Dementia!
When Queens Collide!
The fur flies when Marisa Galvany and Beverly Sills square off as competing queens Elisabetta and Maria in this 1972 performance of Maria Stuarda.
By way of comparison, marvel at Leyla Gencer's celebrated glottal attacks as she tears Shirley Verrett a new one in this performance from the Maggio Musicale Florence, 1967.
Montserrat Caballe got so worked up when she locked horns with Brigitte Fassbaender (Munich, 1979) that she sang a rare (for her) high D.
Bel Canto Meets Can Belto
I make no claims to accuracy in the following story, except to say this is how it was told to me by Someone Who Was There.
The year, 1980. The scene, backstage at the New York State Theater, shortly before the opening curtain of "Beverly!," the farewell gala saluting Miss Sills.
Since there were so very many stars involved in the gala, they had to double up in the dressing rooms. And so it came to pass that Ethel Merman shared a dressing room with Renata Scotto.
About 15 minutes before curtain time, the quiet hum of backstage activity
is rent by a sudden yell of "Jesus Christ!"
Everyone turns around, and suddenly Merman bolts into the corridor, wearing only bra, panty girdle, hose, platform shoes, body microphone, wig and jewelry. Someone asks, "Is something wrong, Miss Merman?"
Merman trumpets, "Somebody tell that insane bitch in there to shut up with the goddamn vocalizing! For two hours she's been at it, and she's driving me fucking crazy!"
Peering into the dressing room one sees La Scotto calmly seated before the
mirror in caftan and turban. She takes a sip of hot tea with honey, gently
clears her throat and sings:"Some-where . . . Some-where o-ver . . . no, no,
cosi non va bene . . . Some-where . . . ah, ah, meglio, meglio . . . Some-where,
o-ver the . . . ah, NO! Some-where o-ver the rain-bow . . . ah, si, si .
. . that's it! Some-where . . ."
And Merman growls: "Tell that bitch that if she can't sing the fucking song by now, she'll never get it!"
Well, as I said, that's the way the story was told to me. La Scotto was in demented form for "Over the Rainbow" that night, and here's what it sounded like. No sound clip of the Merm from that gala, alas, but how about something (for the boys?) from the Broadway diva's collection of private acetates -- Ethel in a mellow mood. (This clip is from the CD Mermania, a previously unpublished acetate from la Merman's private collection.
I make no claims to accuracy in the following story, except to say this is how it was told to me by Someone Who Was There.
The year, 1980. The scene, backstage at the New York State Theater, shortly before the opening curtain of "Beverly!," the farewell gala saluting Miss Sills.
Since there were so very many stars involved in the gala, they had to double up in the dressing rooms. And so it came to pass that Ethel Merman shared a dressing room with Renata Scotto.
About 15 minutes before curtain time, the quiet hum of backstage activity
is rent by a sudden yell of "Jesus Christ!"Everyone turns around, and suddenly Merman bolts into the corridor, wearing only bra, panty girdle, hose, platform shoes, body microphone, wig and jewelry. Someone asks, "Is something wrong, Miss Merman?"
Merman trumpets, "Somebody tell that insane bitch in there to shut up with the goddamn vocalizing! For two hours she's been at it, and she's driving me fucking crazy!"
Peering into the dressing room one sees La Scotto calmly seated before the
mirror in caftan and turban. She takes a sip of hot tea with honey, gently
clears her throat and sings:"Some-where . . . Some-where o-ver . . . no, no,
cosi non va bene . . . Some-where . . . ah, ah, meglio, meglio . . . Some-where,
o-ver the . . . ah, NO! Some-where o-ver the rain-bow . . . ah, si, si .
. . that's it! Some-where . . ."And Merman growls: "Tell that bitch that if she can't sing the fucking song by now, she'll never get it!"
Well, as I said, that's the way the story was told to me. La Scotto was in demented form for "Over the Rainbow" that night, and here's what it sounded like. No sound clip of the Merm from that gala, alas, but how about something (for the boys?) from the Broadway diva's collection of private acetates -- Ethel in a mellow mood. (This clip is from the CD Mermania, a previously unpublished acetate from la Merman's private collection.
