. Gencer makes a mess of the score, with some embarassing moments. Caballe is great, of course, but seems to struggle with coloratura di forza. Aunty Nelly is more polished than usual but the characterisation does not take off.

[MusicaParola]

Caballé was wonderful in Devereux, especially when she was in bella. I never saw Miricioiu or Gencer in this role. Then there is Sills, who stated Roberto Devereux was her single greatest artistic achievement. I saw her twice in this role, at NYCO and Wolf Trap. Her voice was clearly too light for this difficult part; as mentioned, somehow she made it work. One left the theatre numb, astonished, having witnessed something special. She was simply unforgettable.

[MusicaParola]

"...in bella voce."

[WiseMonki]

1. Caballe (super ending).

2. Sills/Gencer.

Great post.

[petelovesbevsills]

Miss SILLS is "simply the BEST! Brava Diva!

[Elisabetta611]

1) Beverly

2) Leyla

3) Nelly

[mjmacmtenor]

Sills was always a bit of a paradox. She had amazing coloratura skills, great musical insights, and fantastic dramatic skills. However, she had a lighter voice that was not by nature suited to the roles that were most interesting to her. Somehow she seems to have made it work most of the time. She has said that her only PERFECT performance (vocally, musically, dramatically)was opening night of Devereux. Too bad there is no record of this.

[Sesto73]

BEVERLY SILLS!!! :-)))

[pziglioli]

Sills is surprisingly good, not irritating as usual (sorry, this is what I feel when I listen to her), Gencer provides a middle-of-the-road effort and Caballé is definitely too young to be convincing in this heavy role. An interesting selection, though.

[songbirdwatcher]

Sills does that thing -- that "Sills" thing where she is just so brilliant even with a small voice in a role she shouldn't really be singing. Amazing artistry. I like Gencer -- like Sills' big sister (but somehow less impressive).