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Happy Birthday Beverly Sills!

by | 11:49 am | May 25, 2010

beverly_sillsBelle Miriam “Bubbles” Silverman was born in Brooklyn on May 25, 1929. 

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38 Comments

38 comments

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  • brooklynpunk says:

    HAPPY BIRTHDAY ,BUBBLES….!!

    on May 25, 2010 at 12:05 PM
  • No Expert says:

    A rare gem from a rare gem:

    on May 25, 2010 at 1:34 PM
    • brooklynpunk says:

      NoExpert:

      Thanks sooooo much for your posting….that is quite awesome…and I had not heard Sills do this, before…..

      on May 25, 2010 at 2:06 PM
      • dame ernestine sherman tank says:

        Lovely. Read in her autobiography what she was going through in her personal life at the time she sang the Trittico at City Opera. I think we can forgive her for being a bit “pushed to the max”. Sills was the first to say she was not a Puccini singer. But a young singer takes about any job in the beginning of the career. Still, she is very moving in this clip from Angelica. Would love to hear the whole thing! I have heard clips of Tabarro with Domingo. Well done, dear Bev. Happy Birthday. We miss your sparkling wit and your phenomenal talent!

        on May 26, 2010 at 12:06 AM
        • WindyCityOperaman says:

          The complete Angelica came out on a pirate record in the mid 1970s. The recorded sound is pretty bad (obviously from the audience), and the score is heavily cut (the Alms sister part omitted), but it is an emotional performance. You know Bev’s tears are for real. I also have a tape of snippets from one of her Aidas – really not bad.

          And what I wouldn’t give to hear those Cleveland performances of her as Tosca and Carmen! Wouldn’t it also be great to hear a bit of her in Nono’s “Intoleranza”, an opera and composer she detested. Apparently it was recorded as well.

          on May 27, 2010 at 10:47 PM
        • BETSY_ANN_BOBOLINK says:

          Mike Richter has (or had) a CD-ROM devoted to Sills with the TRITTICO and AIDA plus the usual suspects. Oh yeah, and a FLEDERMAUS from San Diego that is worth hearing.

          on May 27, 2010 at 11:11 PM
    • operacat says:

      I believe she sang the TRITTICO only once. Because of the news she received about son just the day before, she actually lost control of her emotions during this performance at the end of SUOR ANGELICA. It hit too close to home, she said. And she knew she could never sing that role again. Ms. Sills was my first real love in opera. I cherish a cover of the MANON LP on which she wished me a happy birthday that sits over my desk as I type this.

      on May 26, 2010 at 9:04 AM
  • Lindoro Almaviva says:

    Did you know that the Cleveland library has some never heard recordings of Sills?

    Fledermaus, 1955
    Carmen, 1956 (as Carmen)
    Tosca, 1957
    The Ballad of Baby Doe, 1958

    They came about these recordings when they were bequeathed to them by John L. Price Jr., the man who ran Musicarnival. These were his archival copies. Unfortunately they are only available in the library, no copies can be made.

    Now, can you imagine the Tosca and that Carmen?

    on May 25, 2010 at 1:45 PM
  • Il faut parterre says:

    Lindoro Almaviva…do you know EVERYTHING??? :– )

    Seriously, it is a joy to discover “beverlysillsonline.com”.
    I read about the darling Arditi clip years ago, but to see it is a real thrill. Likewise the SUOR ANGELICA highlight.
    It all reminds me of the time when our hearts were young and gay, and you could see dear Bubbles as Elisabetta at NYCO – a not-to-be forgotten experience, one of my “most memorable” opera-going evenings.

    Bless you, dear Beverly, and a hearty Happy Birthday.

    on May 25, 2010 at 3:33 PM
  • Ruxton says:

    No Expert- thank you too- that clip is absolutely stunning.

    on May 25, 2010 at 7:32 PM
  • Big Q says:

    In loving disagreement, Puccini pushes Sills to the max. She sounds exhausted here. I believe this is from the late 1960s, her peak years, and there are so many meltingly beautiful clips of her doing the roles that showed her off to best advantage — Manon, Cleopatra, Pamina (Siege), Lucia, Zerbinetta, Baby Doe. Here are most of them (if I’ve done the URL thing correctly.)

    on May 25, 2010 at 10:49 PM
  • Sanford says:

    One of the most beautiful things ever sung by anyone

    on May 26, 2010 at 12:01 AM
  • soubrettino says:

    Somewhere out there is the weirdest (live) Figlia impura di Bolena I’ve ever heard (Sills x Galvany) with different keys used between Figlia impura… and parli tu… The whole thing was full of acuti, full of blood and gore: a very real confrontation between two goddesses -- a bel canto-ryu showdown.

    As it were, I only have this:

    on May 26, 2010 at 1:24 AM
  • Meimei says:

    Love her dearly. Always and forever . . .

    on May 26, 2010 at 3:46 AM
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