"You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don't try."
Beverly Sills, 1929-2007
POSTED at
10:46 PM
02 July 2007
Beverly Sills, 1929-2007be a benefactor
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27 Comments:
I am SO SAD! She was a big part of my "opera upbringing"
Piangero..........
This post has been removed by the author.
Eerie. I was just at my local library sale and I found at least 7 Sills albums I didn't have. The last one I picked up was "Farewell."
Ah, well, at least it was Angel Records.
How many opera singers do you know who could have pulled this off?
She is the reason I became an opera queen.
Thank you, Bubbles.
Oh dear god...that's a bright bright star burning out. What a wonderful singer and woman. There was NO ONE like her. Great voice, impeccable technique, INCREDIBLE actress. She was unique and truly spectacular. An old garage sale find of her in Traviata, as Manon, and as Elisabetta (all at Wolf Trap in the late 70's) introduced me to opera. She was the reason I got hooked, and she'll always be my first vocal love.
She was a tireless advocate for opera, and an unforgettable, larger-than-life personality. And this sometimes makes it easy to forget what a truly great artist she was. Let's honor her by pulling out those old recordings and revelling in her plangent timbre, exquisite phrasing, and vibrant characterization. Rest in peace, America's Queen of Opera!
I already left a comment with the post about her illness, but I do want to say how I'll miss Beverly Sills, and I am glad that someone who brought so much happiness through her art no longer has to endure any more pain. Thank you for everything, "La Fenomena!"
She was my first. Knowing nothing of opera but acting on the suggestion of a musical friend, I bought Sills' "Lucia di Lammermoor" in 1984 and then proceeded to buy everything of hers I could get my hands on. She's the reason I love opera as much as I do, and, having listened to at least a dozen Lucias over the years, I still think hers is unparalleled.
I hope she knew how much she was loved.
I think most of us are mourning this great Lady of Opera, her wonderful wit and her charm, but I would like to share with all of you an anecdote that will mean something to a lot of us; when Beverly Sills was running City Opera, it became known that one of the artists appearing in one of the productions was HIV positive and the make-up artists - out of ignorance at that time, since this happened in the early 80's - refused to touch him. Well, the General Manager herself applied make-up on this man to prove that there was no risk in doing so... This is just one more reason to admire this great Mensch. We'll miss you, Beverly!
Rest in peace, Bubbles. For me, her music making was the embodiment of pure joy.
O luce di quest'anima ...
I hope her families, both personal and professional, have an easy time mourning her passing. Opera won't be the same without her.
I just want to say that it's sad to live through the death of a legend. She quickly became one of my top favorite performers, and although I never met her nor saw her perform, she truly changed the way I listen to opera. I will always remember this day, as yesterday was also my birthday. (I'm a measly 25) I guess I can take consolation that on my birthday, her suffering ended.
Beverly, you truly will be missed....
Rest in Peace
She was a joy to behold and a true charmer, in art as well as in life. Her down-to-earth attitude towards others and can-do spirit will be sorely missed. As a rule I preferred male singers, but Bubbles was the exception.
Julio, I am exactly 264 days older than you!
I am so very sad!
Doug, I hope I don't make you feel old ;)
......
So many wonderful performances from this great lady of the theatre. Sills, and Nilsson, Rysanek, Sutherland, Price, Bumbry, Verrett, Crespin, Ludwig, Horne, Caballe, Cossotto, Stratas, Freni -- all grand female artists (and there were more) whose careers coincided. A true golden age of singing.
Jerry
This is such sad news for us all. She was one of my bel canto staples for many years. Isn't it strange though that she and Lorraine Hunt Lieberson died at about the same day?
A sad day. As the post war generation of stars passes away one by one, it is impossible not to reflect on our own mortality. I hope it is not presumptuous of me to say, let us all hope that we, with whatever means we have, can bring one billionth as much joy to our fellow men as Ms. Sills was able to do in her gifted way.
JF, take a look at the female singers who appeared at the MET in 1967-68. I think nearly all of your list, all but Bubbles, were there--either that year or the year before (or after). It's amazing. The only really great singer, in my view, who didn't appear regularly at the MET was Berganza...
What a sad day for all of us. What a magnificent person Sills was. The good news is that I think she knew how beloved she was, and, unlike many of her contemporaries, there is some visual record of her art. And I do believe, in retrospect, she needs to be seen as well as heard.
I was fortunate enough to see her Pamira ("Corinto"), Elvira ("Puritani"), Violetta, Rosina, Norina, and probably a couple of others that escape me right now.
I loved her. I bought all of her LPs. I loved the "Roberto Devereux" since I had never even heard a note of it until I plunked the LPs on the stereo.
I will truly miss her, but luckily for us, she left a huge legacy of recordings and videos. If you have time today, you might want to go to You Tube and sample some of her great moments there. She is generously represented there.
I never met Ms. Sills, but I will never forget one night in Lupo's on San Francisco's Columbus Avenue, hearing her laughter and turning to discover a red headed prima donna, entertaining a table of executive types. Turning back to my pasta, I heard another explosion of Sills laughter.
Walking past her table on my way out of the tiny downstairs ristorante, she looked up at me and gave me a little "hello" wave. That was our Beverly.
Evergreen Beverly: Rest In Peace
There is a hole in our lives now; Sills was someone who Was Always There Somewhere. She had family tragedies, critical knocks, and personal blots(feuding with Horne), but was a musical Deborah Kerr--stick out your chin and do what must be done. And, is there a video of her in The Turk in Italy, which was on PBS years ago?
There is. It's In English with Donald Gramm and it's available here:
http://www.imagemogul.com/im/mrvideo.html
This guy has some wonderful stuff. The video you seek is on the second page.
I was fortunate enough to work at NYCO during Miss Sills' tenure as Genral Director. During those years. although there were some challenging times artistically and financially, she was ubiquitous and wonderfully supportive. Whether it was the umpteenth performance of Frank Corsaro's CARMEN or a world premiere, it was common for her to come backstage and thank all of us. Unlike many General Directors, she came to almost all the performances - and stayed right to the end - even of repertory staples like CARMEN. For heaven's sake - she had at that point been in the business for over 50 years - and she still made it a habit to sit through all four acts of CARMEN for us.
My favorite memory of Miss Sills:
In the very early 90s, on the first day of rehearsal after we had been on a break for several weeks between Fall and Spring seasons, I stood waiting for an elevator in the basement of the State Theater. The door opened and there she was - at least fifty pounds lighter than the last time I had seen her. I said, "Miss Sills you look wonderful!" She repsonded, "Honey, I used to have to be THIS big," (indicating with her arms the approximate size of an LP), "but now with the release of all my recordings on CD I have to fit on something THIS big!" (indicating with her fingers the approximate size of a CD).
She was the greatest!
ljc- what was the thing between la Bev and la Horne? As a fan of both, I'm intrigued that there was any animosity - but of course, reality is a different thing. Was it about fees by any chance?
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