Has any singer ever sung Cleopatra with such perfect style and so seductively as Beverly Sills? Her trills are so beautifully phrased and moulded to the melodic line. I was on stage with her in 1966 / 1967 in NYC and LA. Her Cleopatra is surely one of the highlights of a lifetime of listening to opera. David J. S. Gleaton
I have loved this aria ever since I first heard Sills sing it. Can you, Chicago Lyric Opera did a performance of his opera in which they made little of little of this aria -- barely let it happen, despite having a good soprano
Sherrill Milnes and Beverly Sills made an album-signing appearance at a San Francisco record store more years ago than I care to admit. I brought all my albums--several dozen. Milnes kindly signed all the ones with him. Sills was on all the albums. She was very funny. As she signed her photo over and over again, she exclaimed, "My God, I'm getting younger and younger.
There's depth and intensity of expression in Beverly Sills' singing of this aria that's totally missing in performances by others like Sutherland，Fleming etc
@ducadimantua1 i agree with you since I saw her sing it at the City Opera. Yet Caballe's Carnegie Hall performance can bring tears to the eyes. Equally wonderful are the refulgent tones that the great Price brought to the aria.
beverly Sills sublissime!!! encore , encore j'ignorais cette prestation au Colon , j'étais encore trop modeste pour pouvoir assister à cette représentation , hélas !!!!
Karl Richter, severo direttore tedesco, che ha inciso un Giulio Cesare privo di variazioni per tutti e tutte ed intransigente sempre qua' ha piegato la testa e il ginocchio e Beverli ha cantato quel che gli pareva! Giustamente, una Cleopatra sublime.Che ne sapeva " il tedesco"...
Sills is sublime. Richter is cold, lifeless, and seems bored to boot. Julius Rudel mops the floor with him in the RCA studio recording. Rudel also realized the orchestration and it’s very lush.
bonjour , merci pour le cours de français , il est vrai que j'utilise rarement ce terme!!! sauf en ce qui me concerne, mais je me le dis en secret ! lol Bonne journée et heureux de connaitre un fan de Beverly.
Je suis d'accord, pommeledominique and Karl O! Sills is wrongly consigned to some sort of second tier behind Sutherland and others. Frankly I like the clear sound of Sills' voice much more than the sort of hooty color - and let's face it, rather flat emotionalism -- of Sutherland. (A great technician to be sure, but not to my taste) Sills had excellent pitch and technique and you feel something when she sings. If Callas is "La Divina" and Sutherland is "La Stupdenda" then Sills should be "La Bubblissima" ;)
Agreed. With Sutherland around Sills was treated a little shabbily. Listening to these recordings 40 years later you see she was one of the greatest coloratura´s ever recorded. Not the prettiest sound. But the technique, and the rapid passages....fahgetaboutit. She deserves to be spoken about in the company of Pons, Dame Joan, Horne (understand different voice range) and Patti.
Ángel Miguel Ramírez Gómez Really? I love Caballe, but Handel's arias requires real trills. And Caballe has ZERO ZERO trills. Caballe is a greatest Puccini singer and Verdi, but she has no business singing Handel or Bellini without a TRUE trill. Or do you even know what a trill is? I don't say this to hurt you. But I am a voice teacher. And I know that MOST difficult element in a coloratura sopranos voice is a trill. About 1 in 10,000 World class opera singers has a perfect trill. Sutherland and Sills fits the bill and more. Love...
Ángel Miguel Ramírez Gómez My dear, I'm not being funny. i've teached voice for decades. And I have never had a student who can even trill close to Sills and no one is close to Sutherland. If you don't know how important a perfect trill is...google it. It has to have two spinning notes very fast...NOT a tremelo like the great Caballe or even Callas...TWO notes spinning and you must hear the two notes. Play the piano...a trill has TWO notes. Not a fast vibrato. Take care, friend.
Thank you darling for your master class, I do not doubt at all about yor knowlege but is something about your maners that I don't really like. I supose is too late to change it, good luck in life take care as well...
I wrote Sills a letter after hearing this. I was blown away. She sent a note back and said I made her day.
Has any singer ever sung Cleopatra with such perfect style and so seductively as Beverly Sills? Her trills are so beautifully phrased and moulded to the melodic line.
I was on stage with her in 1966 / 1967 in NYC and LA. Her Cleopatra is surely one of the highlights of a lifetime of listening to opera.
David J. S. Gleaton
I have loved this aria ever since I first heard Sills sing it. Can you, Chicago Lyric Opera did a performance of his opera in which they made little of little of this aria -- barely let it happen, despite having a good soprano
Montserrat Caballe, since you asked. It's completely impossible to choose between the two. Good thing we don't have to!
Une rendition parfaite .Beverly Sills est stupéfiante ,perfection de style , technique éblouissante ,et intense sensibilité de l'interprétation .
Oh my god, these trills, it's a dream...
For the first time I really understand what means the word "nightingale" about a soprano...
She's amazing...
Sherrill Milnes and Beverly Sills made an album-signing appearance at a San Francisco record store more years ago than I care to admit. I brought all my albums--several dozen. Milnes kindly signed all the ones with him. Sills was on all the albums. She was very funny. As she signed her photo over and over again, she exclaimed, "My God, I'm getting younger and younger.
My God! How beautiful!!! Just unbelievable!!!! Thank you.
All I can say is wow! Bel canto at its finest. What a voice.
Variazioni incredibili! Immaginifiche! Stupefacenti! BRAVA
If I had to live for an isolated island I will take that recording of Sills to listen to until the end...
Holy mwah! No word can describe her version of V'adoro beautifully enough. The trills were just mwah....
clean , clear recognizable and pure. On top of that a wonderful person.
Very few singers can do this aria and she is one of them. Brava, Bev!
There's depth and intensity of expression in Beverly Sills' singing of this aria that's totally missing in performances by others like Sutherland，Fleming etc
la plus grande cleopatre que je n ai jamais entendu......bravo bravo......
How marvelous she is.
Amazing, amazing, amazing
Omg, how does she DO it?!?!
My favorite coloratura soprano! :)
@ducadimantua1 i agree with you since I saw her sing it at the City Opera. Yet Caballe's Carnegie Hall performance can bring tears to the eyes. Equally wonderful are the refulgent tones that the great Price brought to the aria.
beverly Sills sublissime!!! encore , encore j'ignorais cette prestation au Colon , j'étais encore trop modeste pour pouvoir assister à cette représentation , hélas !!!!
Absolutely SUBLIME.
Karl Richter, severo direttore tedesco, che ha inciso un Giulio Cesare privo di variazioni per tutti e tutte ed intransigente sempre qua' ha piegato la testa e il ginocchio e Beverli ha cantato quel che gli pareva! Giustamente, una Cleopatra sublime.Che ne sapeva " il tedesco"...
Sills is sublime. Richter is cold, lifeless, and seems bored to boot. Julius Rudel mops the floor with him in the RCA studio recording. Rudel also realized the orchestration and it’s very lush.
From this day onwards this aria will belong to you.
Sublime
bonjour , merci pour le cours de français , il est vrai que j'utilise rarement ce terme!!! sauf en ce qui me concerne, mais je me le dis en secret ! lol
Bonne journée et heureux de connaitre un fan de Beverly.
Je suis d'accord, pommeledominique and Karl O! Sills is wrongly consigned to some sort of second tier behind Sutherland and others. Frankly I like the clear sound of Sills' voice much more than the sort of hooty color - and let's face it, rather flat emotionalism -- of Sutherland. (A great technician to be sure, but not to my taste) Sills had excellent pitch and technique and you feel something when she sings. If Callas is "La Divina" and Sutherland is "La Stupdenda" then Sills should be "La Bubblissima" ;)
oops typo. That's "La Stupenda" (sorry Dame J)!
sopranosd NOT quite La Stupenda. But Sills is the only one who can touch her. Fantastic trills.
Yes so much love in Sills Voice and charm!
Agreed. With Sutherland around Sills was treated a little shabbily. Listening to these recordings 40 years later you see she was one of the greatest coloratura´s ever recorded. Not the prettiest sound. But the technique, and the rapid passages....fahgetaboutit. She deserves to be spoken about in the company of Pons, Dame Joan, Horne (understand different voice range) and Patti.
you don't find her voice pretty? Sure, it's not as full and round as a bigger voice, but I definitely think it's unique and beautiful.
THIS VERSION, YOU ARE THE ARIA SE PIETA DI ME NON SENTI? THANK YOU
Bubbles!
@illfurter on dit sublimissime pas sublissime
au fait illfurter on ne dit pas sublissime mais sublimissime
No one like Montserrat Caballé singing this aria, sorry!
Ángel Miguel Ramírez Gómez Really? I love Caballe, but Handel's arias requires real trills. And Caballe has ZERO ZERO trills. Caballe is a greatest Puccini singer and Verdi, but she has no business singing Handel or Bellini without a TRUE trill. Or do you even know what a trill is? I don't say this to hurt you. But I am a voice teacher. And I know that MOST difficult element in a coloratura sopranos voice is a trill. About 1 in 10,000 World class opera singers has a perfect trill. Sutherland and Sills fits the bill and more. Love...
Hahaha... you funny person!
Ángel Miguel Ramírez Gómez My dear, I'm not being funny. i've teached voice for decades. And I have never had a student who can even trill close to Sills and no one is close to Sutherland. If you don't know how important a perfect trill is...google it. It has to have two spinning notes very fast...NOT a tremelo like the great Caballe or even Callas...TWO notes spinning and you must hear the two notes. Play the piano...a trill has TWO notes. Not a fast vibrato. Take care, friend.
Thank you darling for your master class, I do not doubt at all about yor knowlege but is something about your maners that I don't really like. I supose is too late to change it, good luck in life take care as well...
Ángel Miguel Ramírez Gómez Dude... talking about a pot calling a kettle black. And you were the one to start it! :P