Beverly!

Beverly Sills!

She was a really popular singer and entertainer when I was still in my teens. And I recall that her pride – and her listener’s pride – was that she was not a European, transplanted to the US and singing Opera at the Met! No… she was a “home-grown”, US-trained talent!

She began in radio and television. She was educated in music, mainly piano, and was taught by the esteemed vocal coach Estelle Liebling. She was an operetta star long before she progresses into serious Opera.
On this CD, we hear Ms. Sills in the roles that made her a star, such as Donizetti’s Anna Bolena; as Massenet’s romantic heroine Manon; and in Olympia’s aria “Les Ouiseaux” from Offenbach’s Tales Of Hoffman.

This CD is a varied summary of Beverly Sills’ career. While she has long retired from the opera stage in 1979, she was active at the Metropolitan Opera since the 80’s and 90’s, and she sets an ongoing example for sopranos everywhere.

Here she is in Rossini’s opera, singing “Dunque io son” from Il Barbiere Di Siviglia:

And here is Beverly Sills in La Traviata: