Search - G. Donizetti, Julius Rudel, Beverly Sills :: Donizetti: Anna Bolena. Beverly Sills, Julius Rudel

SILLS GOES FOR BROKE -------- AND SHE TRIUMPHS

L. Mitnick | Chicago, Illinois United States | 04/17/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I, being a great admirer of Callas, Caballe', Sutherland, and Sills, cannot understand why people so vehemently bash one of them in favor of the other. This does nothing to further the interest of music, and it reduces great operatic singing to the level of ice hockey. "Anna Bolena" is an opera that requires a very special type of soprano. It is, essentially, a florid bel canto opera for a considerably heavier voice than that associated with such bel canto heroines such as those encountered in "Puritani", "Sonnambula", and "Lucia". A great "Anna Bolena" should also be able to command Norma and Rossini's "Semiramide". Beverly Sills had a basically small voice, and she herself has admitted repeatedly that her undertaking Donizetti's Three Queens (Anna Bolena, Maria Stuarda, and Elizabeth in "Roberto Devereux) probably shortened her career by a decade. She was, of course, right. She certainly makes Anna Bolena a convincing vocal creation, and she sings with great conviction and involvement. But even so, there are moments when you know that she's pushing her resources to the virtual end of their endurance. She manufactures low chest tones that are completely out of allignment with the rest of her voice, and some of her top notes are nothing more than pitched screams. Of course, her passion and sincerity compensates for a lot of these deficiencies, and she emerges with a great success. I respect Sills, and have always felt that she was a little undone by her publicity machine, as well as the constant shadows of Callas, Sutherland, and Caballe. Truth to tell, all three had voices far more suited to these heavier bel canto roles. I'm not going to enter any fray and state any opinions here. Beverly Sills put forth a tremendous amount of skill and effort into roles like Anna Bolena, and she paid a vocal price, as one can hear on this recording. Still, I wouldn't be without this performance. Shirley Verrett is an outstanding Jane Seymour (she certainly could have sung Anna Bolena!), though I'm not sure that she and Sills blend all that well together. Whatever the case, let's give all these great sopranos a break and stop bashing them. My message to the bashers is: Callas, Sills, Caballe' & Sutherland have BEEN there and made it. What have YOU accomplished?"

The Power Of Opera: The Drama Of Anne Boylen

Rachel Garret | Beverly Hills | 01/30/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In 1973, soprano Beverly Sills, tenor Stuart Burrows, Paul Plishka (baritone) and Shirley Verrett (mezzo-dramatic soprano), joined talents to make a powerfully dramatic opera about the tragedy of Anne Boylen at the hands of Henry the 8th. It was a great success in the New York City Opera and to this day, no other operatic forces have since rivaled them.Donizetti's first big hit was the tragic opera, Anna Bolena (Anne Boylen), which successfully won the hearts of European audiences in the first half of the 19th century. The story is taken from the historical accounts of Anne Boylen, second wife of Henry the 8th, who divorced Katherine of Aragon in order to make Anne his queen. His attempt to make a bloodline of heirs failed because Anne could not bear him children. The only child successfully born to them was Elizabeth I, England's greatest queen. But at the time, Henry 8th was furious at Anne, accusing her of adultery and sentencing her to death. The truth was another matter. Whether or not Anne Boylen was guilty of adultery is still a mystery. But we do know that Henry the 8th was already preparing to marry Jane Seymour. In the Donizetti opera, the trials and tribulations of this particular moment in English history is thoroughly captured through rousing choruses and powerful ensembles, romantic duets, melancholic arias and a climatic finale. Mezzo-soprano Shirley Verrett, also acclaimed as a dramatic soprano, makes a remarkable performance as the newfound love of Henry the 8th, the lady Jane Seymour. Her arias are chalk-full of light and dark qualities, as we realize how conflicted she truly is. As the rival to Anne Boylen, she does not feel herself as her enemy and truly sympathizes with her tragic situation. Her opening aria "Ella di me sollecita" reveals her regret in awakening Henry 8ths love. It is apparent that Henry 8th seduced her and fed her ambition to become queen, as she reveals in her aria "La Mia Fama". Shirley Verret's noble character is at paar with Beverly Sill's portrayal as Anne. Anne and Jane Seymour even speak as friends, albeit their situation and this is apparent in their duet in Act 2. Jane tries in vain to stop Anne's execution, begging the obstinate king Henry to have mercy on Anne (A pensate que rivolti). Tenor Stuart Burrows's performance is Shakespearean. As Anne's lawful first husband, Richard Percy, he delivers a performance which characterizes his love for Anne (S'ei t'aborre) and his despair at the dark tragedy ahead. As soon as Henry 8th discovers that Anne and Percy were married, he is bent on revenge and sentences Anne, Percy and the musician, Smeton, to death. Smeton (mezzo soprano Patricia Kern in a trouser role) is convincing a harp player who is genuinely and unfulfillably in love with Anne. The choruses and ensembles are effectively dramatic also. Examples of fine quartets and trios include the sextet "Questo di per noi spuntato"(Anne, Percy wonder about their fate before the day is over during a fox hunt) and the dramatic "Quanto, Quanto e funesto il tu dono (How tragic your gift is) which encompasses the despair that Percy and Anne feel when Henry discovers they are married and sentences them both to die.Outstanding is bass baritone Paul Plishka as the raging, vengeful Henry 8th, whose sheer cruelty and treatment of Anne makes him one of opera's nastiest villains, right alongside Scarpia in Puccini's Tosca. Musically speaking, Henry 8th has no well constructed aria to showcase his baritone voice. He does this mostly through recitatives and his duet with Jane Seymour (Si, l'avrete). He is at his nastiest when he condemns Anne, Percy and others to die (Caldra! Coppia rea! Salira D'Ingliterra sul trono otra dona (It shall fall upon the guilty couple! England will have a new queen!). Finally, Beverly Sills delivers an unsurpassed and dramatic performance as Anne Boylen, the most varied character in the opera. Tragic, emotional, romantic, innocent, and ultimately driven to the point of insanity, she conveys everything about the Donizetti heroine in a single opera, albeit a long one.Her yearning for that innocent time she fell in love with Percy is described in her lyric aria "Come un innocente giovine", and her warning to Jane Seymour of disaster in the coloratura showpiece "Non va sguardo". The greatest moments for her dramatically and vocally come toward the last minutes of the opera. Most impressive of all is Anna's Mad Scene. Donizetti must have had Anna Bolena's fatal demise in mind when he composed Lucia Di Lammermoor years later. An early "Mad Scene" is perfectly forged in Anna's own Mad Scene in the prison tower as she awaits her execution. After a solemn entrance (Piangete voi) she hallucinates in delirious madness that she is being married to Henry 8th all over again. She wistfully remembers her native home and longs to return to that carefree time (Al dolce guidami). Although she is aware that her death is inevitable, she prays her soul will rest in peace (Cielo, a mie lunghi spasimi). These lyric, melancholy arias are underscored by terrific flute and oboe passages, and even contain the theme "Home Sweet Home." When Anne sees that Henry is marrying Jane, she again plunges into madness and fury (Copia Iniquia), in a closing aria that is full of fiery dramatic vocals. Beverly Sills proved to the world how bel canto and coloratura arias are not just pretty parlor pieces, but contain great power as drama if the text and words are effectively inflected. The music also plays a great role, as it graphically depicts a vast range of emotions. Thus, Anna Bolena made opera truly the most human art form, combining great drama and beautiful singing."

This Is The Only Anna Bolena You Need To Hear

Rachel Garret | 12/10/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Although the Donizetti revival of the 60's and 70's used great talents of such singers as Maria Callas, Joan Sutherland and Montserrat Caballe, Beverly Sills was the grandest of them all. She was as good an actress on the operatic stage as Maria Callas, and sang more beautifully and in superior dramatic vein than Joan Sutherland. It does not take a genius to realize how great a soprano she truly is. In her role as Anne Boleyn, she makes use of dramatic and coloratura flair, providing the listener with a dynamic, vivid performance that rouses our sympathy in her final moments- a twenty minute aria-finale in which she goes mad and is lead to the execution block. The overture makes use of dramatic moments, particularily the music used at the end of the opera. Act I is full of bel canto melody with drama and sentimentalism, especially in Anna's aria "Come Inocente Giovine" in which she reminisces about her first love, and her voice is full of nostalgia and pathos. This same sentiment appears again in her "Cielo, a mie spasimi lunghi", which is a variation on the melody "Home Sweet Home" that becomes a short trio. Shirley Verret gives her best performance, other than her Norma, in the role of Jane Seymour. Her powerful voice, capable of beauty and strength, is evident in her duet with Anna at the end of Act 2 and in her aria "La Mia Fama". The finale is impossible to miss. In this recording, the sound of church bells and festivity is heard as Henry 8th prepares to make Jane Seymour his wife. Anna, imprisoned in the tower, loses her mind and sings a mad scene that is ancestral to Donizetti's greatest opera, Lucia Di Lammermoor. Anna believes she is about to be married to Henry 8th all over again, and that she is not going to be executed. But when she discovers that Henry is going to marry Jane Seymour and that her own execution draws near (a couple of victims in the conspiracy that Henry accuses her of are killed, mainly Anna's servant and musician, Smeton, who is in love with her), Anna becomes insane. She returns to her sanity only to realize her end is near, singing the taxing coloratura/dramatic aria "Copia Iniquia". Donizetti made his mark with this opera and was welcomed in the Italian stage, namely Naples and San Carlo. The music is as rousing and touching as the ensembles and finales to every act. Impressive recording. Beverly Sills said herself, when she recorded this in 1975, that Anna Bolena was her most easiest role. A lesson, she says, to sopranos tackling the role.. it is very easy to sing the flowing, sentimental arias and recitatives of Anna's character and there is enough time in the length of this opera (three acts, three cd's) to get warmed up for the more difficult finale-aria."