For bel canto, Sills is the one for me. Others had marvelous technique - Sutherland, Caballe, Gencer, Callas, but Sills had a warmth, spirit, and dazzling coloratura abilities that were far more exciting, combined with her terrific acting prowess..she totally committed to bringing her characters to life..this aria is easy for her!
Dear "asdfopera" - Ms. Sills did more to expand the opera audience on the Tonight Show than probably any other human being. Her "dabs" of opera no doubt were carefully chosen (along with embelishments) to be just enough to hold interest in what then was still a very elite art form. You should be praising her for an eloquent delivery which i have NO DOUBT she was pleased with. (thanks Pete for your note!!) How many opera singers are on the Tonight Show these days?
A total of NONE. Beverly was determined to put opera on the map and she suceeded so perfectly. Today we have a dismal array of ho dee hum, oh my gosh, oopsy daisy, useless singers who would faint at the thought of being on a show like this! THEY would never dream of humanising opera. Brava Diva and well done irrespective of what "adsfopera" says,(who cares anyway?)
I think when Beverly sang these snippets for Tonight show appearances, it was about entertainment, not opera. But even taking the venue into account, the tempo and the embellishments were not substantially different than those used during a real performance in Philadelphia with Pavarotti. You go girl!
She just happened to be billed as the "fastest voice alive".Bellini did write the word "cadenza" in his score and most importantly, Beverly was very happy with her performance as were the audience.
WE WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT VOICE, THAT SMILE, THAT PERSONALITY, THAT SPIRIT, THAT GENEROUS SOUL WHO WAS BEVERLY SILLS !
raymeo888 1 year ago 3
E' incredibile, bella e brava! Ci mancherai molto!
0137890 1 year ago 2
For bel canto, Sills is the one for me. Others had marvelous technique - Sutherland, Caballe, Gencer, Callas, but Sills had a warmth, spirit, and dazzling coloratura abilities that were far more exciting, combined with her terrific acting prowess..she totally committed to bringing her characters to life..this aria is easy for her!
MastersoftheOpera 2 years ago 5
I love Beverly Sills.
sandhi9 2 years ago 9
Dear "asdfopera" - Ms. Sills did more to expand the opera audience on the Tonight Show than probably any other human being. Her "dabs" of opera no doubt were carefully chosen (along with embelishments) to be just enough to hold interest in what then was still a very elite art form. You should be praising her for an eloquent delivery which i have NO DOUBT she was pleased with. (thanks Pete for your note!!) How many opera singers are on the Tonight Show these days?
bedwardb 2 years ago 12
A total of NONE. Beverly was determined to put opera on the map and she suceeded so perfectly. Today we have a dismal array of ho dee hum, oh my gosh, oopsy daisy, useless singers who would faint at the thought of being on a show like this! THEY would never dream of humanising opera. Brava Diva and well done irrespective of what "adsfopera" says,(who cares anyway?)
petelovesbevsills 2 years ago 5
I love the "Sills" bounce that goes along with the after beats :) Great voice!
figaro0606 2 years ago 2
I thought it was fairly standard ornamentation.
babycatcher2004 2 years ago
I think when Beverly sang these snippets for Tonight show appearances, it was about entertainment, not opera. But even taking the venue into account, the tempo and the embellishments were not substantially different than those used during a real performance in Philadelphia with Pavarotti. You go girl!
chsiegel 2 years ago 3
Why in C major rather than the usual D major?
sutherland9 2 years ago 2
It's odd that she's transposing this aria down a whole tone to C major. In 1973 she was still at her peak.
sutherland9 2 years ago
Too fast and over-ornamented. From the way she looks at the end I don't think even she was happy with it.
asdfopera 2 years ago
She just happened to be billed as the "fastest voice alive".Bellini did write the word "cadenza" in his score and most importantly, Beverly was very happy with her performance as were the audience.
petelovesbevsills 2 years ago 4
No wonder the audience went insane when Bev made her debut as Elvira!! Vincenzo Bellini's hands must have been raw from clapping too!
petelovesbevsills 2 years ago