Beverly Sills on Lily Pons

Beverly Sills on Lily Pons

Category:

Music

Tags:

• opera
• coloratura
• soprano

[sfatlarge]

Nobody gave as much credit to the incredible talent of Lily Pons than the wonderful Beverly Sills. Every word is a treasure. For a great artist like Sills to tell us about Pons and her magnificence is something wonderful and everyone who loves them both should know about this wonderful tribute. Thank You BUBBLES (how we miss you!)

[viczodiac]

She is great!

[shsutenor]

I love this intereview!!! Beverly Sills is my personal favorite soprano, and I truly admire Lily Pons. I find her to be quite underappreciated by today's audiences because of the Callas effect (i.e. Giant voiced coloraturas). Not to say that I am ungrateful for the part that Callas, Sutherland, and others have done for that repertoire, but it is nice to give credit where credit is due :-)

[boltoht]

I love this interview and what I love about it is how Sills was so honest in her admiration of Pons but also of how Pons was so gracious and kind to Sills. This is a very rare thing. Divas aren't always so kind especially to upcoming singers. Two classy ladies!!

[strick3769]

@gustopheles Thank you for letting me tell the story. Nobody today would give a hoot in hell about stars of that era. I was told later that in the evening she would walk her dogs in park/plaza with her flutist. No One in this red neck town back them even knew who she was. Back then I worked in a record store as a teenager and I have so many wonderful tales of stars back then but no about Lily. She would have been the ultimate.. .....

[gustopheles]

@strick3769 That's an incredible story! Especially about the surgery and the stage makeup - I'd give my right arm to be able to witness that stuff first-hand. Thanks for taking the time to write about it!

[strick3769]

@gustopheles yep 1948 and I'm still here. She was over weight at the time and it was her blond period. I went to the stage door where she was recvg flowers, her makeup was such it was distracting. She talked I guess it's in he third person. "Lily thanks you"

Lily says you are so sweet" I saw a pix of her in 1952 and she had had some major facial surgery she had lost 40 lbs and looked 30 with a waist about 18 inches. Oh she was a glamorous woman if ever there was one.Thanks for asking !

[gustopheles]

@strick3769 are you serious - you saw her live?

[strick3769]

Her glamor over shadowed that magnificent voice. I always thought she was the greatest coloratura who ever lived. Loved her, just loved her. I saw in concert in 1948 Till this day I remember the gown she had on the diamond necklace which sparkled from the stage. The audience was on their feet time and time again until the last aria when her two little dogs ran onto the stage and she picked them up and walked off. Oh, those were the days ! !

[BrentAudi]

This is great!

Thank you!