Beverly Sills Dies

[anothername]

Her recording from Lucia di lammermoor is second to none.

[zamyrabyrd]

Her recording from Lucia di lammermoor is second to none.

There's tough competition from Maria Callas and Joan Sutherland.

[knight66]

I bought that recording on LP when it first came out. The most notable thing about it was that the Mad Scene was played as composed, with glass harmonica. However, I could not get along with Sills's voice which I found shallow in tone and fluttery, a matter of taste I guess.

At present I seem alone in being mystified over the praise for Nina Stemme's Isolde. That voice has a wide vibrato and it appears only I can hear; or only I care about it.

It is odd how we hear the same things differently, Callas is often the touchstone for me: but I have to wait until my wife is out of the house to listen to her; the voice sounds like nails down a blackboard to my wife.

So, yes, Sutherland, (earliest possible) or Callas.

Mike

[zamyrabyrd]

I bought that recording on LP when it first came out. The most notable thing about it was that the Mad Scene was played as composed, with glass harmonica. However, I could not get along with Sills's voice which I found shallow in tone and fluttery, a matter of taste I guess.
At present I seem alone in being mystified over the praise for Nina Stemme's Isolde. That voice has a wide vibrato and it appears only I can hear; or only I care about it.
It is odd how we hear the same things differently, Callas is often the touchstone for me: but I have to wait until my wife is out of the house to listen to her; the voice sounds like nails down a blackboard to my wife.
So, yes, Sutherland, (earliest possible) or Callas.
Mike

I don't like a wide vibrato in a voice. It usually betrays a lack of support. Yes, that is the one reason that kept me away from Sills.
I have the 1953 Callas, di Stefano. Gobbi, Serafin recording of Lucia bought as an LP and never looked back. 

[knight66]

I never could stand Gwyneth Jones either, that great swinging vibrato. Yet some glory in that voice. Stemme seems to evince the problem in the lower half of her voice at under full volume. I find it odd that her top loud, sustained notes are relatively clean and that is more often where the problem would be most acute. I bought the Abbado Fidelio which I enjoyed a lot until Stemme opened up. I have listed to it twice and I might as well get rid of it.

Mike

[anothername]

There's tough competition from Maria Callas and Joan Sutherland.

That's what I like, everybody his own taste. 

[knight66]

That's what I like, everybody his own taste. 

Opinions always welcome, esp when we have a new vocal music enthusiast.

MIke

[Tsaraslondon]

I bought that recording on LP when it first came out. The most notable thing about it was that the Mad Scene was played as composed, with glass harmonica. However, I could not get along with Sills's voice which I found shallow in tone and fluttery, a matter of taste I guess.

I have the same problem with Sills. Though she was an intelligent singer, with a keen dramatic awareness, I found the voice too pallid and fluttery for much of the repertoire she sang. The Donizetti Tudor queens suffer in that respect. They lack grandeur, especially compared to Caballe in all three, and Callas in Anna Bolena.

I do quite enjoy her Giulietta in Bellini's I Capuleti e i Montecchi (with Baker a superb Romeo) which suits her light voice better, and the voice is also well suited to Massenet's Manon, which she gives an excellent account of in her studio recording. That said, I still prefer the golden-voiced De Los Angeles in the role.

For Lucia, well it has to be Callas or early Sutherland. I also quite like Caballe's less showy rendition, which restores the original keys (actually higher for the Mad Scene, which means no stratospheric top notes).

[zamyrabyrd]

A happy find of the day. Apparently, Sills was known for a "smile in her voice":

https://www.youtube.com/v/CkVIH4mgPL8

[Jaakko Keskinen]

I hope anyone won't find this insulting to Sills's memory but my first contact with her was through episode of The Muppet Show where she guest-starred in imaginary opera named "Pigoletto" which included excerpts from many operas including hojotoho shouting contest with Miss Piggy. I have seen this thread for years and I've resisted the urge to write about this in this thread, because I was afraid it might not be appropriate. I finally decided to write about this after all, because I'm sure she wouldn't have minded, she seemed to have such a good time in that episode herself. And for good reason, that episode is absolutely hilarious.