Beverly Sills - Perfect Queen of the Night "O zittre nicht" 1966

Can you tell which performance is the "perfect QOTN"?
Taken from Bubbles (1976) "I have recovered enough in the next few weeks to sing, in January of 1964, in Boston, my first Queen of the Night in Mozart's The Magic Flute. I wish it had been my last, and if I had a brain in my head it would have been. No role - not even Micaela - has ever bored me more. No role has given me less anticipation or less feeling of involvment; at one performance Peter and I backstage managed to address 250 Christmas Cards between my first and second act airas! The role consists of five high F's. If all five come out beautifully, you're a fabulous hit; of not, forget it, even though you may have sung all of the rest of the aria beautifully. The only perfect performance I ever gave, by my own standards, was a Queen of the Night I did at the Tanglewood Music Festival conducted by Erich Leindorf. When I walked on stage to do the arias, Erich had a look in his eye that said, Don't you dare miss one of those high F's. I didn't, by God, because the performance was broadcast I know that there is a historic record attesting to my one perfect Queen of the Night."

Category:

Music

Tags:

• opera
• mozart

[WilliamSGilbert]

Both of the Fs were just a smidge flat. Alas.

[genceratafan]

@OperaMystery80

With all due respect to Beverly Sills, she is not my Queen of the Night as well.

You should listed to Yelda Kodallı's live recordings. She was names "the new Queen of the Opera " when she came on stage with his role in the 90s.

[vorspiel1023]

And what abput Sumi Jo? Her glorious fireworks covered the fact that her performance was, to my ear, wooden and mechanical. At least this has some quality of warmth, leaving the sense that the Queen of the Night is not really just a sociopath, just a real bitch who is perhaps overly portective of her daughter.

[7441338norman]

perfection is what i see !

[OperaMystery80]

@whatever456 Sills sang the too-heavy-for-her role of Queen Elisabeth I in Roberto Deveraux which she herself admitted to have shortened her career. Her career was very short too. She sang Norma which also was too heavy for her. Sills had lost her voice by 1980. Moser sang throughout the 80's. She sang Salome in '86 and recorded a Wagner album in '92, so she had a longer career than Sills since Moser was singing during Sills' retirement in the 80's. I love both ladies so don't get me wrong

[OperaMystery80]

But come on Sills has a beautiful voice but it's motherly, warm and loving, you can't sing such an evil role as the Queen of the Night and ask Pamina to kill the Holy Man Sarastro in such a lovely voice, it has to be dark and with bite. As for Moser, she sang for many years (70's, 80's and some of the 90s) at most 26 to 30 years which is a good enough amount of time for a career

[whatever456]

@OperaMystery80 And yo see what happened to Edda Moser with her heavy Mozart. I love her recording of arias but let's face it, darkening and weighting down her voice like she did ended her career lickty split.

[whatever456]

@OperaMystery80 And yo see what happened to Edda Moser with her heavy Mozart. I love her recording of arias but let's face it, darkening and weighting down her voice like she did ended her career lickty split.

[aldodipietra]

Very good... but there are other better Queens of the night.

[petelovesbevsills]

MY all time favourite QOTN without question!