Beverly Sills - The Art of Beverly Sills (20 tracks) +Album Reviews

America's greatest diva captured in all her glory!

Charles Richards | Los Angeles, CA | 07/07/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When I was growing up in the 70's, Beverly Sills was probably America's best known opera singer, a star who not only appeared on the opera stage, but who could also be seen constantly on talk shows, non-operatic TV specials, and even on "The Muppet Show"! I developed a love for her voice, her personal charm, her keen acting ability, and her fantastic sense of humour early on and never lost it. Sadly, in the 80's and 90's she fell into something of an eclipse, largely due to the fact that very few of her recordings were available on CD. Fortunately, DG's recent aquisition of some of her finest recordings has created a real Sills renaissance, and this compilation is perfect for every opera fan who would like to get aquainted or re-aquainted with her glorious voice. Almost every aspect of her repertoire is represented here and shown off to its full extent, from her highly dramatic Donizetti "Three Queens" portrayals, to her melting reading of Mozart's exquisite "Ruhe Sanft" to her amazingly beautiful (and formerly very hard to find) recording of the final scene from Strauss' "Daphne". A must have for every opera fan, this is Sills at her best, truly America's greatest diva!"

Beverly Sills: The Greatest Soprano Of All Time

Rachel Garret | Beverly Hills | 01/18/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Art Of Beverly Sills is the greatest compilation cd of her masterful arias and performances. It is a portrait of her most memorable roles, her vocal pyrotechnics and dramatic power. It is sad that no one has reviewed this album yet. I am honored to be the first. Beverly Sills. Her name is synonymous with opera. She is the American opera star with genuine soul, warmth, personality and electric acting ability. To those who remember her live performances in the 60's and 70's, they recall her ingratiating persona, her connection with the audience, her sense of humor, her beautiful coloratura and lyric qualities, as well as engaging dramatic flair. Equally as good an actress on the opera stage as Maria Callas, and surpassing the voice of Joan Sutherland, Beverly Sills is my personal favorite soprano. I have reasons to declare her the greatest soprano of all time.First of all, she did not come from the European elite, or the traditional foreign class. She was born in Brooklyn, New York and has worked with the New York City Opera and the Met exclusively. Her humble beginnings were in radio and television, as a child prodigy. She was educated in music, mainly piano, and was taught by the esteemed vocal coach Estelle Liebling. She was an operetta star long before she graced the bigger heroines of opera- singing as Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus. On this cd, we are fortunate enough to hear an operetta aria which must have been nostalgic for her during recitals. We hear her in the roles that made her a star- Donizetti's Anna Bolena, whose aria "Copia Iniquia " is full of demanding higher notes, as Maria Stuarda in her coloratura/lyric aria "O Nube" and as the lovesick Queen Elizabeth I in Roberto Deveraux. We hear her as Massenet's romantic heroine Manon, "Adieu, notre petit table", showcasing off her French style to perfection. The same is said of Olympia's aria "Les Ouiseaux" from Offenbach's Tales Of Hoffman. Although Beverly excelled unrivaled in bel canto and coloratura, she could also take the risky leap into dramatic soprano. Perhaps her most challenging role was Bellini's Norma. But successfully, she won the world's attention when she appeared on Time magazine's cover as Elizabeth I in Robert Deveraux. This was her greatest moment.This cd is a colorful, varied portrait of Beverly Sill's career. She has long retired from the opera stage (1979), but she has been active in the Met since the 80's and 90's. She is an inspiration to sopranos everywhere. With justice, she deserves the recognition as the greatest soprano of all time. For an unexplained reason, her recordings on LP were scarce, but now, thanks to digitally remastered reissues on cd, a new generation will hear her great performances. Available now are her performances in Lucia Di Lammermoor, Manon, Tales Of Hoffman, Barber Of Seville, I Puritani, La Traviata, Thais, and the box set featuring the three Donizetti Tudor Queens- Anna Bolena, Maria Stuarda and her master performance in Roberto Deveraux."

A Wonderful Collection

M. Temple | Houston, TX USA | 02/05/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Thanks to DGG for this great collection of Beverly Sills' art. There are several pieces that are not found in other compilation albums -- including the beautiful snippet from The Ballad of Baby Doe, arias from Maria Stuarda and Roberto Devereaux, and my personal favorite, "Was blendet so" from Richard Strauss' Daphne.

I must admit I grabbed this album quickly because of the Daphne aria, which, to my knowledge, is found elsewhere only on Ms. Sills' original LP recording. Listen to the beautiful legato lines and the strength, power, and seemingly effortless soaring of Ms. Sills voice, and you'll know why many of us regard her as one of the world's greatest singers.

My other personal favorite cut is the piece from the operetta Der Opernball. You can hear the warm smile in that beautiful voice.

These two discs have been in my car's CD player since I received them, and they help me make it through traffic every day. I highly recommend them!"

Two beautiful discs!

J. Anderson | Monterey, CA USA | 02/17/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Beverly Sills not only survived being a child prodigy - a rare enough thing among singing musicians - she triumphed in a big way. Her fertile and beautiful art is wonderfully represented on this double disc set from Deutsche Grammophon. I sense today a resurgence of appreciation for her art, and to call it well deserved is saying the least. The singing's jam packed with pure musicianship, attention to nuance, fidelity to composer and character - in a word, everything requisite to making the operatic art thrive, qualities in short enough supply today among many opera stars, and it makes this package even more attractive. Sills not only understood bel canto art, she accomplished it memorably. Highlights include 'Ah! Tardai troppo...' (Linda di Chamounix), &an unearthly 'Regnava nel silenzio...' (Lucia), which I might prefer to Sutherland's for its committment and munificence. The gone too soon Thomas Schippers conducts a great performance - how that man could possess whatever orchestra and score he worked with. Two arias from I Puritani - especially 'Vieni, vieni fra queste braccia' with the singing of the genius Nicolai Gedda as Arturo, and an opening to Anna Bolena's aria 'Cielo, a' miei lunghi spasimi' that wipes clean every memory of other versions. All that on disc 1! I had forgotten Sills' beautiful pianissimos, singing so musicianly and free of ego - her interpretation is always only her adherence to score and composer, and greater praise cant be given a classical singer. Disc 2 offers a definitive version of Korngold's 'Gluck, das mir verblieb' (Die Tote Stadt) among a number of fine versions out there. The slowest version available and I feel I'm hearing it for the first time, and with a true Viennese (Rudel) conducting! You can put this track alone on repeat and live out the day in freedom! If you dont know Sills' art, or dont remember it well and truly, this set is a fine place to begin what will become transfixion with a musical art that proves itself urgent and inextinguishable! Highest recommendation."

Good example of the "Art of Beverly Sills"

Steven A. Peterson | Hershey, PA (Born in Kewanee, IL) | 01/26/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Beverly Sills is one of the most well reputed coloratura sopranos of the past fifty years. This CD illustrates why she has attained such renown. First, it shows the range of her singing. While much of her work focused on Donizetti, Bellini, and Rossini, she sang about fifty roles in her career, before retiring in her late 40s. This 2 CD set provides a sense of the range of her work.

The first CD focuses on her operatic singing. The CD begins with a selection from Thomas' "Mignon," culminating in "Je suis Titania la blonde." Her voice is light and clear. She displays great agility. In the middle of this piece, she shows a decent but not great trill; she closes the "cut" with a series of terrific trills. Her ornamentation is nicely done.

Donizetti's "Linda di Chamounix" was another of Sills' characters. "Ah! Tardai troppo. . .O luce di quest'anima" features more clean vocalization. The florid singing is nicely done, with well sung high notes and additional sound trills. A very agile voice on display! From Donizetti's "Lucia di Lammermoor," Sills sings "Regnava nel silenzio. . .Quando rapito in estasi." Her voice is smooth. In the aria, she produces a set of trill after trill, each one well done, but in their totality almost overdone (I love trills, but there were almost too many!). "Quando rapito in estasi" is well sung, with much well done florid singing, with appoggiaturas, trills, and other ornamentation.

The remainder of the CD features selections from Bellini's "I Puritani," and Donizetti's "Roberto Devereux," "Maria Stuarda," and "Anna Bolena." I can say pretty much the same about these pieces as already stated before. Excellent technique, wonderful ornamentation.

The second CD begins with the redoubtable piece, sung by "Olympia," from Offenbach's "Les Contes d'Hoffmann." Well done, with good vocal effects, catching the mechanical aspects of the music. Other pieces on this side come from Mozart, Heuberger, Moore, Korngold, and so on.

One piece worth mentioning, because it captures her approach to a lighter work, from Lehar's "The Merry Widow." She sings the song for what it is, and does not overwhelm it with her voice. Compare with what Richard Tucker did to the enjoyable but rather light song, "What Now My Love?", when he essayed singing pop tunes. Enjoyable for the thrill of his voice; pretty grisly in terms of his overwhelming the music itself. That does not happen here; there is a certain pathos in Sills' singing, as warranted by the song. It suggests the range of her singing.

All in all, a good sampling of "The Art of Beverly Sills." Hearing her voice again after many years reinforces my preexisting view that she ranks as one of the best coloratura sopranos of the past fifty years. There are terrific contemporary singers who sing the same repertoire and do it well. But Beverly Sills certainly compares very well with them. If interested in an introduction to Sillsiana, this is a good place to start.

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