Beverly

Track Listings

1. So Glad He Loves Me

2. Reach for It

3. Healing Virtue

4. Run to the Water

5. I'm Still Standing

6. Your Name

7. Make Me

8. I Won't Go On

9. Eyes Have Not Seen

10. Can't Nobody Do Me Like Jesus

11. Farewell

Tracks:

Una Voce Poco Fa - Sherrill Milnes
Dunque Io Son - Sherrill Milnes
Contro Un Cor - Sherrill Milnes
Ah, Qual Colpo Inaspetatto! - Sherrill Milnes
E Il Sol Dell'anima... Addio! Speranza Ed Anima - Ambrosian Opera Chorus
Gualtier Malde... Caro Nome - Ambrosian Opera Chorus
Tutte Le Feste Al Tempio... Compiuto Pur Quanto... Si, Vendetta - Ambrosian Opera Chorus
V'ho Ingannato... Lassu In Cielo - Ambrosian Opera Chorus
Quel Guardo Il Cavaliere... So Anch'io La Virtu Magica - Ambrosian Opera Chorus
Pronta Io Son... Vado, Corro - Ambrosian Opera Chorus
Via, Caro Sposino - Ambrosian Opera Chorus
Tornami A Dir Che M'ami - Ambrosian Opera Chorus
La Morale In Tutto Questo - Ambrosian Opera Chorus

Tracks:

Vilia - Beverly Sills
Ah! Je Suis Seule... Dis-Moi Que Je Suis Belle - Beverly Sills
Cielo! Che Diverro?... Si, ferite... Dal Soggiorno... Ah! Che Spiegar - Beverly Sills
Libiamo Ne' Lieti Calici - John Alldis Choir
Un Di Felice, Eterea - John Alldis Choir
E Strano... Ah, Fors'e Lui... Follie! Follie!... Sempre Libera - John Alldis Choir
Pura Siccome Un Angelo... Ah! Dite Alla Giovine - John Alldis Choir
Che Fai? - John Alldis Choir
Addio Del Passato - John Alldis Choir
Parigi, O Cara - John Alldis Choir

Amazon.com

Beverly Sills hardly needs an introduction. She sang on the radio as a child and on the operatic stage as a teenager; her meteoric international career was launched by appearances in several virtually unknown bel canto operas at the New York City Opera. This compilation of arias and ensembles from some of her signature roles, recorded in the 1970s, with splendid partners like Nicolai Gedda, Alfredo Kraus, and Sherrill Milnes, displays her unique vocal and dramatic artistry at its peak. Her voice, effortlessly produced over an enormous range, is bright, pure, infinitely variable in color, inflection and intensity. Her intonation is impeccable even in huge leaps, and her breath is endless. The coloratura roulades are like strings of perfect, luminous pearls, clearly articulated in seamless legato. But this stunning technique (whose only flaw is a sometimes wide, wobbly vibrato) is never used for show; every note has life and expression, serving the music and the dramatic situation. Indeed, her characters are flesh-and-blood human beings, whose thoughts, emotions and interactions, from inwardness to ecstasy, from lamentation to overflowing joy, she projects with riveting concentration. Rosina in Rossini's The Barber of Seville is a charming, mischievous minx who succumbs to delighted tenderness; Pamira's great scene from his Siege of Corinth shows clearly why her Metropolitan Opera debut in that role was a sensation. In Verdi's Rigoletto, Gilda's hopeful innocence turns into hopeless despair: she dies, palpably, on a floating, celestial pianissimo. In his La traviata, Violetta's initial cool, hesitant restraint gradually melts as she opens herself (and her voice) to Alfredo's ardor and the bliss of love. The vocal balance in their final duet is uncanny; its tremulous tenderness in the shadow of death breaks the heart, as does her duet with Germont. Massenet's Thais is sensuous; Donizetti's Don Pasquale and Lehár's The Merry Widow provide comic relief. --Edith Eisler

Album Description

Details TBA. EMI. 2005.

Customer Reviews:

Beverly Sills - The Best.......2007-04-01

What a voice. No coloratura can compare, and she makes it seem so easy.

Beverly Sills' highs are breathtaking!.......2006-09-18

Adio del Passato is incredible! Beverly's high, floating coloratura is no less than ethereal which takes you to another world. Her voice has given me so much joy that it is hard to say one recording is better than another because I love her Mozart album equally with her Bellini/Donizetti. It is so wonderful to have these recordings captured on CD! Enjoy!

THE 2005 OPERA CD OF THE YEAR.......2006-08-19

THIS CD WAS THE BEST OPERA CD ISSUED LAST YEAR, AND HAS CAUGHT THE WORLD'S EAR IN NO TIME. I WAS BUSY WRITING IN SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL, WHILE THE STATEOWNED FM RADIOSTATION, DEDICATED TO CULTURE, WAS SOFTLY PLAYING OPERA ARIAS IN THE BACKGROUND. SUDDENLY I HEARD THE MOST FANTASTIC RENDERING OF "SEMPRE LIBERA" FROM "LA TRAVIATA". I GOT UP, SAT BY THE RADIO AND WAITED TO KNOW WHO WAS SINGING... THEN GOT BACK TO THE COMPUTER TO ORDER THIS CD FROM AMAZON! INCREDIBLE: ONLY 17 BUCKS FOR THIS, WHILE QUITE A BIT OF TRASH IS SOLD FOR 30.40 AND MORE...
A LADY FRIEND ONCE TOLD ME SHE COULD NOT LISTEN TO THE DUET IN "MADAMA BUTTERFLY" WITH MIRELLA FRENI AND LUCIANO PAVAROTTI (RECORDED IN 1974, BY VON KARAJAN) WITHOUT CRYING. WELL, YOU CANNOT LISTEN TO SILLS IN "LA TRAVIATA" DRY-EYED, NO MATTER WHO THE TENOR IS. SHE PROJECTS THE SAME DRAMATIC FEELING OF "LA DIVINA" CALLAS WITHOUT THOSE SHRIEKED HIGHNOTES; SHE OFFERS THE SAME COLORATURA VOCAL GYMNASTICS AS "LA STUPENDA" SUTHERLAND BUT WITH WARMTH... WHEN BEVERLY SANG, AS IN EVERYTHING ELSE SHE DID, SHE ALWAYS GAVE HER UTMOST. SHE WAS "LA GENEROSA" TO BE SURE.
DON'T JUST SIT THERE READING WHAT OTHERS THINK.
ORDER THIS CD NOW AND MARVEL AT HOW THIS GREAT AMERICAN LADY, IN SO MANY OTHER WAYS, ALSO COULD SING!

EMI Does It Again: Beverly Sills - A Tribute.......2005-07-22

EMI's "Very Best Of" series are perfect introductions to operatic singers of the 20th century. Once you hear these artist tribute albums (much like The Singers series) you will get hooked on the singer and seek out their full-length studio recordings. Beverly Sills was the first truly famous American opera star. One may argue that she was not, that she was merely a continued tradition of American divas such as Mary Garden and Lily Pons and which still continues today with Renee Fleming, Elizabeth Futral and Susan Graham. Beverly was raised in New York City, which is still her home, and which is the home of the New York City Opera and the Met, opera houses which rocketed her to fame. Her first success (not featured in this recording...UH WHY ?) was Cleopatra of Handel's Julius Caesar, a performance she sang opposite the illustrious baritone Norman Treigle. Those performances were legendary because coincidentally at the same time the Met was opening its new theatre and season with what became a disastrous Samuel Barber's Antony and Cleopatra starring Leontyne Price in an overblown, big-budget, epic fiasco. The great roles that followed the 1965 Cleopatra were Manon, Queen Elizabeth I in Roberto Deveraux, Maria Stuarda and Anna Bolena in the Donizetti Tudor Queen operas, Pamira in The Siege of Corinth (which were Sill's La Scala and belated Met debut. None of the Queens are featured in this recording, though its supposedly the Very Best Of. An aria from Rossini's Siege of Corinth is featured here however. What we are treated to however are fine lyric roles- Beverly Sills shone brightly and acted convincingly as Gilda in Rigoletto (the final scene is featured here) as Violetta in La Traviata, Thais, The Merry Widow (the beautiful Vilja is featured here)and the ingenue role of Norina in Don Pasquale is also showcased here. To each of these roles, Beverly Sills delivered an authenticity and dramatic interpretation, not ot mention beautiful, sweet tone. I love her pianissimos, her high notes, her chest register. It was the voice of Beverly Sills who first hooked me into opera. For a recording that should showcase her best work, Manon is not featured nor any of her prized French heroines- Marie in The Daughter of the Regiment and the heroines in Tales of Hoffman. Also not in here is the role that was her first success- the Broadway opera Ballad of Baby Doe. Even as such, the arias here are gorgeous. The Barber of Seville is in here and as Rosina she is playful and charming. Sills was a modern singer, with a voice that was beautiful but willing to sacrifice beauty for the sake of dramatic content. When Sills was once asked what she thought of the supposed rivalry with Joan Sutherland (which was never real and only gossip from partisan fans) Beverly said something to this effect -Joan and I are apples and oranges in our take on opera, we are Picasso and Monet. She would do anything for the effect of beauty and tone, I'd sacrifice beauty for the sake of dramatic text. Even as such, I see no ugliness to any of the roles here. All of them are beautiful to hear, full of rich floating celestial tones. It would have been nice to hear the roles that did call for Sills to step up the tense drama - Norma, will her recording ever be reissued by EMI ? Also, few people know that Beverly Sills sung role most would consider dangerous for her voice (though she sang them long before her career even took off)- Aida and Carmen!!

Glad To Be The First Review- Beverly Sills Treasury Of Arias.......2005-04-29

At last EMI's "The Very Best Of" series has issued some of the finer recorded documented arias of the incomparable soprano Beverly Sills. Fans of this down-to-earth, warm patron of music and the most unique lyric-coloratura-dramatic soprano, will be in Heaven. Sure, this is only some of the arias in only a small number of the many operas Sills performed. To be truthful, this is not what I'd personally regard as the best of Beverly Sills. Other albums of hers do use greater vocal masterpieces she sang- the best being "The Singers" Series, and another EMI edition called The Art of Beverly Sills Volume 2 and then there's the rare and brilliant "Sillsiana". Nevertheless, this album has its charm and appeal. Beverly Sills sings arias from Rossini's Barber of Seville, Verdi's Rigoletto and Traviata. This recording seems to highlight mostly her mastership of the bel canto repertoire and Verdi. Gilda and Violetta were roles she sang with supreme dramatic integrity and sweetness and purity of vocal line. Yet, it is hardly "the best of". Where are scenes from the masterful interpretations of Donizetti, truly Sills strongest suit- Lucia Di Lammermoor, Anna Bolena, Maria Stuarda and Roberto Devereaux, where is Sills' Manon, which even she hails as her best ? And when will her recorded Norma ever see the light of day ? Sills also excelled in the French repertoire- Faust, Thais, La Fille Du Regiment, The Tales of Hoffman and she was an incredible Queen Shemakha in Korsakov's Coq D'Or. True, Sills had a light, girlish, delicate voice, bright and small, but this worked in her favor in tragic roles. Dramatically, she could get into character as passionately and convincingly as Maria Callas. When she could darken her voice and use her chest voice for dramatic effect it was often thrilling. This is the latest recording in a number of recordings that are coming out, further promoting a great singer of the past. Beverly Sills. She was the working man's soprano. She worked hard to get to the top. She was the reigning singer of the NYC Opera where she starred in such great operas as Handel's Giulio Ceare Sills as Cleopatra (also not on this recording) and Tales of Hoffman singing opposite the great but underrated bass Norman Treigle. Sills is a wonderful human being and she has a beautiful voice that I cannot get out of my mind. She will always be the greatest to me. She got me hooked into opera.

Average customer rating:

RIP, BEVERLY SILLS 1929-2007
Brava Sills!
Sills fits my bill
The Great American Soprano
My Favorite Woman

The Great Recordings

Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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English | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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Similar Items:

The Very Best of Beverly Sills
Art of Beverly
Verdi: La Traviata / Sills, Gedda, Panerai; Ceccato
Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor: Complete Opera (with full libretto and translation)
Beverly Sills: Made in America

ASIN: B0001Y4JG6
Release Date: 2004-05-11

Tracks:

Son Vergin Vezzosa - Paul Plishka
Eccomi... Oh! Quante Volte
Mira, O Norma
Santo Di Patria... Allor Che I Forti Corrono... Da Te Questo
Contro Un Cor Che Accende Amore - Nicolai Gedda
Che M'apporti? - Ambrosian Opera Chorus
Quel Sangue Versato Al Cielo S'innalza - Ambrosian Opera Chorus
Vorrei Spiegarvi, Oh Dio, K.418
Amor, Op.68 No.5

Tracks:

Martern Aller Arten
E Strano! E Strano!
Ah, Fors'e Lui
Follie! Follie!
Sempre Libera
Ces Murs Silencieux - Pardonnez-moi, Dieu De Toute Puissance - Ambrosian Opera Chorus
Toi! Vous! - Oui! Je Fus Cruelle Et Coupable! - Ambrosian Opera Chorus
N'est-ce Plus Ma Main? - Ambrosian Opera Chorus
Robert, Toi Que J'aime
Tu Ne Chanteras Plus?
Chere Enfant Que J'appele
Meine, Lippen, Die Kusen So Heiss
Wien, Wien, Nur Du Allein
Always Through The Changing

Customer Reviews:

RIP, BEVERLY SILLS 1929-2007.......2007-07-03

The great American diva's passing was announced today.

This wonderful CD set is a perfect compilation of her art as can be found anywhere. Her finest roles and performances are captured here, most of them derived from the Westminster/Audio Treasury recordings from her prime. Listening to them again demonstrates to me why she was so special, and such an inspiration to music lovers everywhere.

Brava Sills!.......2007-02-02

A very nice compilation of Sillsiana. The different cuts on this CD provide a nice illustration of her work. Let me briefly describe my response to a sampling of the works on this CD:

Bellini, I Puritani, "Son vergin vezzosa." Wonderful. Sutherland owns this--but so does Beverly Sills. Contemporary sopranos such as Netrebko and Gruberova have also sung this on their respective CDs, and while their product is nice, it simply does not compare. Sills is remarkably agile with her voice; the trills are well done; she cleanly hits high notes; the overall effect can only be described as wonderful.

Bellini, Norma, "Mira, o Norma". This is smoothly sung and very melodic. The technique that she exhibits does not overwhelm the music.

Rosini, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, "Contro un cor che accende amore." Again, her agile voice is well deployed. The florid singing is well done.

Donizetti, Roberto Devereaux, "Che m'apporti." Her clean, light voice matches well with this aria. Smoothly sung. Her "Quel sangue versato al cielo s'innalza," which follows, is well done. High notes cleanly hit, a smooth line.

Verdi, La Traviata, "E strano. . . .Sempre libera." Again, what agility! In "Sempre libera," she reveals a rich voice and, again, wonderful agility. This is an animated version of one of Verdi's showcase pieces.

Lehar, Giudetta. "Meine Lippen." A lot of fun! This is smoothly sung.

In the final analysis, this is a nice potpourri of Beverly Sills' repertoire. Those not familiar with her work will find this a nice entree to her oeuvre; those familiar with her will find this a good compilation.

Sills fits my bill.......2006-03-13

This recording is another in an all too small CD collection of Sills recordings. I eagerly await more.

The Great American Soprano.......2005-10-01

This is a great collecition featuring arias from the Classical and Romantic periods. Fabulous!!!!!

My Favorite Woman.......2005-08-05

I would have to say that when I first heard Beverly Sills sing, I was entranced. I couldn't take my eyes off of her and I became angry at any rustling around me, because I was afraid I would miss one note. It was so addictive....that is what she is....addictive! A c.d. will never properly capture her style. She is an amazing leader in opera, taking it into a new frontier and I believe this c.d. showcases that.

Average customer rating:

WHAT CAN I SAY?
Rest in Peace Dear Bubbles (1929-July 2, 2007)
two beautiful discs!
Good example of the "Art of Beverly Sills"
Claws

Art of Beverly
Beverly Sills
Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Deutsche Grammophon: Music | Specialty Stores | Music
Similar Items:

The Very Best of Beverly Sills
The Great Recordings
Beverly Sills: Made in America
Beverly Sills
Massenet: Manon

ASIN: B000075A7K
Release Date: 2002-11-12

Tracks:

Mignon: Oui, Pour Ce Soir Je Suis Reine Des Fees...Je Suis Titania La Blonde
Manon: Allons! Il Le Faut-Adieu, Notre Petite Table
Manon: Je Marche Sur Tous Les Chemins-Obeissons Quand Leur Voix Appelle
Louise: Depuis Le Jour
Linda Di Chamounix: Ah! Tardai Troppo...O Luce Di Quest'Anima
Lucia Di Lammermoor: Regnava Nel Silenzio...Quando Rapito In Estasi
I Puritani: Fini...Me Lassa!
I Puritani: Vieni, Vieni Fra Queste Braccia
Roberto Devereux: L'amor Suo Mi Fe' Beata
Maria Stuarda: O Nube
Anna Bolena: Cielo A' Miei Lunghi Spasimi-Coppia Iniqua

Tracks:

Les Contes D'Hoffman: Les Oiseau Dans La Charmille
Les Contes D'Hoffman: Elle A Fui, La Tourterelle
Zaide: Ruhe Sanft, Mein Holdes Leben
Der Opernball: Im Chambre Separee
Die Lustige Witwe: Es Lebt' Eine Vilja
The Ballad Of Baby Doe: Gold Is A Fine Thing
Die Tote Stadt: Cluck, Das Mir Verblieb
Daphen: Was Blendet So...Ich Komme...Ich Komme
Sechs Lieder Op.19 No.2: Breit' uber Mein haupt Dein Schwarzes Haar

Customer Reviews:

WHAT CAN I SAY?.......2007-07-05

FOR THOSE WHO WANT A SAMPLER, IT IS THE BEST. YET, IT LEAVES YOU PINING FOR THE ITEMS SILLS NEVER RECORDED IN THEIR ENTIRETY. MORE STRAUSS, MORE OF EVERYTHING. A DEFINITIVE VOICE. HER LUCIA IS UNSURPASSED.

Rest in Peace Dear Bubbles (1929-July 2, 2007).......2007-07-03

I have always loved the flowing, plaintive music of bel canto, and no other singer perhaps captured the synthesis of fioritura and expression so perfectly as Beverly Sills. Callas may have been a supreme dramatist, but Beverly Sills had a better command of the fioritura that skyrocketed her career during the 60s and 70s. It is indeed sad that America has lost one of its national treasures yesterday when Beverly Sills passed away in Manhattan. She truly was one of the greatest. Just listen to her singing any one of Donizetti's three queens and you will know what I mean. She is exemplary not only in Donizetti though. Her Manon is still the best, her Violetta in par with Callas, her Louise the most idiomatic ever recorded, her Fille du Regiment a joy, Linda di Chamounix ecstatic, and Gilda a lesson in the art of light Verdi. She was a supreme painter of characters. Has there ever been a more brilliant Zerbinetta? And how many singers have been able to truly convey the youth of Elvira in Puritani? In Rossini, she was also unparalleled in L'Assedio di Corinto, the role that she made her La Scala debut in. Beverly Sills was one of a great many singers who belonged to a great golden age of singing, and I am thankful that I was born into the right time to hear her glorious work. This CD is a wonderful compilation of the brand of singing that she brought into the lives of many an opera fan for years and years to come.

I met this singer last fall in New York. A few months later, I saw her again hosting the opera quiz at the Met. Little did I know that about five months later, she would forever rest in the peace that she deserved for so long. Rest in peace Beverly. And brava...brava for the many years of wonderful singing that you gave us.

two beautiful discs!.......2007-02-18

Beverly Sills not only survived being a child prodigy - a rare enough thing among singing musicians - she triumphed in a big way. Her fertile and beautiful art is wonderfully represented on this double disc set from Deutsche Grammophon. I sense today a resurgence of appreciation for her art, and to call it well deserved is saying the least. The singing's jam packed with pure musicianship, attention to nuance, fidelity to composer and character - in a word, everything requisite to making the operatic art thrive, qualities in short enough supply today among many opera stars, and it makes this package even more attractive. Sills not only understood bel canto art, she accomplished it memorably. Highlights include 'Ah! Tardai troppo...' (Linda di Chamounix), &an unearthly 'Regnava nel silenzio...' (Lucia), which I might prefer to Sutherland's for its committment and munificence. The gone too soon Thomas Schippers conducts a great performance - how that man could possess whatever orchestra and score he worked with. Two arias from I Puritani - especially 'Vieni, vieni fra queste braccia' with the singing of the genius Nicolai Gedda as Arturo, and an opening to Anna Bolena's aria 'Cielo, a' miei lunghi spasimi' that wipes clean every memory of other versions. All that on disc 1! I had forgotten Sills' beautiful pianissimos, singing so musicianly and free of ego - her interpretation is always only her adherence to score and composer, and greater praise cant be given a classical singer. Disc 2 offers a definitive version of Korngold's 'Gluck, das mir verblieb' (Die Tote Stadt) among a number of fine versions out there. The slowest version available and I feel I'm hearing it for the first time, and with a true Viennese (Rudel) conducting! You can put this track alone on repeat and live out the day in freedom! If you dont know Sills' art, or dont remember it well and truly, this set is a fine place to begin what will become transfixion with a musical art that proves itself urgent and inextinguishable! Highest recommendation.

Good example of the "Art of Beverly Sills".......2007-01-27

Beverly Sills is one of the most well reputed coloratura sopranos of the past fifty years. This CD illustrates why she has attained such renown. First, it shows the range of her singing. While much of her work focused on Donizetti, Bellini, and Rossini, she sang about fifty roles in her career, before retiring in her late 40s. This 2 CD set provides a sense of the range of her work.

The first CD focuses on her operatic singing. The CD begins with a selection from Thomas' "Mignon," culminating in "Je suis Titania la blonde." Her voice is light and clear. She displays great agility. In the middle of this piece, she shows a decent but not great trill; she closes the "cut" with a series of terrific trills. Her ornamentation is nicely done.

Donizetti's "Linda di Chamounix" was another of Sills' characters. "Ah! Tardai troppo. . .O luce di quest'anima" features more clean vocalization. The florid singing is nicely done, with well sung high notes and additional sound trills. A very agile voice on display! From Donizetti's "Lucia di Lammermoor," Sills sings "Regnava nel silenzio. . .Quando rapito in estasi." Her voice is smooth. In the aria, she produces a set of trill after trill, each one well done, but in their totality almost overdone (I love trills, but there were almost too many!). "Quando rapito in estasi" is well sung, with much well done florid singing, with appoggiaturas, trills, and other ornamentation.

The remainder of the CD features selections from Bellini's "I Puritani," and Donizetti's "Roberto Devereux," "Maria Stuarda," and "Anna Bolena." I can say pretty much the same about these pieces as already stated before. Excellent technique, wonderful ornamentation.

The second CD begins with the redoubtable piece, sung by "Olympia," from Offenbach's "Les Contes d'Hoffmann." Well done, with good vocal effects, catching the mechanical aspects of the music. Other pieces on this side come from Mozart, Heuberger, Moore, Korngold, and so on.

One piece worth mentioning, because it captures her approach to a lighter work, from Lehar's "The Merry Widow." She sings the song for what it is, and does not overwhelm it with her voice. Compare with what Richard Tucker did to the enjoyable but rather light song, "What Now My Love?", when he essayed singing pop tunes. Enjoyable for the thrill of his voice; pretty grisly in terms of his overwhelming the music itself. That does not happen here; there is a certain pathos in Sills' singing, as warranted by the song. It suggests the range of her singing.

All in all, a good sampling of "The Art of Beverly Sills." Hearing her voice again after many years reinforces my preexisting view that she ranks as one of the best coloratura sopranos of the past fifty years. There are terrific contemporary singers who sing the same repertoire and do it well. But Beverly Sills certainly compares very well with them. If interested in an introduction to Sillsiana, this is a good place to start.

Claws.......2003-11-16

I already wrote a great review of this collection. It is supreme artistry, and I find her high notes rather large and not shrill. My only question is about the cover photo. Those fingers look like something out of Edward Scissorhands or Nightmare on Elm Street! Does anyone else agree with me? Almost seems like someone must have done some false touch-ups to make them look like claws!

Average customer rating:

The BEST Testament to Beverly Sills' Memory
Still endearing fifty years on
Beverly Sills First Hit Role
I wish I could give this recording a fifteen star rating!
From An Opera Singer

The Ballad of Baby Doe

Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

English | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Operettas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Deutsche Grammophon: Music | Specialty Stores | Music
Similar Items:

The Ballad of Baby Doe: Vocal Score
Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor: Complete Opera (with full libretto and translation)
Verdi: La Traviata / Sills, Gedda, Panerai; Ceccato
The Great Recordings
Floyd: Susannah (complete opera)

ASIN: B00000IPTU
Release Date: 1999-04-20

Tracks:

The Ballad Of Baby Doe: Act One: Scene One - Opening
The Ballad Of Baby Doe: Act One: Scene One - 'It's A Bang-Up Job' (Tabor)
The Ballad Of Baby Doe: Act One: Scene One - 'Horace, What Is This?' (Augusta)
The Ballad Of Baby Doe: Act One: Scene One - 'I Beg Your Pardon' (Baby Doe)
The Ballad Of Baby Doe: Act One: Scene Two - 'What A Lovely Evening'
The Ballad Of Baby Doe: Act One: Scene Two - 'Willow, Where We Met Together' (Willow Song) (Baby Doe)
The Ballad Of Baby Doe: Act One: Scene Two - 'Oh, Mr. Tabor!' (Baby Doe)
The Ballad Of Baby Doe: Act One: Scene Two - 'Warm As The Autumn Light' (Tabor)
The Ballad Of Baby Doe: Act One: Scene Three - 'Now, Where Do You Suppose?' (Augusta)
The Ballad Of Baby Doe: Act One: Scene Three - 'Have You Seen Her?' (Augusta)
The Ballad Of Baby Doe: Act One: Scene Three - 'What Are You Looking For, Horace?' (Augusta)
The Ballad Of Baby Doe: Act One: Scene Four - 'Why, Mrs. Doe!'
The Ballad Of Baby Doe: Act One: Scene Four - (Letter Song)
The Ballad Of Baby Doe: Act One: Scene Four - 'Excuse Me' (Augusta)
The Ballad Of Baby Doe: Act One: Scene Four - 'I Knew It Was Wrong' (Baby Doe)
The Ballad Of Baby Doe: Act One: Scene Four - 'No! No! No!' (Baby Doe)
The Ballad Of Baby Doe: Act One: Scene Seven - 'What Do You Intend To Do?' (Augusta)
The Ballad Of Baby Doe: Act One: Scene Six - 'Everything Looks Beautiful'
The Ballad Of Baby Doe: Act One: Scene Six - 'Gold Is A Fine Thing' (Silver Aria) (Baby Doe)
The Ballad Of Baby Doe: Act One: Scene Six - 'And I'll Show You Something Else' (Tabor)

Tracks:

The Ballad Of Baby Doe: Opening
The Ballad Of Baby Doe: 'The Fine Ladies' (Baby Doe)
The Ballad Of Baby Doe: 'Mama, Go Inside!' (Baby Doe)
The Ballad Of Baby Doe: 'Augusta, What Are You Doing Here?' (Tabor)
The Ballad Of Baby Doe: 'I'll Raise You'
The Ballad Of Baby Doe: 'Turn Tail And Run!' (Tabor)
The Ballad Of Baby Doe: 'La, La, La, La'
The Ballad Of Baby Doe: 'Good People Of Leadville'
The Ballad Of Baby Doe: 'Extra! Extra!'
The Ballad Of Baby Doe: 'Augusta! Augusta!' (Augusta)
The Ballad Of Baby Doe: 'Hey, Mister!'
The Ballad Of Baby Doe: 'The Cattle Are Asleep' (Tabor)
The Ballad Of Baby Doe: 'Tabor Owns The Big Hotel' (Chorus)
The Ballad Of Baby Doe: 'Horace!' (Baby Doe)
The Ballad Of Baby Doe: 'Always Through The Changing' (Baby Doe)

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Despite its somewhat Disneyesque title, The Ballad of Baby Doe is one of the sturdiest American operas. Its riches-to-rags story of Colorado miner Horace Tabor has a great plot, excellent characters, real arias, and dynamic chorus scenes, and none of it sounds second hand in the least. The opera has an extremely inviting personality of its own. This recording by the New York City Opera is full of crackling fast tempos from conductor Emerson Buckley and great theatricality: right down to the minor characters, everybody knows what they're about. Beverly Sills, Walter Cassel, and Frances Bible all inhabit their roles completely. The one drawback is the recording quality, which is good to voices but mushy on the orchestra. To know what's really going on in the piece musically, one must hear the similarly well-sung but more relaxed 1996 recording made at the venue where the opera was premiered: Central City Opera in Colorado. --David Patrick Stearns

Customer Reviews:

The BEST Testament to Beverly Sills' Memory.......2007-07-05

With this recording, Ms Sills set her mark forever on the world of opera. Period!

Of all the recordings that she made, this one, "The Ballad of Baby Doe", is the one that brings back the most endearing memories of this wonderfully talented lady.

It was her first Big Hit role in her new-found home (New York City Opera Company); it also, just happens to be a Totally American story, and creation, written by Douglas Moore.

Here we have Ms Sills in the freshness of her youth, in a brand new role, one that few have been able to fill after her sparkling interpretation. I think it fair to say that she will "always" be Baby Doe.

This recording is a true jem, as all previous reviewers, and many others will tell you. There is NO other work like this one. It is so fresh, lovely, and of course, tragic at the same time.

Everything about this recording is "small and intimate" as this story should be presented. And, luckily, the forces behind getting this recording made, did not have access to large forces and lots of technological wizardry-type equipment and facilities to do this recording in. This makes it all the more wonderful, as I said, small and intimate.

Beverly Sills, Frances Bible, and Walter Cassell had sung this opera together, and had "lived" in their parts long enough to become real breathing characters, characters that you really do care about, and get drawn in by. I defy anyone not to become emotional when Baby Doe sings the "Willow Song", or not to become teary with her final "Always Through The Changing". Frances Bible's stiffly starched Augusta Tabor is so three dimensional that she could walk right into the room with you! And, Walter Cassell's portrail of Horace Tabor will probably never be sung with the "totally lived in" feel that he brings to the role.

From all my thousands of opera recordings, this one gets picked FIRST if I want to listen to an American work. It also gets picked FIRST when I just want to marvel at Beverly Sills' truly most-gorgeous voice at the peak of her youthful freshness and "innocence" (before she had "grown up" in all those other roles).

Deutsche Grammophone has truly done us all a great favor by bringing forward all of the ABC and previous recordings that Ms Sills made prior to her move to EMI, and, truly, we are most thankful for the beautiful remastering and refurbushing of this wonderful Great American Work by Douglas Moore. Bravo, DG!, and of course, certainly, Bravo/Brava to Ms Sills, Ms Bible, Mr Cassell, and to Emerson Buckley for holding it all together. A truly landmark recording, and one that should be on your shelves. ~operabruin

Still endearing fifty years on.......2007-04-15

I wholeheartedly agree with the universal praise for this recording and have seen a performance at the Central City Opera House, a small Victorian gem in the middle of a touristy mining town north of Denver. In that setting, Baby Doe comes off at its best, since the music really is too simple for grand opera, abouanding in barely disguised folk songs and Top 40 harmonies. The cast carries the day, with total conviction from the two leads, Sills and Cassel. The role of Augusta Tabor is almost as large, and Frances Bible sings magnificently. All deserve high praise for their excellent, clear English diction, a rare thing and hard to achieve.

There are drawbacks, most of them minor in regard to the total impact. The major flaw is the dated sound, never good even for its day, that comes close to shattering and peaking any time the music grows louder than mezzo forte. Sills sings at her purest and freshest, but the microphone distortion cramps the voice considerably. A shame DG couldn't remaster the original tapes to remove so much glare. The second flaw is the routine but vigorous conducting of Emerson Buckley; a better conductor could have made the choral passages sound better than a college musical. These blemishes aside, Baby Doe is an American classic and has survived after many, many of its rivals have long ago faded away.

Beverly Sills First Hit Role.......2005-09-03

This is the opera that made Beverly Sills an opera star. She was 29 when she first performed it with the New York City Opera in 1958. Written in 1955 by Douglas Moore, the opera is based on the true story of the already-married Colorado silver magnate Horace Tabor and the young miner's wife, Baby (Mrs. Elizabeth) Doe, with whom he fell in love. Moore writes very much in the folk-opera idiom of American opera in the mid-50s, (Carlisle Floyd's "Susannah" comes to mind), and as a result the music is extremely accessible and full of lovely melodies, particularly in the music written for Baby Doe, such as the "Willow Song" and the "Letter Song" in the first act.
Sills herself always considered the role of Baby Doe the role she most inhabited, and she is in simply sumptuous voice on this recording. She is ably supported by the underrated American baritone Walter Cassel as Horace Tabor, and by the New York City Opera's leading mezzo-soprano, Frances Bible, in the surprisingly sympathetic role of Augusta, Horace's self-righteous wife. Julius Rudel conducts the New York City Opera orchestra with his usual steady hand, and the sound quality of this 1959 recording is excellent. Anyone who enjoys American opera should add this to their collection, and for fans of Beverly Sills, this is a "must have".

I wish I could give this recording a fifteen star rating!.......2004-06-15

First of all, I must state that I have loved this recording for three plus decades.
I have LP copies of it on MGM, Heliodor, and DGG pressings.
But I am one who has been waiting for years to find it released on CD. When the CD set finally came out, I was beside myself with joy.

This is the Baby Doe to have.

Someone mentioned the 1996 CD recording of Baby Doe, which was recorded in the Central City Opera House.
That's a very good recording. The entire cast is/are wonderful.
And that recording includes a few bars(in the first act) which are cut from the Sills Baby Doe.

But as fine as the 1996 recording is; it would be impossible to top or even match Cassel, Sills, and Bible as the Tabor love triangle.

I attended one of the 1996 Central City Opera Baby Doe performances. I was elated to see/hear the opera performed in that glorious old house.
But I have to admit that the acoustic ambiance of the Central City Opera House was a bit tubby and dry (acoustically). The tubby and dry ambiance of the 1996 Baby Doe recording is one of the reasons I prefer the Sills recording.

Anyway.

I have made two pilgrimages to Leadville. The Tabor Grand Opera House (which is in desperate need of funds for restoration) is still standing and in business.
The Clarendon Hotel (which was adjacent to the Tabor Grand) was torn down decades ago (although evidence of the Tabor cat walk from the Tabor Grand to the Clarendon is still extant).

Both times I visited Leadville, standing on the stage of the Tabor Grand left me speechless.

But my two visits to Baby Doe's cabin at the Matchless Mine devastated me.

Both times I stood in the "cold and narrow house" in which Baby Doe died so emotionally overwhelmed me that I had to step outside. I didn't want the rest of the tourees to see me weeping.

I couldn't help reacting that way. As I stood in Baby's cabin, her final aria , "Always Through the Changing" (as sung by Sills) kept running through my mind.

For those who have not heard this Opera (especially the Sills recording) you all really must listen to it.
It's one of the few truly great American Operas.

Moore's score is glorious. The Latouche libretto is outstanding.
And the story of Baby Doe (upon which the opera is based) is well represented (with a few dramatic alterations) in the opera.

From An Opera Singer.......2004-05-23

This recording is absolutely fabulous. Beverly Sills sings with amazing technique and her high notes are silvery and effortless. She owns the roll of Baby Doe. I have to say, I do enjoy Sills more than Callas. And I do have a very educated opinion... I am an opera singer. I actually sing the roll of Baby Doe so I know how challanging it is. Walter Cassel is amazing on this recording as well. Any other cast recording of this opera isn't worth the money. This is by far the best out there.

Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor: Complete Opera (with full libretto and translation)

Average customer rating:

Sweet
A Desert Island Disc
Ne plus ultra
One of the great Lucias
Crazy reviewers

Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor: Complete Opera (with full libretto and translation)
Gaetano Donizetti , Beverly Sills , Carlo Bergonzi , Thomas Schippers , and London Symphony Orchestra
Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Verdi: La Traviata / Sills, Gedda, Panerai; Ceccato
Massenet: Manon
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The Great Recordings
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ASIN: B000060P5O
Release Date: 2002-03-12

Tracks:

Part One: N.1 Preludio E Coro D'Introduzione: Percorrente Le Spiagge Vicine - Ambrosian Opera Chorus
Part One: N.2 Scena E Cavatina: Tu Sei Turbato! - E N'Ho Ben D'Onde - Piero Cappuccilli
Part One: No.2 Scena E Cavatina: Cruda, Funestsa Smania - Piero Cappuccilli
Part One: N.2 Scena E Cavatina: Il Tuo Dubbio E Ormai Certezza - Piero Cappuccilli
Part One: N.3 Scena E Cavatina: Ancor Non Giunse! - Beverly Sills
Part One: N.3 Scena E Cavatina: Regnava Nel Silenzio - Beverly Sills
Part One: N.4 Scena E Duetto - Finale I: Egli S'Avanza - Carlo Bergonzi
Part One: N.4 Scena E Duetto - Finale I: Sulla Tomba Che Rinserra - Carlo Bergonzi
Part Two: Act One, N.5. Scena: Lucia Fra Poco A Te Verra - Piero Cappuccilli
Part Two: Act One, N.6. Duetto: Appressati, Lucia - Piero Cappuccilli
Part Two: Act One, N.6. Duetto: Il Pallor, Funesto, Orrendo - Piero Cappuccilli
Part Two: Act One, N.7. Scena Ed Aria: Ebben? - Di Tua Speranza - Beverly Sills
Part Two: Act One, N.7. Scena Ed Aria: Ah! Cedi, Cedi O Piu Sciagure - Beverly Sills

Tracks:

Part Two: Act Two - Finale II, N.8. Coro E Cavatina: Per Te D'Immenso Giubilo/Per Poco Fra Le Tenebre - Ambrosian Opera Chorus
Part Two: Act Two - Finale II, No.9. Scena E Quartetto: Dov'E Lucia? - Qui Giungere Or La Vedrem.../Ecco Il Tuo Sposo - Piero Cappuccilli
Part Two: Act Two - Finale II. Sestetto Con Coro: Chi Mi Frena In Tal Momento?/Chi Raffrena Il Mio Furore? - Piero Cappuccilli
Part Two: Act Two - Finale II, No.10. Seguito E Stretta Del Finale II: T'Allontana, Sciagurato - Maledetto Sia I'Istante - Piero Cappuccilli
Part Two: Act Two, No.11. Uragano, Scena E Duetto: Orrida E Questa Notte - Piero Cappuccilli
Part Two: Act Two, No.11 Urgano, Scena E Duetto: Ashton! - Si/Qui Del Padre Ancor Respira - Piero Cappuccilli
Part Two: Act Two, No.12. Coro: D'Immenso Giubilo - Ambrosian Opera Chorus
Part Two: Act Two, No.13. Gran Scena Con Cori: Deh, Cessate Quel Contento - Justino Diaz
Part Two: Act Two, No.14. Scena Ed Aria: O Giusto Cielo! - Il Dolce Suono - Ambrosian Opera Chorus
Part Two: Act Two, No.14. Scena Ed Aria: Ardon Gli Incensi - Ambrosian Opera Chorus
Part Two: Act Two, No.14. Scena Ed Aria: S'Avanza Enrico! - Piero Cappuccilli
Part Two: Act Two, No.14. Scena Ed Aria: Spargi D'Amaro Pianto - Piero Cappuccilli
Part Two: Act Two, Scena - Recitativo: Si Tragga Altrove - Piero Cappuccilli
Part Two: Act Two, No.15. Aria E Finale: Tombe Degli Avi Miei - Carlo Bergonzi
Part Two: Act Two, No.15. Aria E Finale: Fra Poco A Me Ricovero - Carlo Bergonzi
Part Two: Act Two, No.15. Aria E Finale: Oh Meschina!/Tu Che A Dio Spiegasti L'Ali - Ambrosian Opera Chorus

Amazon.com

This Lucia was recorded in 1970, when Beverly Sills was at the peak of her vocal and dramatic powers. She had been singing the role of Lucia on stage for six years, and she knew the character. Here is a manic-depressive who is slightly crazy from the start, and Sills's embellishments to the vocal line (and there are tons of them; hardly a line is left as written), mostly composed especially for her, are always at the service of the drama. She is a far cry from the chirpy Pons and Peters (and even Sutherland, whose just-plain-singing of the role is unmatchable, but who was never all that interested in building character) and comes closer to Callas, but without the great Greek soprano's huge palette of colors or, for that matter, vocal limitations. Sills is gloriously fluent in the coloratura, the high notes are impeccable, and her reading of the words is truly involved and involving. Carlo Bergonzi has everything as Edgardo, while Piero Cappuccilli's Enrico is snarling and cruel. Schippers leads a very tight, exciting, complete performance, and for the first (and only) time on CD, the glass harmonica Donizetti asked for is used in the Mad Scene. This is a must for lovers of great singing. --Robert Levine

Customer Reviews:

Sweet.......2007-06-30

The opening chords and strains, the sextet and the mad scene. These of course are what I love about Lucia, though all of it is beautiful. I've had this recording for months and just listened to it today. I doubt I'll listen to it again. I have lots of Lucias, and no favorites. Though I especially like Sutherland's 1959 recording of the mad scene, it's beautiful, and her trills hadn't got muddy yet. I'm only going to comment on the mad scene in this recording. It sounds more like a lullaby than the ravings of someone who'd just murdered her husband. I was surprised, because I'd read (apocryphal) that Sills had said she'd pound tables and sing off key to get the drama out. I prefer bel canto coloratura to table pounding, I don't care about the drama. At all. Still, that said, I was both stunned and disappointed in Sills' mad scene. It was, well, flaccid. (I love Sills, am listening to the 1st disc of Sillsiana right now, and I have the Pons recording and do not think she chirped!)

A Desert Island Disc.......2007-06-11

Like many other reviewers here, I am a serious bel canto fan. And like many of them, I have heard many Lucias live and have several recordings of the great Lucias: Callas, Sutherland, and Sills. This opera is, in my view, along with Norma, fundamental to understanding bel canto properly as a style in which virtuosity is the servant of drama. Not just empty display by prima donnas.

I have known and loved this opera since I was a teenager and to me, Sills is simply the best Lucia I have heard. I recall as a college student going to the listening library on many Friday afternoons and listening to this recording on LP over headphones until well into the evening, as it was not released on CD until a decade later. I was simply entranced.

Sills really is Lucia, the perfect realization of the "Ophelia" type so beloved by the Romantic imagination: a delicate, sensitive, emotional girl driven mad by cruelty and betrayal and crushed by events outside her control. Her tone is delicate, yet clear, and she sounds girlish (which Callas, for all her considerable art, could not quite convey). The high notes are firm and a bit bright, but never shrill or wobbly. The words absolutely clear, even in the hushed tones Sills uses so devastatingly. Her ornamentations express joy, terror, or agitation, perfectly evoking those heightened emotions. Her mad scene is really spooky. Again, only she and Callas sound like they are wandering about in a trance, living a demented fantasy. Along with Callas' Norma, in my view, it is the greatest bel canto performance on record. Sills, like Callas as Norma, really makes you think she IS Lucia.

What more can you ask for? Well, you get a perfectly stylish Edgardo in Bergonzi (although I feel that Pavarotti is unbeatably ardent, passionate, and even sexy in the role) and as so many have noted, a conductor who loves the opera and conducts like he does, excellent stereo sound, and a complete edition of the score. And how about that wonderfully spooky glass harmonica in the mad scene!

This recording needs to be in the collection of every opera lover and above all is required listening for any fan of bel canto. Sills, through words and music, makes us "see" DONIZETTI'S Lucia (not Beverly Sills, Diva) and feel her plight. That is what great operatic artists do. Run to get this one!

Ne plus ultra.......2007-01-03

I have four "Lucia"s on my shelf, and this is the one I always listen to when I want to experience the full drama of this bel canto classic. (We can safely ignore the opinions of those tin-eared listeners who don't grasp the shattering drama delivered by bel canto at its best.) Granted I may be somewhat influenced by having seen and heard Sills in the opera house, but her superiority in all "departments" in conveying Donizetti's dramatic achievement is not bettered anywhere, not by Callas and certainly not by Sutherland, whatever the glories of her singing. Sills conveys Lucia's incipient madness with the first notes she utters and her performance traces an uninterrupted arc from the fountain scene until she's led away after the Mad Scene. And she's fully seconded by everyone else who takes part, especially Bergonzi and -- best of all conductors in this score -- Thomas Schippers. If you want to know why bel canto opera has such a large body of fans, immerse yourself in in this recording as soon as possible.

One of the great Lucias.......2004-12-03

Many people, me included, have often wondered at the supreme ugliness of, even in her "prime", Maria Callas' voice. Of course, the rejoinder always has been "But did you see her in the house?"

Obviously, since she blew herself out at a comparatively early age, the answer is "no".

Now, we have a whole new group of nay-sayers telling us the Sills voice is too small, too thin, too ugly, too whatever. To those, I would simply say "But did you see her in the house?". Fair is fair.

I saw Ms. Sills many times in the house throughout her lengthy career. She did not possess a "perfect" voice. Who does?

But, during her greatest years, of which this recording is one of several examples, she possessed a beautiful and remarkably expressive lyric coloratura instrument. While a shade "lighter" than some, she had the almost uncanny ability of always being heard, even in the heaviest ensembles and over the loudest orchestras (which happened often when Julius Rudel was at the helm). Her voice seemed to bounce around the house. When you saw her in person.

Lucia was one of her most remarkable achievements. Anyone who ever saw her in the house knows of what I speak. Those who did not see her in the house should remain silent in their envy.

Now, make no mistake. I adored Sutherland. I would be completely unable to chose between the two, so different were their approaches to their art.

Of course, Sills' tireless efforts to popularize opera and bring a new audience to the opera house are well known.

Thank God I was around to see them both in the house. Many times.

And as for Anna Moffo. Well, she was a beautiful woman with a beautiful voice. For a while.

Enough said.

Crazy reviewers.......2004-11-30

Sills is a great Lucia. For those who say her voice is too small for the role, especially compared to Sutherland and Callas, I say it is the right size for this role. Lucia, after all, was written for Fanny Persiani, who was a soprano with a light coloratura voice. Also, for those who say Sills' coloratura pales in comparison with Sutherland's, I say hogwash. Sills' coloratura is superb. She does smudge some staccati, but only does so for dramatic effect. Her trills and runs are breathtaking.

This role is NOT merely a display of stratospheric high notes and complicated coloratura. It is also a greatly dramatic role which must be ACTED with the voice. In this regard, Sills succeeds with flying colors. Her solo scenes are magnificent, just listen to her Mad Scene (her singing here reaches the highest pinnacle of vocal acting). Her work with her colleagues is also superb.

The rest of the cast is made up of great singers, especially Carlo Bergonzi as an elegant and passionately restrained, but still affecting Edgardo. One must hear his double-aria finale to realize his greatness. He sings with beautiful tone and magnificent phrasing and diction. He is truly in a class of his own.

The conducting of Thomas Schippers is great. He propels the action forward and gives every passage its dramatic due. His pacing of the three duets that follow "Regnava nel silenzio" is very exciting and makes for thrilling listening.

In short, this recording is truly one of the best on the market.

Average customer rating:

Best Ever!!!!
best cd ever
James rates Maze's Greatest Hits
Frankie Beverly and Maze
Maze - Greatest Hits

Greatest Hits
Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly
Manufacturer: The Right Stuff
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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The Greatest Hits of Maze...Lifelines, Vol. 1
Live in New Orleans

ASIN: B0002JP2WU
Release Date: 2004-08-10

Tracks:

Workin' Together
Golden Time Of Day
Feel That You're Feelin'
Southern Girl
Running Away
Joy & Pain
Before I Let Go
Love Is The Key
Never Let You Down
We Are One
I Wanna Thank You
Back In Stride
Too Many Games
I Wanna Be With You
Happy Feelin's (Live)
Can't Get Over You
Silky Soul
The Morning After

Customer Reviews:

Best Ever!!!!.......2007-04-05

This is the finest collection of Maze featuring Frankie Beverly that I have ever heard!!! It is the best selection of hits especially if you are a true fan or even if you are not. Any and everyone would love it. I am definitely enjoying it. I am from the south so of course "Southern Girl" is my favorite song.

best cd ever.......2007-01-23

I love this cd its my favorite cd from maze it has all the best songs like we are one,i cant get over you and golden time of day

James rates Maze's Greatest Hits.......2007-01-21

This CD is a winner! Anyone who likes Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly will love this CD.

Frankie Beverly and Maze.......2007-01-12

I love the CD and I am a die hard Frankie Beverly fan and I just like the oldie goldie music. I can't relate to the new music. The CD is crisp clear and I am a very satisfied customer. I am so satisfied until I ordered some more oldie goldie music.

Maze - Greatest Hits.......2006-08-04

I took my wife to Franke Beverly and Maze in concert recently. She enjoyed herself so much that I brought her this CD. I am a long time fan of the group. Neither of us were disappointed with the CD.

TV Land Presents: Favorite TV Theme Songs

Average customer rating:

good memories for me and fun "new" songs for my children
memories
TV Theme Songs
TV themes
Deja Vu

TV Land Presents: Favorite TV Theme Songs
Cyndi Grecco , and Jones, Jack
Manufacturer: Rhino / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00006EXIL
Release Date: 2002-08-20

Tracks:

I Love Lucy Theme - Wilbur Hatch
Dragnet - Ray Anthony
The Twilight Zone - Rod Open
Bonanza - Al Caiola & His Orchestra
The Andy Griffith Theme - Earle Hagen
The Ballad Of Jed Clampett - Earl Scruggs
The Addams Family (Main Theme) - Vic Mizzy
Munsters Theme - Jack Marshall
The Ballad Of Gilligan's Isle - Morton Stevens
Green Acres - Eddie Albert
Jeannie - Hugo Montenegro
Batman Theme - Neal Hefti
(Theme From) The Monkees - The Monkees
Star Trek (Main Title & Closing Theme) - The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Mannix - Lalo Schifrin
Hawaii Five-O - Mort Stevens & His Orchestra
Theme From The Brady Bunch - The Brady Bunch
Come On Get Happy - The Partridge Family
Those Were The Days - Carroll O'Connor
And Then There's Maude - Donny Hathaway
Good Times - Jim Gilstrap
Movin' On Up - Oren Waters
The Rockford Files - Mike Post
Them From S.W.A.T. - Rhythm Heritage
Happy Days - Pratt & McClain
Making Our Dreams Come True - Cyndi Grecco
Chico And The Man - Jose Feliciano
Welcome Back - John Sebastian
What's Happening!! - Henry Mancini
Barney Miller - Jack Elliott
Charlie's Angels - Jack Elliott
Love Boat Theme - Jack Jones
Angela (Theme From 'Taxi') - Bob James
It Takes Diff'rent Strokes - Gloria Loring
Theme From Dukes Of Hazzard (Good Ol' Boys) - Waylon
Theme From Magnum, P.I. - Mike Post
The Theme From Hill Street Blues - Mike Post
Theme From Dynasty - Bill Conti
Theme From 'Greatest American Hero' (Believe It Or Not) - Joey Scarbury
Thank You For Being A Friend - Cynthia Fee

Album Description

TV Land brings you 40 of your favorite evening show theme songs. Highlights include 'Happy Days', 'The Greatest American Hero', 'Dukes Of Hazzard (Good Ol' Boys)', 'Laverne & Shirley', 'I Dream Of Jeanie', 'I Love Lucy', 'Welcome Back, Kotter', 'The Love Boat', 'Hawaii Five-O', 'The Golden Girls' and many, many more. 2002. Rhino.

Customer Reviews:

good memories for me and fun "new" songs for my children.......2007-06-27

We had ordered this for "The Dukes of Hazzard" theme song for our 4yr old and our whole family has fallen in love with the cd. It makes me want to share some of the old fun and simple shows with my children. I forgot about some of those shows. It brings back good memories for my husband and me and the songs are new and exciting for our children. It's a nice change from children's cd's, but our children still think it's fun. The sound quality is good and the songs included on the cd are a great mix. I would definately recommend this one.

memories.......2007-02-22

This cd is excellent it has a lot of very good music and true to the original sound, Am getting a lot of enjoyment,highly recomended

TV Theme Songs.......2007-01-13

This is a great CD for people who watch a lot of TV -especially TV LAND and reruns of old shows when shows had actual theme songs. I took the CD to work and everyone loved trying to figure out what show the songs were from.

TV themes.......2006-07-05

Not all what I expected, not all of the tunes are the original recordings you remember as the TV themes.

Deja Vu.......2006-02-17

Listening to these familiar themes as performed by the original artists certainly brings back wonderful memories! I was particularly pleased, not only with the quality of the pieces, but with the actual performances themselves, just as we remembered them!

Rossini: The Barber of Seville (Complete opera); Beverly Sills; Nicolai Gedda; James Levine; London Symphony Orchestra

Average customer rating:

A charming, humane, thoroughly enjoyable Barbiere
Recorded too late
A real joy
Rossini Does it Again
A Misfire

Rossini: The Barber of Seville (Complete opera); Beverly Sills; Nicolai Gedda; James Levine; London Symphony Orchestra
Beverly Sills , Sherrill Milnes , Ruggero Raimondi , Gioacchino Rossini , James Levine , and London Symphony Orchestra
Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0000CE7FU
Release Date: 2004-06-01

Tracks:

Overture
Piano, Pianissimo, Senza Parlar
Ecco Ridente In Cielo
Ehi, Fiorello
Mille Grazie, Mio Signore
Gente Indiscreta!
La Ran La Le Ra...Largo Al Factotum
Ah, Che Bella Vita!
Non E Venuto Ancora
Le Vostre Assidue Premure
Se Il Mio Nome Saper Voi Bramate
Oh Cielo!
All'Idea Di Quel Metallo
Una Voce Poco Fa
Si, Si, La Vincero
Ah, Disgraziato Figaro!
Ah! Barbiere D'Inferno
La Calunnia E Un Venticello
Ah! Che Ne Dite?
Ma Bravi! Ma Benone!
Dunque Io Son
Ora Mi Sento Meglio
A Un Dottor Della Mia Sorte

Tracks:

Finora In Questa Camera
Ehi, Di Casa, Buona Gente
Che Cosa Accadde, Signori Miei
Fredda Ed Immobile
Ma Signor...Ma Un Dottor
Ma Vedi Il Mio Destino!
Pace E Gioia Sia Con Voi
Insomma, Mio Signore, Chi E Lei?
Venite, Signorina
Contro Un Cor Che Accende Amore
Bella Voce! Bravissima!
Quando Mi Sei Vicina
Bravo, Signor Barbiere, Ma Bravo!
Don Basilio! Cosa Veggo!
Che Vecchio Sospettoso!
Il Vecchiotto Cerca Moglie
Dunque Voi Don Alonso
Thunderstorm
Alfine Eccoci Qua
Ah, Qual Colpo Inaspettato!
Ah, Disgraziati Noi!
Insomma Io Ho Tutti I Torti
Di Si Felice Innesto

Customer Reviews:

A charming, humane, thoroughly enjoyable Barbiere.......2007-07-11

In much the same manner that Lucia Popp forever standardized Mozart's Königin der Nacht, Beverly Sills redefines the role of Rossini's capricious Rosina. Her crystalline coloratura voice washes over "Una voce poca fa" with brisk, windswept ease. It is a mystery why any listener would prefer a mezzo-soprano, such as Teresa Berganza, despite the fact that the role was fashioned for a denser voice. (Agnes Baltsa is likely the most delightful deep Rosina on record.) Nicolai Gedda's mellifluous voice provides the ideal characterization for Rossini's vigorous youth, the Conte d'Almaviva. "Ecco, ridente in cielo" and "Se il mio nome saper voi bramate," the role's osciallating cavatina and sensual serenade, shine with two characteristics which often clash during tenor performances: stylistic perfection and taste. Sherrill Milnes is, without a doubt, the finest Figaro recorded since Robert Merrill. The Verdian baritone exhibits atypically droll flare during "Largo al factotum," especially during the aria's feverish repetition of "Figaro." He and Gedda harmonize flawlessly during the duet "All'idea di quell metallo"; his voice also complements the radiant Sills during "Dunque io son ... tu non m'inganni?"

Fernando Corena possessed the most pristine and genuinely humorous interpretation of the cranky Dottore Bartolo. Renato Capecchi, a buffo bass whose range is quite impressive though occasionally unstable, provides a performance which can almost parallel Corena's. Where Corena was blusterous, Capecchi is sniveling; where the former was wickedly serpentine, Capecchi is morose and self-pitying. His greatest achievement is that he is never maudlin; his performance is constantly fluid (he is gut-wrenchingly hilarious during the Act II duet "Pace e gioia sia con voi" with Gedda disguised as a garrulous music teacher) and his characterization, though it transcends all realms of reality, is delightful in its over-the-top perfection. Ruggero Raimondi's Don Basilio is quite the opposite; his rendition of the "Slander Song" ("La calunnia è un venticello") is almost doomful. He provides archaic and gloomy weight where the inimitable Nicolai Ghiaurov was effervescent. The illustrious mezzo-soprano Fedora Barbieri supplies a very satisfying performance as Berta, Bartolo's disgruntled old maid, especially during her aria "Il vecchiotto cerca moglie."

With James Levine leading the London Symphony Orchestra with exquisite charm, one can barely begin to praise this brilliant 1975 recording of Rossini's landmark opera. It is not only an essential Il Barbiere di Siviglia for aficionados of the comedy, but a touching and compelling accomplishment no music lover should exist without.

Recorded too late.......2007-07-06

I wish that I could speak more highly of this performance, as it was made by some of my favorite singers (and conductor). Alas, I can not. Milnes is a fine Figaro. Sills (I love her) should have recorded this role about 10 years earlier. Really unfortunately, I found Gedda's work painful. A fine, stylish tenor in his prime, he is well past it here.

Sometimes great talents come together and misfire. But, if you are a Sills fan...

A real joy.......2007-01-24

It is a great pleasure which what I hear this wonderful recording of Rossini's masterpeace, vividly conducted by a young James Levine and sung by a cast of first-class singers including Milnes, Sills, Raimondi and the unsurpassable Gedda as Count Almaviva. This production has not lost anything of it's freshness since over 30 years!

Rossini Does it Again.......2007-01-08

A wonderful opera that even the "opera hater" would love. Great music that can be recognized by all.

A Misfire.......2005-10-09

On paper, this looks like a dream cast, but the reality proves unfortunate. BVeverly Sills, Nicolai Gedda and Sherril Milnes are some of my favorite singers, but here, Sills sounds fatigued (though her "Un Vene Poco fa" is charming and winsome), Milnes misses the finese of Figaro, and Gedda, sad to say, sounds old and tired. Renato Cappecchi is a miscast Bartolo, but Raimondi is an imposing Bartolo, if without the nuances that Zaccaria brings to the role or the sheer glee Ramey and Montarsolo do. Levine's tempi are plodding, and Fedora Barbieri shows up in a cameo as Bertha, compleatly ill-equiped. If it were not for Sill (who can do no real wrong) and Raimondi, I wouldn't even bother looking at it. 2/5

Average customer rating:

SILLS and a Perfect MANON.....
For Sills fans, mainly.
A Great Recording of an Opera That Should Be Performed More Often
Beverly Sills Signature Role
SILLS MANON RULES! AND DG CD REISSUE SUPERB!

Massenet: Manon

Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

French | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Deutsche Grammophon: Music | Specialty Stores | Music
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ASIN: B0001Y4JGG
Release Date: 2004-05-11

Amazon.com

This recording has been unavailable for too long. Recorded in 1970, a solid year-or-so before Beverly Sills' voice began to show the damage caused by singing Elisabetta I in Donizetti's Roberto Devereux, this is the finest all-around recording of Manon on the market. Sills, in addition to being fresh-voiced, is so thoroughly in the part that we can chart Manon's downfall step by step; her girlish singing is as right on as her sassy, showy coloratura in the thirds act, and her St Sulpice scene is truly seductive. She's the perfect Manon. And Nicolai Gedda's Des Grieux, sung, as is Sills' Manon and the rest of the cast, in impeccable French, is passionate, madly in love, and ultimately tragic. Gabriel Bacquier's Count is imperious and authoritative and Gerard Souzay's Lescaut is smooth. Julius Rudel's leadership sparkles when it should and his sense of French suavity is unfailing. The score is given more than complete - as an appendix, there's an aria for Manon that Massenet added later. This is a desert island disc. --Robert Levine

Customer Reviews:

SILLS and a Perfect MANON............2007-07-07

Enough has been written about Beverly Sills and the role of Manon that you already know that she OWNED the role for a long time.

This recording was originally issued on EMI, and I find it unusual that it should have disappeared from that label and it now appears on DG. Although it is strange, we need not worry about that; the main thing here is that the recording is again available to us.

You only really need two copies of Manon...the Victoria De Los Angeles one under Pierre Monteaux, and this one with Sills, Gedda, Bacquier, and Souzay under Julius Rudel. All participants here are simply wonderful, and all in very good voice as it happens! Usually we get a weak link, but somehow, the god's smiled on this effort, and everything came together wonderfully.

This is one of Gedda's efforts that I heartily commend! Simply a great des Griux! Souzay's Lescaut is really a wonderfully smooth, and mellow, performance that you need to hear. Gabriel Bacquier, AS ALWAYS turns in a magnificently commanding performance as Count des Griux. This of course brings us to the role of Manon. Simply stunning would be a great way to say it! Sills is just so real-life-bubbly girlish, and so lovely, that we are swept up in the swirl of mad love, right up to tragedy that comes to her, and the heart-wrenchingly sad finale.

This recording belongs in everyone's collection, right beside the Victoria De Los Angeles one! Enjoy! ~operabruin

For Sills fans, mainly........2006-01-16

As good an ensemble as could be assembled in the more recent past, well conducted by the seasoned Rudel, this 1970 performance stands or falls by one's perception of the two principals.

Nicolaï Gedda (né Ustinov,) b. 1925, half-Swedish, half-Russian, was a fine musician with a highly developped vocal technique. His manner was rather cold, however, and at 45 his lyric voice had lost some of its original bloom. I find his des Grieux rather grim and emphatic, lacking in romantic élan. I much prefer the poetic Henri Legay in the definitive Monteux recording (TESTAMENT.)

Beverly Sills (née Silvermann,) b. 1929, American, studied with Estelle Liebling, a pupil of the legendary Mathilde Marchesi, teacher of Melba, Eames, Kurtz, Alda and many an other French stylist.

Sills new exactly how to sing this music and had the perfect voice and technique for it. Many years of repertory singing in the provinces, often in inappropriately heavy parts (Tosca!) however, had made Sills' voice thin and unsteady by the time she made this recording at age 41. Her interpretation is intense, heartfelt and full of telling dramatic detail, but often heavy-handed and unpleasant on the ear. She is also rather short on the elegance and chimeric charm that characterises the best interpreters of this part (Vallin, Heldy, Féraldy, de los Ángeles.)

The airplane hangar ambience of the recording studio (talk about overresonant!) does not help, either.

Incidentally, the rôle of Lescaut is sung (well) by Gerard SOUZAY.

Gabriel Bacquier sings comte des Grieux--very well indeed.

A Great Recording of an Opera That Should Be Performed More Often.......2005-10-08

Massanet's MANON is a work that is no stranger to the stage in New York City where it has had a glorious history at both the Met and the New York City Opera though this is not the case around the world. Its frequent New York performances may make it Massanet's most staged opera. For those familiar with the work, it is a favorite. It has all the elements that make French opera great, but it is not a work that has familiar excerpts. As a matter of fact, Massanet's bets known melodies are from lesser known works, such as the "Meditation" from THAIS and Porquoi me Revelier" from WERTHER. Yet when MANON is broadcast from the Met or if one takes out a recording, it's easy to understand why this work has been a favorite of so many for over a century and begs the question `Why isn't this work performed more often?'

Like great French opera, MANON is a work that is a bit larger than life, requires exquisite orchestral playing, and of course great singing. This set, originally released by Westminster in the 1970's and re-released by Duetsche Grammophon has it all. The vocal abilities of the three leading performers: Beverly Sills, Nicolai Gedda and Gabriel Bacquier as Manon, des Grieux, and Lescaut respectively are each in top vocal form. Sills herself states that Manon was a role she loved and one that she believed her voice was well suited for, and there can be no disputation when listening to this set. As a conductor, Julius Rudel is at his best. He has great control over the New Philharmonia Orchestra, creating lush sounds that make the recording spectacular and an added, but essential plus would be the outstanding choral performances by the Ambrosian Opera Chorus and the great performances of the smaller roles.

Just about every reviewer, from Amazon reviewers to the critics who write for OPERA NEWS have heralded the new availability of this recording. Listen to it, and you will understand why and echo the many praises of this set.

Enjoy!

Beverly Sills Signature Role.......2004-12-17

Beverly Sills once said that if she was to be remembered for anything, it should be for "Manon". This is the role that catapulted her to opera superstardom. And she made this recording in 1970, when her voice still had all its youthful freshness and vigor, and shows just why Beverly Sills had such a great reputation. It has been said that Massenet wrote for his soprano, and nowhere is that more true than in the title role of this opera. And Sills does the role complete justice, vocally demonstrating in her singing the downfall of Manon from young innocent girl to demimondaine to despair and death. Her rendition of the great aria "Adieu, notre petite table", is incredibly moving. And the rest of the cast is excellent as well. Nicolai Gedda is supremely stylish as Des Grieux, Gabriel Bacquier strong and forthright as his father, and one gets to hear the late Gerard Souzay, famous primarily as a concert artist, singing a rare opera role as Lescaut, Manon's cousin. Julius Rudel conducts cleanly, making the most of Massenet's lush orchestrations. This recording belongs on the shelf of every opera lover.

SILLS MANON RULES! AND DG CD REISSUE SUPERB!.......2004-05-31

(I wrote these words in a review of the Angel/EMI CD reissue that is now out of print) On my select list of favorite complete opera recordings sits Beverly Sills' Manon. I wore out three copies of the vinyl version and the EMI CD reissue was more than welcome in my collection! Bubbles once said this recording came closest to what she did in the theatre, and there simply hasn't been a more vivid and complete a performance, musically, dramatically or otherwise. Vocally everything is top-notch, the supporting cast is superior to anything else on recording and Rudel's pacing is without peer. Brava Manon, Brava Beverly Sills!

Tracks:

Parlez-moi d'amour
Ouvre ton coeur
Oh, quand je dors
Waltz From Mireille
Si tu le veux
Les filles de le Cadiz
Les chemins de l'amour
Plaisir d'amour
Villanelle
Goyescas: Interludio
Goyescas: La maja y el ruisenior
Estrellita
La morena de mi copla

Customer Reviews:

Point of Information.......2007-07-06

Folks, please read the recording data! This album does not present merely the "older Sills" of 1975. Tracks 10 to 13 were recorded in February 1961, when Sills was about three months shy of 32 years old. To hear her any younger on disc, you have to go to her splendid recording of *The Ballad of Baby Doe*, released in 1959. (If anyone knows of still earlier recordings, please holler!) So these 1961 tracks alone make the album priceless, especially since it offers vastly better sound than the slightly boomy acoustic of *Baby Doe*.

For me, the initial main attraction here was the Granados, and it was a hallelujah moment when I spotted this CD in the bins almost 10 years ago. While this disc represents the commercial first release of the *Goyescas* selections, they received limited issue around December 1963 on a holiday-bonus LP ("The Sound of Genius 1963") from the Columbia Record Club.

That LP was my introduction to Sills, and it made me fall in love with her voice. It was always a special treat to play her vocal track for those who had no idea it existed and watch their astonishment as Beverly's voice floated through sonic space like the very nightingale she sings about. It is simply some of the loveliest, most haunting singing I've ever heard. To get two additional tracks from the same recordings sessions -- especially "Estrellita" -- was an unexpected blessing.

So get this CD for the last three tracks, if nothing else (track 10 is purely orchestral). They capture Sills at a magical moment. Even if you like nothing else on the disc (and I think you'll like much more), you can claim these three special treasures for a mere pittance. How much more precious are they, now that she has gone on to sing, we pray, in other realms.

Estrellita.......2006-12-07

The incomparable Beverly Sills beautifuly sings here a true bouquet of songs in French and Spanish. A pleasure to the ear.

Estrellita is not a Spanish song as claimed by some commentators, but a Mexican one, whose author is the late Manuel M. Ponce.

Ugly.......2004-05-20

Sills screeching a mezzo-role? She already ruined belcanto with her puny, fake screeching!

Carmen.......2004-04-26

She DID sing Michaela. And it's said that she also did Carmen. But if she did, she was completely miscast. She also did Aida, live-recording of her Aida is...interesting. Anyway, Sills rules in the French rep, esp. as Manon.

Excellent disc.......2004-03-21

This is a fantastic disc and shows Beverly Sills at her interpretive best with zesty, go-for-broke vocalism that is truly wonderful to hear.

Sills DID sing Carmen. She sang it on tour in the 1950s.

Music Review:

Music Review

Music Review

1. So Glad He Loves Me
2. Reach for It
3. Healing Virtue
4. Run to the Water
5. I'm Still Standing
6. Your Name
7. Make Me
8. I Won't Go On
9. Eyes Have Not Seen
10. Can't Nobody Do Me Like Jesus
11. Farewell