Beverly Sills as Queen Cleopatra

[hautecontrre]

Einfach, die beste Cleopatra.

Ganz wunderbar.

[TheWisemonkey8]

Goodness gracious 3:13

[wattever333]

the queen of the night can go back to bed.

[nicoletxl]

@wattever333 LOOOOOL

[Theophrastus]

You have to love the 'acting'. When I'm happy I frequently strut about with my arms out-stretched occasionally bowing for no apparent reason :-)

Great performance though and taken at a real rate of knots. I think it's the most up tempo version on youtube.

[SergeySmirnov87]

@Theophrastus I know, right? But thats the Handel way of singing/acting the arias.

[MrLupo23]

brava beverly!!!

U had to be italian ehehehhe :-)

[asdfopera]

This is amazing singing, but I've always found her coloratura too fast and some of the ornaments are a bit silly. The Sutherland studio recording of this aria displays her superior breath control, trill, and ability to shape the phrases in a more interesting way. However, Sills voice is more agile and clear than Sutherland' voice. I'd rather listen to Sutherland, but when I come back to the Sills recording I always marvel over it BEFORE I come back to reality and think about her limitations.

[tristanhnl]

A very subtle plug for Sutherland...NOT. Yes, it's fast and highly ornamented, but that's the point. Composers at the time routinely wrote show-stopping pieces to highlight certain singers' talents. In this case Sills absolutely dazzles. She also has incredible breath control and phrasing. Although while Sutherland tended to smudge almost everything she sang 1970 and onward, Sill continued to sing with crisp diction all the time. And Sills was a master at interjecting character into her singing.

[altrimenti992]

Very very fast!!!

[Goethefemme]

I have the recording in my memory from childhood, and I don't hear any difference. Is this a lip sync? Too bad nobody thought to film Treigle.

[musikphantom1881]

@Goethefemme The recording is live from their performance at NYCO I believe

[zasesdea]

but who can shut up the man?

[dacanceruwishuwere94]

and she claims that she doesn't have an italian repertoire voice?!?! this was very amazing. although, i can see the difference from valerie masterson, who is more ideally suited for this rep. beverly has tons more flexibility, as she said in her interview. but, still, she does a remarkable job here.

[JuanDiegooooo]

Beverly Sills rules !!!!

[Ctmagnus]

truly great great singing by even the highest standards, one of the best Cleopatras ever

[handelfan610]

i love how she walks around and curtsies/bows....i just really enjoy her performance of this piece. by far sills is my fave that i've heard on this number love her!

[DivaDeb1234]

Wow...this is very difficult singing. It's not easy to stand there and sing that!! LOL

[ericscam]

A far better musician than Sutherland...and not as "pipey".

[DivaDeb1234]

They were both unique in their own ways..

[p6105]

wow

[ptedeschi13]

I've loved Bubbles since the first time I ever heard. This is such a great video of one of her greatest triumphs. She is spectacular!

[tonyvillecco]

Wow-I think i DID have an orgasm during this!!! In her prime, Sills was a force to be reckoned with-wow!!!!!!!!!

[mymokshashocksya]

"period style" lol

in the baroque period, singers always did a little walk around their divans in the interludes

still, 'lest we forget', i suppose.

(though i make fun of her uninformedness, it's still Bubs.)

[1stTelmar]

Sills has easily some of the clearest trills I've heard.. Brava!

[venetianformula]

I don't like orgasms during coloratura, either. What a marvelous phrase and one worth remembering! That is really funny. I have listened to the Sutherland recording many times, and it is wonderful, but I have to admit, Sills' ability to embellish the notes is outstanding, and I actually prefer the faster tempo. What a pro she was. Her ability to communicate a sense of joy and passion is second to none. Brava!

[sfafenpoof]

i prefer this opera seria staging to the modern thrashing around you see, posing as "acting". I saw leah partridge sing this role in Miami and she humped ceasar during one of her arias - why do we need to see this? orgasms during coloratura are so vulgar to watch. this is all you need for handel- excellent singing and a pretty costume!

[meinfb]

Many years ago I drove from SF down to LA to see Sills in "Manon." The afternoon of the performance I went to the killer whale show at Marineland and who should walk in but Sills, her husband and her daughter. That night she was magnificant. And how else would this be staged??? It is opera seria for god's sake. I hope no one was expecting "dramatic tension."

[h56770]

magnificent

[raycanto76]

Sills is unbelieveable in this clip. Despite the period staging, it is a fantastic vocal display!!

[Sadiesexy]

Yes, i keep returning to this piece.

[Sadiesexy]

This was great! Pure joy!

[meltzerboy]

Turandot82, I agree with you partially. Sills has been and still is my favorite Cleopatra. However, Sutherland's performance of this aria is just as brilliant, perhaps even more so, technically. And I think Swenson's recent performance in the role is outstanding. Nonetheless, I prefer Sills for her spirit and velocity in the allegro arias of the opera and her beautiful high piani singing in the slower arias.

[turandot82]

No one can touch her embellishments in this aria! I love this performance. I keep looking for other intrepertations on Youtube, but always come back to this one.

[ypsiboi05]

i agree!!!

[marioj34]

Chanter haendel de la sorte de nos jours parait impossible. Haro sur B. Sills diraient les grandes prêtresses du baroque ! et pourtant, près de 40 ans se sont écoulés... B. Sills, votre chant est incroyablement moderne, sans parler de votre science de l'ornementation. Une sacrée leçon de chant à tous nos sopranos pépiants. Bravo.

[erzbet07]

Gracious goodness. "Dazzling" is right. Ms. Sills really impressed me! I'd never heard this aria before and she was splendid. Thank you for sharing.

[bkmustang07]

i love her embellishments

[mijst4]

Amazing! We will miss you, Ms. Sills!

[BDSCalgary]

Sills has always been my favorite Cleopatra. I loved her energy, her embellishments, and everything. Loved the fact they kept Baroque opera like Baroque opera and didn't modernize it.

[scarpia1965]

Excellent! Who will ever sing Cleopatra like our beloved Beverly? Bravissima!

[queenmaxartists]

She was amazing!!!

[foxyzzzzz]

I've been in mourning for a week, hanging out her and at beverlysills dot com every night. I hope more videos of her work are released. Unfortunately many early ones were never recorded.

[cristoforo66]

How is it possible to sing Handel like this ?

So much life and energy !

Very high performance.

[jmontgomery7577]

I am very pleased you like Beverly Sills, but please don't insult Handel in the process. This exactly the kind of performance he wanted. He would have been very pleased with Beverly Sills.

[FancyPantsElitist]

(continued): So NYC fought back with an original type production of one of the very HARDEST Handel operas and coloratura operas (because both the leads have to do it) ever created.

[turandot82]

Thank god that NYCO did. They launched Beverly to legend status with this opera. And I agree, Norman Treigle's coloratura was amazing. I was just listening to his "A lampo del armi" today and Im always amazed when I hear it.

[FancyPantsElitist]

Another little comment...

This is a rare, and valuable piece of video. I just wish we had Norman Treigle on you Youtube (though I will search!). She did this with this incredible bass who could do REAL coloratura even though he smoked three packs of cigarrettes a day, as the opening performance at the NYC Opera, on a day that Antony and Cleopatra was opening at the Met, because the Met wouldn't hire American opera singers unless they were necessary to "fill in" at the last minute.

[FancyPantsElitist]

This is staged as it would have been in Handel's time. Purposefully. Don't blame Bubbles for the staging. And Bubbles was glorious. AS a COLORATURA, I can tell you that she executes this flawlessly - and it was sung fast orginally if you know anything about Handel. I doubt you sing, just armchair criticize. Pretty rancid of you to do that right now, after she just passed.

[apollodionysus7]

...we love you, beverly sills!

such a beautiful ambassador of opera, of classical music, of music! What a beautiful singer, a charismatic star, a skillful leader of musical organizations, an articulate spokesperson for cultural enterprises.

Although I did not personally know Ms Sills, her life has made an impact on my musical life, on my life in general, and on those of countless others.

Farewell, Bubbles!

[highbaritone]

As countless other have had, I too had the great pleasure of hearing her live. We all have had our lives brightened by her singing. Thank you youtube for giving us this pleasure over again.

[zutler]

A great singer who has given me soooo much on stage and on disks....she has brightened our opera world and will greatly be missed. Brava Ms Sills for a job well done....

[djtypek]

It's great to hear a colouratura with a warm sound that you don't hear in other ( which can be nasal or to high pitch, almost traditionally squeeky.) She will be missed.

[OperaBR]

It's so great to know we won't miss her so terribly, because Sills gave us such a great legacy that will never stop producing amazement and admiration. She's one of those artists that will always bring something now to us, even after their passing! I'm sure she's already resting in peace and telling jokes to Tetrazzini and Nilsson. I'm glad that she was widely recognized and beloved in life, she deserved it. ;-)

[xxawayfrommexx]

She's amazing!

[gclef2288]

Rest in eternal peace...

[Diamondsrfvr]

Dear Beverly,

God bless you, what a magnificent talent, and your warmth and joy are/were here for all to see.

Thank you for bringing your voice and music into our lives. May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

[celebrian1051]

This made me cry, remembering Bubbles in her glory days. She helped put Baroque opera back on the musical landscape with performances like these. I and millions of others will sorely miss her.

[jmontgomery7577]

May you have 10,000 times more joy in the next World than you brought to millions of people in this world!!!

[emerald4444]

Godspeed to you, Beverly, as you now sing for the angels. You will be missed!

[jmontgomery7577]

This is one of those arias you want to never end!

Especially when the singer is Beverly Sills!

[RossiniSoprano]

And it won't end, because we have these recordings of her incredible talent and spirit to preserve her memory, thank God!

[crewmantle]

Trills, Runs, Roulades, Fiorature, embellished with everything but the god damn kitchen sink! When does this woman take a breath?? And she makes it all seem so effortless, like a day at the park.

[crewmantle]

And she's FORTY when she sang this for Gods sake!!

[crewmantle]

Had to comment AGAIN! This BLOWS YA away like nothing else!!! Brilliant, endless fireworks at a shotgun tempo.

There is NO ONE singing today with this command and authority... A lesson to younger singers who give too much too early.

[jmontgomery7577]

Truly a Maestra non pareilla!! There is so much incomparable joy in her singing. Why would anyone want her to do it any other way? I don't remember her ever having anything to do with set,costume design or

choreography.

My first real appreciation of Opera began with Beverly Sills.

[tinyvoicedgheorghiu]

Do you really think she was responsible for the staging?

[RossiniSoprano]

No, this was a concept production, to bring back the way it would have been done in Handel's day. You can read about this in her book.

[tinyvoicedgheorghiu]

I read it. I suspect you are talking about her biography. What I found silly was the above poster's idea that Sills was responsible for the staging.

[Andante735]

Brilliant!!! Talk about giving 100 percent! This is a singing lesson- it's full of life, and it's the expression of mastery. Today's singers should take note of this truly magnificent artist.

[gvjps123]

Brilliant, incredibly virtuoistic coloratura.

[D9l3tt]

Any problems with the tempo in certain places (in the A section) is the fault of the conductor in this case. The orchestra should not be inflexible.

[Lachrymae]

Sung with such gusto and vigor! True bravura. The tempo is a tad too fast for my taste.

[Iareto]

I have Ruth's version of this song. True that she can be a bit boring, but she's always in great voice and always brilliant.

[htshoward]

I am, of course, a Beverly Sills fan. She was my very first introduction to opera in La Traviata. I then went on to my lifelong fascination with Leontyne Price, only because Bubbles retired one year later. Her coloratura and personality were unequalled. I adore her singing. Brava Bev!

[paminaase]

I watch this video everyday; amazing. Gives a positive energy, I totally admire her work!

[tjfloyd]

Effervescent Bubbles; what stage presence!

[HydeingtheRainbow]

Love the Outfit:p amazing vocals...Love the play Cleaoatra but i dont no what language this is...maybe italian? i dunno:(

[PsychoLemur42]

Yes, Italian, yes.

[mariogorga]

Frutal move over dear this is how is done!!Now we now by Sills become a Star after her Cleopatras in The City Opera...

[Iareto]

Don't compare. Futral is great in her own right. I saw her in this opera and she was INCREDIBLE. Can't we love Sills and still appreciate the new talents like Elizabeth? Oh...Sill is absolutely brilliant here. Her runs are absolutely brilliant.

[crewmantle]

This is my favourite Sills footage ( thanks again guys )It seems to be the ONLY extant filmed record of Sills as Cleopatra. So THIS is what it was all about! She must get dizzy from circling the couch so often..poor thing.

[nicki121]

youd also get dizzy from those machine gun trills

[donaldwyatt]

Her technique is impeccable. truly one of the greatest sopranos to ever live.

[madbro]

bravo

[whistlenotelover]

Excellent coloratura!! She was great as her voice had a sheen of metal and a bitter, heavier dramatic tone and Joan Sutherland's was even more grand and larger, were the greatest, the closest today are Natalie Dessay and Sumi Jo. p.s. the first 2 classic divas had perhaps the most amazing lightning fast trills ever heard

[jcmendoza86]

I've only heard one thing of hers i haven't loved. But wow, can she sing! Her Lucia, Baby Doe, Violetta, Anna Bolena, Rosina, ALL amazing. Thanks for the great video.

[primadonna360]

Of course it's excellently done...it's Beverly Sills! She's a god!  :0)

[sillsfan]

couldn't agree with you more.....she's the greatest!

[sab3156]

excellently done.