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

Beverly Sills
Leyla Gencer
Montserrat Caballé
Nelly Miricioiu

Category:

Music

Tags:

• donizetti
• opera

[primohomme]

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

[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.

[thereza25]

@liguten I agree

[liguten]

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

[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").

[tetrazzini]

@mekarts2 Completeley share your opinion

[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.