OPERA DIVA - LA FENOMENA - BEVERLY SILLS - BIOGRAPHY

A quick biography into the life of who was AMERICA’s QUEEN OF OPERA. In Europe, she was named LA FENOMENA but for us she's just Beverly. Sills was pure "bel canto" and she made a huge mark on the works of Donizetti and Verdi, including “La Fille Du Régiment,” “Lucia di Lammermoor,” and “La Traviata.” There is no doubt that among her greatest feats was singing the three Donizetti queens. Her rendition of Queen Elizabeth in “Roberto Devereux” is likely her masterpiece. She managed to infuse the roles with dynamic vocal prowess and dramatic insight, which ultimately was her greatest genius. Sills was a great coloratura soprano who could reach some of the flashiest notes in the voice, at her prime she could dispatch coloratura without any issues. She went beyond that. Sills cared about the text and wanted to create the most dynamic characters she possibly could. That meant sometimes choosing roles that were a bit more dramatic. Sills knew that in order to be a complete artist she had to give it her all. Her voice itself had quite a bit of luster, but what made it special was the freedom that she had; she could go anywhere with her voice. She also brought real dramatic intelligence to her roles. When Beverly's voice was at her best, it was such a phenomenon that even a New Yorker magazine critic at the time said, "If I were recommending the wonders of New York to a tourist, I would place Beverly Sills at the top of the list." Her recordings, mostly made later in her career, leave a slim legacy of the great singer she was. Sills was first and foremost an opera singer, with an expressive, flexible voice that soared beautifully above an orchestra. Before her voice stared to decline, her singing was flawless. She was born to sing many roles such as Lucia di Lammermoor, Queen Elizabeth, Manon, Traviata and Cleopatra. In her glory days her singing, though never effortless, had grit and fire. It was always a surprise to hear Sills from the early 60s and 70s until 1974, cancer stared to hit her hard. Although she never wanted the public to know the battle she was having with this disease. It wasn’t until she wrote her autobiography that she openly spoke about cancer. From 1955 to 1971 the ease and accuracy of her florid singing surprised many critics. Her voice had richness and body; trills, embellishments and bel canto flourishes were tossed off with effortlessly with agility and real musical point. Sadly, during her prime era there not many recordings of her great legacy. The way she was able to sing was as if Massenet's Manon had been written specifically for her, she will go down in opera history to be one of the best Manon's ever. Many critics believed there has not been another Baby Doe better than Sills. Sadly, most of Europe was not lucky enough to hear Sills during those magical years when everything; voice and acting, were meshed to perfection. That being said, few sopranos have altered the opera landscape the way Beverly Sills had during her life. The unpredictable nature of the human voice, which is governed by a variety of physical and psychological factors, some singers have everything from the start, and others mature slowly or suddenly bloom in mid‐or late‐career. Sills was 37, when everything fell into place for her vocally. Although to me she has always been the best Lucia ever. It was Elizabeth in “Roberto Devereux”, one of the most demanding bel canto roles the role that made me fall in LOVE with Sills. Many believe Sills punished her coloratura lyric voice by taking on this role and some vocal experts speculated that it was the challenge of this role that eventually undid the beauty of her voice; if so, it was a spectacular act of self-sacrifice. Besides, she used to say she rather shorten her singing (life) by singing the last 10 years with excitement (doing things that she loved and made her happy) than extending the life of her voice for 10 more boring years. After all she didn’t have to sing to pay her bills. She was already a millionaire. She received three Grammy nominations, five Emmy Nominations, four Honorary Doctorates, and a number of humanitarian awards throughout her lifetime. The Beverly Sills Award is given every year to a burgeoning opera talent. Even with all these things said: The path to loving Beverly Sills is so fraught with prejudice. When Sills retired from singing in some ways she became more famous after works. She introduced all these television programs and she went on to, to become a big advocate for the arts," Sills not only took on the best and most difficult roles of the Bel Canto repertoire, but she also did in life as well. Sills went on to become a serious arts administrator, becoming the first woman in history to become the director of the New York City Opera and chair of the Lincoln Center and the Metropolitan Opera.

[@IRememberBeverly]

Amante Bandido, I have been a Sills fan for 50 years, and yours is the best explanation of what made Sills great that I have seen.
Thanks for sharing it.

[@munequitodeebano3920]

Thank you so so much 😍🥰😍

[@madelainelevy4520]

Beverly is spectacular!
I actually was in the audience one night at City Opera and saw this heavenly production live
There one one who could compare with Sills!

[@madelainelevy4520]

Sorry There is no one etc

[@j.louisv.123]

ONLY CALLAS IS BETTER.

[@zaffranbodhi]

Callas never sang with joy or light. Callas is great at being angry and menacing. Sills left you after a performance with a wonderful high.