Beverly Sills introduces the Glass Harmonica

Beverly Sills introduces James Turner, who played the Glass Harmonica in a telecast of Lucia di Lammermoor.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Beverly
• Sills
• Glass
• Harmonica
• James
• Turner
• Donizetti
• Lucia
• Lammermoor
• Benjamin
• Franklin
• opera

[joliefille411]

Actually, this is a glass harp. The glass armonica is a rotating instrument invented by ben franklin.

[lungdoc]

Thanks Miss Sills for making our lives so much happier even when yours apprently was not. May you rest in peace.

[primohomme]

@AmericanEvita

I'm not a fan of "coloratura", I'm a fan of wonderful singing. Out of those you've mentioned the best is Joan Sutherland and then Sills (though sometimes the excess of her ornaments is tacky). But if you truly want the best Lucia on record it is Maria Callas in her 1953 studio recording.

Anyways...Mariella Devia is quite terrible, I don't know if she was ever great in her youth, but in the last 20 years or so she sounds a mess.

[AmericanEvita]

@primohomme Hi Primo. I remember you! You're the Renee Fleming fanatic. I'm sure you'd love to hear Fleming sing Lucia but she can't since she has no coloratura. I don't like Sills' Lucia, although I bought the DG recording thinking she was good. Anna Moffo is a great Lucia and Joan Sutherland is too. I've been listening to Sutherland's Lucia and she always impresses. I also have recently enjoyed Cheryl Studer's Lucia.

[primohomme]

@AmericanEvita

Maria Callas is the best. End of story.

Mariella Devia is garbage, don't even.

[RossiniSoprano]

Thanks so much for posting this! I wrote an article about the glass harmonica in reference to Lucia for our opera newsletter 2 years ago when we did the opera. Wish I had had this video!

[violinistx100]

They replaced the original harmonica with flute because, Donizetti got into a fight with the hormonist and he left on the night if the premier. I learnde this from Dessay.

[tubetoad]

Sills 'ornamentation' is from Estelle- Bubbles is a colorature-soprano, and, to my way of thinking, the Best. "Baby Doe", "Cleopatra", Simply the BEST. Love to All...

[tubetoad]

Fascinating....(thanks, Bubbles- your 'Lucia' is, I think, The Best-)

Love to ALL.

[chocolatesouljah]

Whether she is right or wrong. Ms. Sills was THE exponent of classical to the masses 1970 and so on.

[AiTaiwandeRen]

Try Beverly Sills's recording. She was amazing!

[AmericanEvita]

Which Lucia is truly the best ? I always hear Joan Sutherland, but as far as what soprano do you guys think truly nailed it..I mean this is an old opera and the singer who sang it for Donizetti must have gotten it right..which soprano was closest to the original ? I hear great stuff about Mariella Devia but I like Anna Moffo a lot.. and Caballe