Unfortunately there is no recording of Ms Sills singing the very challenging aria "Involami" from the opera Ernani, which she sang on German Radio in the early 1970's. I friend of mine made a tape recording of the transcription as she was being interviewed on FM Radio in NYC, and sent a copy to me which I love. The closest thing to Sills singing Involami which you can find on You Tube is from a recording as sung by the young Anna Moffo.
@Republicrat74 Pardon me sir! Beverly Sills did indeed record "Ernani, involvami"!Aldo Ceccato conducted. Its from an unfinished recording of Verdi aria but these were released in the 1980's by EMI on Beverly Sills sings Verdi CDC - 7 47383 2.You can by it used on Amazon. BTW all those Verdi arias were recylced a dozen times on various DG compilations.These are not RARE by any means. BTW I wish the Moffo Verdi recital were released on CD.Maybe TESTAMENT from the UK who have released other Moffo
I can't believe all of the arm-chair critics who set themselves up as vocal or operatic experts. Why can't people just enjoy the beauty of her voice, the excitement of the moment, and let the little bauble at the end be just that? She went on to sing for many, many years and sang lots of brilliant performances after that. Sometimes the internet is a dangerous thing...
To all you mean, nasty critics, stop it. It was 1955 and no one knew who Beverly Sills was. She was not yet a big star. She was performing opera in small American theaters. Composer Douglas Moore wrote Ballad of Baby Doe for her and that is her finest 50's singing. It was not until the end of the 60's and all of the 70's that she became famous. She sang Traviata more than 50 times and she was wonderful as Violetta. Her recording is much better than this footage. She's young and nervous here
@MastersoftheOpera Baby Doe was premiered with Dolores Wilson. When it was brought to the NY City Opera, Beverly got the role. IT WAS NOT WRITTEN FOR BEVERLY!
@Buzaglod She had trouble with the attack...tried to do it too big, and had to back off, lighten up, and then it worked. Saying she 'falls flat' really shows no understanding of how vocal technique works.
@Buzaglod Beverly Sills said in an interview that in opera one sings thousand and thousand of notes, if you get one wrong does that mean the whole opera gets written off? What a wise lady she was. I see you favour Callas. She was nothing short of spectacular but, did you know she too "falls flat" on notes?
sills technique flawed? how about flawless performances of manon, lucia, fille du regiment, maria stuarda, anna bolena, queen of the night, the original zerbinetta aria. cleopatra, tales of hoffman, seraglio, to name a few! how about hearing her sing 15 lucias live, never missing a note!!! as for sills here, she was 26, the voice was youthful and not fully cured, like sutherland, horne, nillson, and many others sills voice matured later. at her best, sills coudl do it all
Pretty impressive performance by a 26-year old soprano, on LIVE television! Interesting that they cut all of "Ah, fors' é lui" for this broadcast. Sills looks and sounds marvelous... you can clearly see and hear the extraordinary artist she was becoming. And no, her technique was certainly NOT flawed... she just had a small crack at the very extreme high end of her range. You guys do know that the high E-flat is an OPTION, right... Verdi didn't write it.
To me that was a perfectly good high note at the end! There was just a little phlem passed through the cords. She can't help that! She held on to and kept going to the end of the note value...very few people can do it at all !!
that is the first and last time i ever heard her stuff up a high note. And listen folks... imagine there was such a thing as a perfect interpretation of ANY aria. What a boring world that would be!
Arguably one of the greatest artist who has ever walked the face of this earth. BTW, it's an e FLAT not an e...and many of the other wonderful artists who sang this role didn't even attempt it. In my humble opinion the high note is great - it cracked but what the heck, my voice cracks sometimes when I'm just speaking. Thank you Bubbles for all you gave to us.
No it's a D # (joking). This guy was clearly stating that it was an E regardless of what accidental was in front. His point is well taken, she cracked. No excuses for cracking, if she was having an off day then she should have cancelled. This is not the case, she clearly did have "flawed" vocal technique as SOscarlet stated. Btw, who do you mean, when you say many other wonderful artists? MY favs like Callas and Tebaldi; who were singers, not artists, always took the e FLAT. Just a thought
Actually, I've never heard Tebaldi take the Eb, and both Callas and Tebaldi were both singers and artists (especially Callas). And it's actually an Eb, not a D#. The aria is in Ab, so Eb is the dominant.
I have not heard any Caballe recordings of anything higher than a D-flat..not that there is ANYTHING wrong with that...no one sang pianissimi as she did
Tebaldi never had an E-flat for one and two, Callas was known for being an artist more than a singer. Her acting skills portrayed on stage and used in her singing voice was an art in itself. And it would have been completely unprofessional for Sills to have cancelled a telecasted performance just because of an off day. She cracked on one note, big deal! She was young and it was a really high note, her E-flat's were uncomparable. And her technique was fine for a 26 yr old prob just out of school
Callas was less of a technician then someone like sills or southerland, however what makes her in my opinion the greatest recorded Opera (not lieder or Chanson) soprano ever to live is the passion and energy she put into her characters, its pretty increadible
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She cracked on the E. I never thought Beverly Sills was good, and she even stated in many ways that she wasn't good. This wasn't modesty; deep down, she knew that she was nothing more than a cute commercialized package. For what she was, she was great, but she is NOT one of the greats like Callas or Tebaldi. She does however, deserve reverence; NYC opera would be dead if it were not for this woman. God bless her for living the life that she lived and for all the good she did for opera.
No I'm not out of my mind. Sills' technique was flawed, this is not to say that she wasn't talented, I firmly believe that she had a great instrument, but did not know how to use it. This is what I mean about her not being good; her technique. It is a shame because I know many singers who have this same problem. None of my statements were rude and yes it is true that in many interviews she stated that she was not one of the greats. I'm sorry if you were offended by my remarks.
Why do we always have to speak in terms of "better". Some people like lighter voices, some like heavier, some like interpolations, some like it straight.. Or at the very least, acknowledge, the obvious: you are making a subjective judgement.
tough to say Sills wasn't good, perhaps you didn't like her voice, but she was acclaimed the world over, and she was quite good. I am not a great fan of Callas, but she was clearly good.
This was recorded her heyday (pity the technology didn't do her justice). Her voice teacher was still guiding her choices of roles and Beverly's voice was utterly glorious. All you critics, you try to do what she did....
If this recording was done when she was 26, I don't think she reached her "heyday" yet. She still sounds like a young singer, a good one, but a young one. Of course, I'm saying this from a single recording which may or may not reflect the true value of her voice at that time. I hear here a forshadowing of the Sills to come.
Sounds like she just backed away from the note for a sec!! But, geez...give her a break!! I would like to see 1/2 of the people critiquing her do that as flawlessly as she did!!
the efalt here wasn't written, but it is far from correct to say that verdi didn't intend it as a choice. it seems absurd to ignore the fact of the approach to think that verdi didn't have the eflat in mind for sopranos who could deliver it, while allowing for others to end wihtout it. traviata is still fairly early mature verdi, and its mid-century date places well within the orb of bel canto styles and traditions as a cadenza for the paricular skills of the soprano at hand>
there is certainly more to roles than high notes, but verdi didnt write that Eb, its an ad-lib that is just a convention done a lot of the time, and i think sopranos should choose wisely when including things like that in performance. the standard repertoire is loaded with arias just like this where history has fostered adlibbing high D's, Eb's, E's, and F's, the composers didnt write most of the big climax high notes that we hear all the time in performance.
Crack or not she was fantastic and I have tons of her live and never heard her crack so big deal they are all human and ALL crack at some time or other, all it takes is some flem and bang, Corelli, Bergonzi,Domingo all greats and many nore I have heard crack in the house, even Bjorling just to name tenors and Heppner when he was on blood pressure pills that dried his throat. BRAVA THE YOUNG SILLS HERE!
It is beautiful. What a voice. And sevoflurane is right, there is more to the role then the E flat. And it is crack in her voice, listen to the orchestra, the chord under the E flat stays the same. But who cares. She song it wonderfully.
Honestly, this crack sounds more like a problem with the recording than a problem with her voice. Viva Sills! She was fantastic even at this very young age.
An E flat never makes a Violetta greater, in my opinion. It is nice to hear, but there is much more to the rola than a flashy note, and Sills has always sung a lot more than E flats.
It's really not a "crack" 0 just a minor "burble" that she immediately recovered from and continued to hold the note. Bev is YOUNG here - Brava, Diva!!! Well done!
ImThinking...If you go back to my original comment...that is EXACTLY what I said before I was attacked. I agree with you totally. Humans can't be perfect all the time, even extraordinary ones like Beverly Sills.
People, stop fighting and writting volumes of comments. Let's say that she sings very freely, as the main idea of this aria. Sempre Libera! Her voice is suitable for this. Bravaaa
un grande critico musicale ha definito la sills "usignolo rossiniano". Quest'eccezionale soprano eccelle anche nella splendida cabaletta della traviata verdiana giungendo in pari con la scotto, la più grande violetta di tutti i tempi insieme a maria callas
PS...before I have to be corrected, I realize that this particular crack does not occur in a cadenza...though as a professional coloratura soprano myself, I can say that some of the best cracks sometimes do. Preferably in rehearsal, for obvious reasons!
Obviously, Sills still sought its true repertory, the overshrill one is not yet marked. It should be said that at that time it also sang Norma... and Aïda!!!!!! but which artist sublimates it will be then and for always.
You have got to be kidding me that anyone can criticize that miniscule crack at the end. What beautiful early footage, and if it happens to contain a rare vocal foible up there in the stratosphere, I am sure she would just laugh it off in all of her charming humanity. She gave opera singers a good and realistic image. If only some of the listeners could follow suit.
come on angel, minuscule? if u crack at all the ruins it. it is not a foible. for an opera singer of her caliber a foible is being sharp or flat. but a crack is horrendous and ruins a song NO MATTER WHAT!
I cannot reply as I wish because I keep exceeding 500 characters...but my point is that as singers, just as in regular life, sometimes our bodies fail us, regardless of how flawlees our technique in whatever we are doing generally is. A singer's instrument is her body, and sometimes breath fails...fatigue, emotion...cadenzas are singers in their nudity and are expected to be flawless. Sometimes it doesnt happen. Ah, well.
Lazy is not necessarily an accurate word here. Have you sung that particular aria? It is not some easy little piece. By the end of the aria, perhaps she was tired and it therefore affected her breathing, which was too high to effectively approach the cracked note in question...so while what you say is correct, none of us have the right to speculate to whether she was being "lazy" (unlikely) or if the poor woman was just having a bad night. You have your thoughts, I have mine.
well maybe if we would be able to read my screen name we would realize i cannot sing this aria..phisically as i am a gentleman. Having a bad night? every note before that was right so it was a matter of poor technique for that last note as THAT is the note you save up for, which she obviously diddnt which ruined the piece. If i would have paid my good money to see her and she cracked i would be very upset. you sing opera really? isnt that interesting...
Took the words right out of my mouth. This song was beautifully done, despite the minor crack on an E flat at the very end. She's only human. And a very talented human at that.
Not sure if my comment that I just posted will be put up right away, but that was exactly the point of my original comment before people came out of the woodwork to jump all over me...even the most extraordinary singers have their less than stellar moments...this was a nanosecond long and people need to chill. I probably won't read anymore comments on this because we are back to my original point, thank you for bringing it back to that. She was human, an amazing one, but still...
It's not really much of a crack. Singers who are brave enough to take the risk of releasing their voices at the top run this risk - so breaks happen on occasion. I can't see that it damages the performance much. One turns to Sills for a sort of instinctive elegance and charm that is unspoilt here.
I sort of agree that you don't post a tribute that anyway detracts from how great a singer she was...but at the same time...who cares...this is an early document of a wonderful singer who would later on become one of the premier vocalists of our time..this clip is indespensible.
Among her many wonderful qualities, Beverly had the ability to draw her public close to her. She was accessible and did not give herself airs. Something contemporary singers need to emulate. I first her voice in 1990 when a friend loaned me a cd titled The Art of Beverly Sills. I became an instant fan. Beverly, we love you and miss you!!
A great diva and a great person! She will always be one of the best examples of how to sing with an undeniable joy of doing that. Her dramatic commitment was superb, her vocal expressivity always impeccable, her voice always silvery, gentle and haunting. With such great qualities as an artist and woman, I'm not afraid to say she's still alive among us! ;-)
A MELHOR DE TODAS!!!!
natto31 1 month ago
perfect, yet not so perfect.
asdfopera 5 months ago
THis is in a higher key isn't it.....It sound a lot higher than what I am used to hearing sopranos do today
bigdigger87 8 months ago
Unfortunately there is no recording of Ms Sills singing the very challenging aria "Involami" from the opera Ernani, which she sang on German Radio in the early 1970's. I friend of mine made a tape recording of the transcription as she was being interviewed on FM Radio in NYC, and sent a copy to me which I love. The closest thing to Sills singing Involami which you can find on You Tube is from a recording as sung by the young Anna Moffo.
Republicrat74 10 months ago
@Republicrat74 Pardon me sir! Beverly Sills did indeed record "Ernani, involvami"!Aldo Ceccato conducted. Its from an unfinished recording of Verdi aria but these were released in the 1980's by EMI on Beverly Sills sings Verdi CDC - 7 47383 2.You can by it used on Amazon. BTW all those Verdi arias were recylced a dozen times on various DG compilations.These are not RARE by any means. BTW I wish the Moffo Verdi recital were released on CD.Maybe TESTAMENT from the UK who have released other Moffo
eastsunrise 5 months ago
I can't believe all of the arm-chair critics who set themselves up as vocal or operatic experts. Why can't people just enjoy the beauty of her voice, the excitement of the moment, and let the little bauble at the end be just that? She went on to sing for many, many years and sang lots of brilliant performances after that. Sometimes the internet is a dangerous thing...
parkitrighthere 1 year ago 4
Most sopranos leave out the las "Il mio pensier" in preparation for the last high note. She did not omit it which is a tribute to her greatness.
edhunley 1 year ago
Who is the tenor?? Barry Morrell??
kmillard 1 year ago
And now Beverly truly sings with all the angels in Heaven
bleucollar 1 year ago 3
Sills was lovely.......... just lovely.. beautiful woman, beautiful young accurate, fast voice..
kgarmaker123 1 year ago
To all you mean, nasty critics, stop it. It was 1955 and no one knew who Beverly Sills was. She was not yet a big star. She was performing opera in small American theaters. Composer Douglas Moore wrote Ballad of Baby Doe for her and that is her finest 50's singing. It was not until the end of the 60's and all of the 70's that she became famous. She sang Traviata more than 50 times and she was wonderful as Violetta. Her recording is much better than this footage. She's young and nervous here
MastersoftheOpera 1 year ago
@MastersoftheOpera Baby Doe was premiered with Dolores Wilson. When it was brought to the NY City Opera, Beverly got the role. IT WAS NOT WRITTEN FOR BEVERLY!
eastsunrise 5 months ago
Mah, per cinguettare cinguetta. Most overrated singer in history of opera
Vendimi3 1 year ago
there was a glitch in the recording on the last e-flat...not her voice. how wonderful and really light she sounded at 26...whe rules!
maestromuffin1 2 years ago
amazing - this is the first video I saw of Sills in Traviata at that young age
Smile6784 2 years ago
2:27 she falls flat of the note,
Buzaglod 2 years ago
@Buzaglod She had trouble with the attack...tried to do it too big, and had to back off, lighten up, and then it worked. Saying she 'falls flat' really shows no understanding of how vocal technique works.
RossiniSoprano 2 years ago
@Buzaglod Beverly Sills said in an interview that in opera one sings thousand and thousand of notes, if you get one wrong does that mean the whole opera gets written off? What a wise lady she was. I see you favour Callas. She was nothing short of spectacular but, did you know she too "falls flat" on notes?
petelovesbevsills 1 year ago
Babs was tha shiznit, her coloratura is fantastic and so accurate.
primohomme 2 years ago 12
THanks! Shiznit is just the word! She was just too much for this world to handle!
turandot82 2 years ago
sills technique flawed? how about flawless performances of manon, lucia, fille du regiment, maria stuarda, anna bolena, queen of the night, the original zerbinetta aria. cleopatra, tales of hoffman, seraglio, to name a few! how about hearing her sing 15 lucias live, never missing a note!!! as for sills here, she was 26, the voice was youthful and not fully cured, like sutherland, horne, nillson, and many others sills voice matured later. at her best, sills coudl do it all
mmbriggs 2 years ago
Pretty impressive performance by a 26-year old soprano, on LIVE television! Interesting that they cut all of "Ah, fors' é lui" for this broadcast. Sills looks and sounds marvelous... you can clearly see and hear the extraordinary artist she was becoming. And no, her technique was certainly NOT flawed... she just had a small crack at the very extreme high end of her range. You guys do know that the high E-flat is an OPTION, right... Verdi didn't write it.
Anyone know who the tenor is?
YoungbloodG 2 years ago
To me that was a perfectly good high note at the end! There was just a little phlem passed through the cords. She can't help that! She held on to and kept going to the end of the note value...very few people can do it at all !!
DivaDeb1234 2 years ago
I sure miss her!
7inga7 2 years ago
that is the first and last time i ever heard her stuff up a high note. And listen folks... imagine there was such a thing as a perfect interpretation of ANY aria. What a boring world that would be!
beejayem76 2 years ago
Wow! She was only 26...
maryjivinjane 3 years ago
Arguably one of the greatest artist who has ever walked the face of this earth. BTW, it's an e FLAT not an e...and many of the other wonderful artists who sang this role didn't even attempt it. In my humble opinion the high note is great - it cracked but what the heck, my voice cracks sometimes when I'm just speaking. Thank you Bubbles for all you gave to us.
OrchestramanFL 3 years ago
No it's a D # (joking). This guy was clearly stating that it was an E regardless of what accidental was in front. His point is well taken, she cracked. No excuses for cracking, if she was having an off day then she should have cancelled. This is not the case, she clearly did have "flawed" vocal technique as SOscarlet stated. Btw, who do you mean, when you say many other wonderful artists? MY favs like Callas and Tebaldi; who were singers, not artists, always took the e FLAT. Just a thought
rufforocks1766 3 years ago
Actually, I've never heard Tebaldi take the Eb, and both Callas and Tebaldi were both singers and artists (especially Callas). And it's actually an Eb, not a D#. The aria is in Ab, so Eb is the dominant.
latraviata1853 3 years ago
I may be wrong but I'm pretty sure Tebaldi was unable to go past High C
jhughessings 3 years ago 2
I don't think Caballe takes the Eb either.
coopandre 3 years ago
I have not heard any Caballe recordings of anything higher than a D-flat..not that there is ANYTHING wrong with that...no one sang pianissimi as she did
JDOopera76 2 years ago
She had a high D but there are only 2 recordings with one.
primohomme 2 years ago
Didn't she do one recorded E-flat.
AuthenticFeirce 2 years ago
Maria? She did 2 high E's and one high F.
primohomme 2 years ago
No Caballe, I heard she had one high E-flat. Oh,BTW Callas had 3 high E's.
AuthenticFeirce 2 years ago
Tebaldi never had an E-flat for one and two, Callas was known for being an artist more than a singer. Her acting skills portrayed on stage and used in her singing voice was an art in itself. And it would have been completely unprofessional for Sills to have cancelled a telecasted performance just because of an off day. She cracked on one note, big deal! She was young and it was a really high note, her E-flat's were uncomparable. And her technique was fine for a 26 yr old prob just out of school
titanfan5 2 years ago 2
Callas in her prime was one hell of a singer, one hell of a technician. Armida, anyone? HELLOOOO
primohomme 2 years ago
Callas took many risks with her musical choices which left her with a horrible wobble sometimes greatness demands the risk taking
11455RN 2 years ago
Callas was less of a technician then someone like sills or southerland, however what makes her in my opinion the greatest recorded Opera (not lieder or Chanson) soprano ever to live is the passion and energy she put into her characters, its pretty increadible
Buzaglod 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
She cracked on the E. I never thought Beverly Sills was good, and she even stated in many ways that she wasn't good. This wasn't modesty; deep down, she knew that she was nothing more than a cute commercialized package. For what she was, she was great, but she is NOT one of the greats like Callas or Tebaldi. She does however, deserve reverence; NYC opera would be dead if it were not for this woman. God bless her for living the life that she lived and for all the good she did for opera.
songsofscarlet 3 years ago
You're out of your mind. Your charitable last sentence doesn't excuse the rudeness of the first three.
AiTaiwandeRen 3 years ago 2
No I'm not out of my mind. Sills' technique was flawed, this is not to say that she wasn't talented, I firmly believe that she had a great instrument, but did not know how to use it. This is what I mean about her not being good; her technique. It is a shame because I know many singers who have this same problem. None of my statements were rude and yes it is true that in many interviews she stated that she was not one of the greats. I'm sorry if you were offended by my remarks.
songsofscarlet 3 years ago
Her technique was FLAWED??? You've got to be kidding.
nclysander 2 years ago 3
You can't sing coloratura runs like Sills did without knowing how to use your instrument.
Mooorhe 2 years ago
@songsofscarlet How i wish i could have made her millions on such a flawed technique
fourniturev 9 months ago
@fourniturev Yeah, but clearly YOU COULDN'T!!
ian1856 1 month ago
I think Sills is a very good actress and way better voiced than Callas...Callas is great but Sills is at least in the same league!
yodavidnavarro 3 years ago 2
Why do we always have to speak in terms of "better". Some people like lighter voices, some like heavier, some like interpolations, some like it straight.. Or at the very least, acknowledge, the obvious: you are making a subjective judgement.
coopandre 3 years ago
tough to say Sills wasn't good, perhaps you didn't like her voice, but she was acclaimed the world over, and she was quite good. I am not a great fan of Callas, but she was clearly good.
mm9913 3 years ago 2
you should check out her "da tempeste"
IfYourMomWereATaco 3 years ago
This was recorded her heyday (pity the technology didn't do her justice). Her voice teacher was still guiding her choices of roles and Beverly's voice was utterly glorious. All you critics, you try to do what she did....
nancyd560623 3 years ago
If this recording was done when she was 26, I don't think she reached her "heyday" yet. She still sounds like a young singer, a good one, but a young one. Of course, I'm saying this from a single recording which may or may not reflect the true value of her voice at that time. I hear here a forshadowing of the Sills to come.
coopandre 3 years ago
She is always so wolderful.
But the translations in that time where absolutely stupid.
How was it possible with such a big italian colony in USA?
Di voluttà perir = I have everything?
How would they translate Spaghetti = Big Mac?
However it's always a big pleasure to hear her.
marinocienaga 3 years ago
Magnificent. A great artist. Brava Beverly.
jimthewriter 3 years ago
Rare videoclip. Thanks for posting!
heartstrings76 3 years ago
Sounds like she just backed away from the note for a sec!! But, geez...give her a break!! I would like to see 1/2 of the people critiquing her do that as flawlessly as she did!!
SouthernBethany 3 years ago 8
@SouthernBethany I feel like that might be the audio cutting out for a sec
SFsuperforte 3 months ago
the efalt here wasn't written, but it is far from correct to say that verdi didn't intend it as a choice. it seems absurd to ignore the fact of the approach to think that verdi didn't have the eflat in mind for sopranos who could deliver it, while allowing for others to end wihtout it. traviata is still fairly early mature verdi, and its mid-century date places well within the orb of bel canto styles and traditions as a cadenza for the paricular skills of the soprano at hand>
mmbriggs 3 years ago
there is certainly more to roles than high notes, but verdi didnt write that Eb, its an ad-lib that is just a convention done a lot of the time, and i think sopranos should choose wisely when including things like that in performance. the standard repertoire is loaded with arias just like this where history has fostered adlibbing high D's, Eb's, E's, and F's, the composers didnt write most of the big climax high notes that we hear all the time in performance.
skitzo429 3 years ago
Crack or not she was fantastic and I have tons of her live and never heard her crack so big deal they are all human and ALL crack at some time or other, all it takes is some flem and bang, Corelli, Bergonzi,Domingo all greats and many nore I have heard crack in the house, even Bjorling just to name tenors and Heppner when he was on blood pressure pills that dried his throat. BRAVA THE YOUNG SILLS HERE!
pearlmuth3 3 years ago
It is beautiful. What a voice. And sevoflurane is right, there is more to the role then the E flat. And it is crack in her voice, listen to the orchestra, the chord under the E flat stays the same. But who cares. She song it wonderfully.
franktenor 3 years ago 2
There is no crack here. Simply a little "glitch" and some beautiful singing.
tenornmd 3 years ago 3
Honestly, this crack sounds more like a problem with the recording than a problem with her voice. Viva Sills! She was fantastic even at this very young age.
docello77 3 years ago 3
I agree that it sounds more like a fault in the recording.
annao273 3 years ago 2
An E flat never makes a Violetta greater, in my opinion. It is nice to hear, but there is much more to the rola than a flashy note, and Sills has always sung a lot more than E flats.
sevoflurane 3 years ago
It's really not a "crack" 0 just a minor "burble" that she immediately recovered from and continued to hold the note. Bev is YOUNG here - Brava, Diva!!! Well done!
jwbtenor 4 years ago
ImThinking...If you go back to my original comment...that is EXACTLY what I said before I was attacked. I agree with you totally. Humans can't be perfect all the time, even extraordinary ones like Beverly Sills.
Angelmommy419 4 years ago
People, stop fighting and writting volumes of comments. Let's say that she sings very freely, as the main idea of this aria. Sempre Libera! Her voice is suitable for this. Bravaaa
zurriuss 4 years ago
un grande critico musicale ha definito la sills "usignolo rossiniano". Quest'eccezionale soprano eccelle anche nella splendida cabaletta della traviata verdiana giungendo in pari con la scotto, la più grande violetta di tutti i tempi insieme a maria callas
figaro92 4 years ago
PS...before I have to be corrected, I realize that this particular crack does not occur in a cadenza...though as a professional coloratura soprano myself, I can say that some of the best cracks sometimes do. Preferably in rehearsal, for obvious reasons!
Angelmommy419 4 years ago
Obviously, Sills still sought its true repertory, the overshrill one is not yet marked. It should be said that at that time it also sang Norma... and Aïda!!!!!! but which artist sublimates it will be then and for always.
marioj34 4 years ago
You have got to be kidding me that anyone can criticize that miniscule crack at the end. What beautiful early footage, and if it happens to contain a rare vocal foible up there in the stratosphere, I am sure she would just laugh it off in all of her charming humanity. She gave opera singers a good and realistic image. If only some of the listeners could follow suit.
Angelmommy419 4 years ago
come on angel, minuscule? if u crack at all the ruins it. it is not a foible. for an opera singer of her caliber a foible is being sharp or flat. but a crack is horrendous and ruins a song NO MATTER WHAT!
garconfrancais01 4 years ago
I cannot reply as I wish because I keep exceeding 500 characters...but my point is that as singers, just as in regular life, sometimes our bodies fail us, regardless of how flawlees our technique in whatever we are doing generally is. A singer's instrument is her body, and sometimes breath fails...fatigue, emotion...cadenzas are singers in their nudity and are expected to be flawless. Sometimes it doesnt happen. Ah, well.
Angelmommy419 4 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
no, if you are breathing right and supporting right, you will NEVER crack. at that moment she was being lazy.
garconfrancais01 4 years ago
Lazy is not necessarily an accurate word here. Have you sung that particular aria? It is not some easy little piece. By the end of the aria, perhaps she was tired and it therefore affected her breathing, which was too high to effectively approach the cracked note in question...so while what you say is correct, none of us have the right to speculate to whether she was being "lazy" (unlikely) or if the poor woman was just having a bad night. You have your thoughts, I have mine.
Angelmommy419 4 years ago
well maybe if we would be able to read my screen name we would realize i cannot sing this aria..phisically as i am a gentleman. Having a bad night? every note before that was right so it was a matter of poor technique for that last note as THAT is the note you save up for, which she obviously diddnt which ruined the piece. If i would have paid my good money to see her and she cracked i would be very upset. you sing opera really? isnt that interesting...
garconfrancais01 4 years ago
Took the words right out of my mouth. This song was beautifully done, despite the minor crack on an E flat at the very end. She's only human. And a very talented human at that.
IMthinkingGoAway 4 years ago
Not sure if my comment that I just posted will be put up right away, but that was exactly the point of my original comment before people came out of the woodwork to jump all over me...even the most extraordinary singers have their less than stellar moments...this was a nanosecond long and people need to chill. I probably won't read anymore comments on this because we are back to my original point, thank you for bringing it back to that. She was human, an amazing one, but still...
Angelmommy419 4 years ago
THANK YOU for posting this!
maryjivinjane 4 years ago
She will live on in many, many people's memories as a magnificent woman/singer/contributor to the world of opera.
moleculeman1 4 years ago
It's not really much of a crack. Singers who are brave enough to take the risk of releasing their voices at the top run this risk - so breaks happen on occasion. I can't see that it damages the performance much. One turns to Sills for a sort of instinctive elegance and charm that is unspoilt here.
apro1 4 years ago
I sort of agree that you don't post a tribute that anyway detracts from how great a singer she was...but at the same time...who cares...this is an early document of a wonderful singer who would later on become one of the premier vocalists of our time..this clip is indespensible.
doperasinger 4 years ago 2
So interesting to watch/listen to! But for a tribute, why did you post a clip in which she cracks?
ofthekosmos 4 years ago
Among her many wonderful qualities, Beverly had the ability to draw her public close to her. She was accessible and did not give herself airs. Something contemporary singers need to emulate. I first her voice in 1990 when a friend loaned me a cd titled The Art of Beverly Sills. I became an instant fan. Beverly, we love you and miss you!!
Callas77 4 years ago
Rest in Peace, my sweet Bella Bubbles!
godivapaw 4 years ago
fascinating... let's dig up some more stuff. Love you lots Beverly Sills/Silverman!
apollodionysus7 4 years ago
A great diva and a great person! She will always be one of the best examples of how to sing with an undeniable joy of doing that. Her dramatic commitment was superb, her vocal expressivity always impeccable, her voice always silvery, gentle and haunting. With such great qualities as an artist and woman, I'm not afraid to say she's still alive among us! ;-)
OperaBR 4 years ago
beloved special Beverly, you were the GREATEST!!!!!!!
petelovesbevsills 4 years ago
Great, great Sills. Rest in Peace. I love you Beverly.
jeffchester 4 years ago