Beverly Sills - Zerbinetta's aria - Ariadne auf Naxos

[maestrojimbo]

She performed the F#s at the Tanglewood performance with Leinsdorf.

[Snowydog123]

Aren't we lucky to have this wonderful document of Sills in unusual repetoire (for her) and fresh voice. Please do not misunderstand me, many of the later videos of her in her more central repetoire are wonderful, too. The way she execultes the trills in the middle, well only one singer ever could execute trills as precise as that, Joan Sutherland and she never even sang this aria once. Sills was a great great artist and I will remember all the performances I was lucky enough to see forever.

[skitzo429]

I dont really see the sense in singing the original higher key version if she was going to omit all of the F#s

[Csanfer14]

This is one of the Arias in which really like her....I don´t like her in all the coloratura rolls but this performance was and still is really exceptional!

[junefun55]

When Sills, Sutherland and Caballe were all singing we took it for granted! Each wonderful in their own way. This is dazzling.

[mamatis]

heavenly

[mmbriggs]

anyone who charctareized sills as being of slender vocal means, must be serioulsy devoid of any knowledge of opera or vocalize, what a bore you are!

[godivapaw]

It simply means that they are hard of hearing if they think that.

[DivaDeb1234]

It's ALL so easy for her !

[rubenmsk]

well it's a really good work after all, the some notes missing if you heard the gruberova's rendition U can see there's a few notes that sills doesn't play.

but i repeat it's a really good work 'cause almost no one sing the original version of this aria.

i'm sure strauss where ever he is is very proud of sills

[celticears]

Not sure if you have access to the entire performance from which this is excerpted, and I think you are aware that this is the original (considerably longer and a third higher) vers. of the aria, but it might be news to you that it was a live performance. When the audience won't stop clapping at the end, Maestro Leinsdorf appears not to know whether to be annoyed or proud.

[bkmustang07]

what was the highest note she ever played with was it Eb or E

[opera7bubbles]

She did sing the Queen of the night, so it'd be an F. However, in her autobiography she said she did in fact perform the 1912 (or whatever) version of Ariadne with the F#s. And, at the end of the terzetone in her live 1969 L'assedio she either hits and holds an E or an F I don't quite remember.

[bkmustang07]

Oh ok thanks I love Sills I like some of the creative runs she does and her breath control was out of this world

[LLehmannfan]

@opera7bubbles Yes, that's right. She sings the original version of this aria, which Strauss had to put aside, because the singer he wanted to sing Zerbinetta (by the way - German Coloratura Frieda Hempel) was not able to stop her contract with the Metropolitan Opera. The revision of the aria was much less difficult.

[skitzo429]

@opera7bubbles this is the 1912 version, and she omitted all of the F#s

[RoOodOoOloOmeg]

@skitzo429 Dude, the aria last ten minutes and the F#s are two or three plus the final F. Who cares those four or five notes? Didn't you listen to the whole 1912 version of this aria? Even if high notes are omitted, this is hystorical.

[hillevifan]

could you please post the composer's aria (sein wir wieder gut)? I would love to see it!

[drdre333]

She's doing the original version! 8-)

[rawdonqueen]

I think that a Sills performance is a triumph of style and intelligence over slender vocal means. She is charming here and her high notes are still easy to listen to. 4.5/5

[celticears]

You are joking, right? There's nothing 'slender' about that talent.