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Beverly Sills - Welcome to Vienna Franz LEHÁR (1870–1948)
Die lustige Witwe: Vilja [7:19] Erich Wolfgang
KORNGOLD (1897–1957)
Die tote Stadt: Marietta’s Lied [8:03] Johann STRAUSS II (1825–1899)
Thunder and Lightning (Polka) [2:58]
Voices of Spring (Waltz)[6:32] Richard HEUBERGER (1850–1914)
Der Opernball: Im Chambre séparée [4:27] Franz LEHÁR
Giuditta: Meine Lippen küssen so heiss [5:23] Johann STRAUSS II
A Night in Venice: Overture [6:37] Franz LEHÁR
Der Zarewitsch: Einer wird kommen [5:02] Rudolf SIECZYNSKI (1879–1952) Wien, du Stadt meiner Träume [5:09]
Beverly
Sills (soprano)
London Philharmonic Orchestra/Julius Rudel
rec. Fairfield Halls, Croydon, England, May 1971
Sung texts with English translations included EMI CLASSICS
47524 [51:27]
When Beverly Sills passed away on 2 July 2007 the world
lost one of the greatest opera singers during the second half
of the
20th century. Time magazine called her “America’s
Queen of Opera”. Even though she sang in the great opera
houses around the world she increasingly limited her activities
to the USA to be able to be with her family more often. Her
Metropolitan debut came belatedly in 1975 after Rudolf Bing’s
departure as director. After her retirement in 1980 she became
general director of the New York City Opera for almost a
decade.
She was a lyric soprano with stunning technique. Her coloratura
was pin-point accurate and fluent. She was eminently expressive
as an actor with her voice. In later years she took on heavier
roles, for example Donizetti’s Tudor Queens, which probably
contributed to her too early decline in voice quality. On
the present disc, made available again through ArkivMusic,
there are no signs of deterioration – the only drawback being
the hard metallic edge to the voice and a slightly fluttery
tonal production that were always her characteristics. The
effect of this was a certain lack of warmth, which was compensated
for by her penetrating readings of the roles and her excellent
enunciation of the text.
All this is amply demonstrated in Hanna Glawari’s Vilja-Lied from Die
lustige Witwe. It is deeply nuanced but uncommonly
slow and tends to plod. By coincidence I listened to Renata
Tebaldi the same evening singing the same aria on that
legendary Gala Performance of Die Fledermaus under
Karajan. Hers wasn’t an ideal Glawari voice either but
her fuller and rounder tone imparted more warmth to her
reading.
Ms Sills’ voice wasn’t right for Marietta in Die tote Stadt either
but she sings the aria with magical inflections. Few singers
have vocalized Frühlingsstimmen more exquisitely.
Stunning – but again chilly. When she enters Heuberger’s Chambre
séparée she is considerably warmer however and she almost
challenges Elisabeth Schumann in her seductive phrasing.
The end is so magical that even jaded lovers of Viennese
music will capitulate.
Meine Lippen sie küssen so heiss is also
hard to resist and the aria from Der Zarewitsch is
superbly nuanced. The sound is soubrettish but to this she
adds a dramatic ring, which makes it easy to understand that
she wanted to expand her repertoire with those heavy Donizetti
heroines. The evergreen Wien, du Stadt meiner Träume is
one of the loveliest renditions I have heard – and definitely
the slowest. This doesn’t matter one iota when she caresses
the phrases with such elegance and feeling.
The LPO are in fine fettle and Julius Rudel, born in Vienna, has this
music in his veins, which he shows convincingly in the two
orchestral numbers: a swinging Thunder and Lightning polka
and a lilting overture to A Night in Venice.
There is a lot to admire here but how much depends on how
one reacts to Beverly Sills’ type of voice. Those who prefer
creamy voices should perhaps look elsewhere.
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