1962 ~ Beverly at her best!

[@vincentmancini6279]

I watch this video often. It's sounds from heaven. Miss Sills owns this song. God bless her soul.

[@WelshHomo87]

She really does own this.

[@onitasanders7403]

Beverly Sills rendition of this heavenly aria, is the gold standard for me. All I have to do is close my eyes and I am immediately transported to where she wants to take me. Love it. Just love it.

[@Highinsight7]

Back in the day when new operas where BEAUTIFUL... Dialogues of the Carmelites, Baby Doe, The Rakes Progress, Susanna, Candide and others...

[@jordanschaps661]

I saw a Sills performance of "Baby Doe" at City Opera. It was so wonderful - and at the end, I was sobbing so much, that I tried to clap and clap and clap so the curtain calls wouldn't end for the house lights to come up with me sobbing. Well - the curtain calls ended - at last - and when the house lights came up - everyone around me was crying. It was a great great emotional theater going experience. One I will never forget.

[@merlinlevanwilkins1779]

Each time I listen to the video, it has the same effect on me too and I just listened to it twice.

[@bonniebrauer3338]

She took our breath away w/this one, & we were GLAD ~ never forget her or "The Willow Song" ~

[@davidnewton9496]

Totally understand.

[@dcd22122121]

Envious!

[@NCinNYC]

I am happy that I lived during the time when Beverly Sills got to sing The Ballad Of Baby Doe. To me, there was never a more perfect fit than her voice and this role. Her singing is so silvery and exquisite and brimming with emotion.

[@Highinsight7]

like it was written for her... (which it kinda of was...)

[@thomasmcnerney9745]

​@@Highinsight7yes indeed!

[@marysinclair2468]

"...but I am a child of the moon, and silver, silver is the metal of the moon..." Just like her beautiful silvery voice!

[@frankioele1884]

Sills told a very funny story on herself about the recording of this aria for the complete set. She was very pregnant at the time and every time she hit the high note (a D, I believe) the baby would kick her! What a voice! She is very much missed.

[@RonWylie-gk5lc]

Thank you for giving me yet another reason for loving her singing this beautiful aria lol, what a lovely story

[@LaSopRAWna]

i recall her daughter was deaf...perhaps the little baby felt the vibrations!

[@PhilosophicalDance]

@@LaSopRAWna Probably had something to do with the way she was using her diaphragm too.

[@hrh4961]

@@LaSopRAWna Shy was pregnant with her son, who is severely intellectually challenged.

[@georgedrummond134]

Brilliant singing! ❤️

[@sferrell1000]

We used to have this on television all the time, My heart breaks for how far we have come down.

[@MaggieKrenek]

We have dumbed down in Britain too. This is a gorgeous piece and Beverley S a wonderful, sensitive voice.

[@ethanhill9460]

Well...now we have KZbin.

[@LaDivinaLover]

What, you don’t like watching Kim Kardashian talking about her butt on morning television? 😂lmfao Tv sucks now.

[@MrAndredekock]

Has there EVER been another soprano who could FLOAT their notes in the same way that Ms Sills was able to do? I cannot think of ONE! And yes Windstorm1000 I totally agree with you that the delicacy of emotion Ms Sills had, not only in this aria, but in EVERYTHING she sang just seared the heart and pierced one to the very core! How we miss you Maestra and rest in peace.

[@Arkelk2010]

I think Renata Tebaldi could. The final notes in the Ave Maria in Otello always seems to me to just float there--I've never heard anyone else do that. (Her forte high notes could be harsh, but her pianissimo high notes were a gift from God.)

[@shannonlewis8906]

Here’s one.. Joan Sutherland. 😊

[@dariusjackson1300]

Anna moffo

[@robert111k]

Caballé.

[@BaroneVitellioScarpia1]

Well, Callas and Ponselle.

[@wotan10950]

I only discovered the art of Beverly Sills in 1973, so I missed much of her early career. But I was lucky enough to see her Three Queens, Lucia, Manon, so many others. She was really a gift to the world.

[@skipnyc]

Worked at city opera as a rehersal pianst, one of many.. Played for her in Stuarda, Lucia And Devereux. I could not believe I was hearing a human, She was just amazing and sang with ease. For some of the people that did not like her, simple, don't listen. For me, she will always be a queen in the difficult roles she sang. R.I.P Ms.Sills, many happy memories...see u soon.

[@bonniebrauer3338]

@@skipnyc What you describe comes across to those of us who only heard her via the media ~ thanks!

[@BellaFirenze]

She was a great artist. May she rest in peace.

[@alangregory9229]

I cannot speak!!!...This is so beautiful...the "sincerity" both of expression and tone..without any artfulness...If I didn't love Beverly before....I sure do now!!!...........Wowser!!!

[@ginnylorenz5265]

You got it. "Wowser" is the word!!!!!

[@maggiewrench8406]

I keep watching it. It is exquisite. Food for the soul.

[@lilyjasmine743]

I can't find any recordings of this aria that even come close. No one else sings it as beautifully.

[@marysinclair2468]

because most opera singers sing it like it's an opera aria -- Beverly Sills sang it as a poem set to music, and the effect is just sublime. Not to mention the beauty of her voice.

[@doloresaquilina6830]

Sills at her very best! I never tire of this breathtaking song. God I miss her.

[@alexgomez2]

Ms. Sills was a great singer but she was more than just a great voice. Her demeanor, interpretation, expressiveness where all wonderful. The only American soprano who makes me cry when singing pieces like this.

[@sanfordpress8943]

Spot on ❤💯💯💯💯💯💯 Smart. ,honest, gracious. What a gem. AND. American

[@williamdonahue6617]

@@sanfordpress8943 In addition to being a great artist, she was a transparently good and gracious human being. Her music was an extraordinary gift, but she was a superstar of humanity as well.

[@windstorm1000]

The MET was so dumb not to hire Ms. Sills earlier---what a waste of a national resource! This is so moving. Sills voice at her silvery best with such delicate emotion that sears.

[@hrh4961]

If you were BS, would you have sung Tosca or Aida at the Met? That's what Bing offered her, knowing she would refuse.

[@marcmitchel25]

There were periods in their history when the Met was a bit short on brains.

[@RonWylie-gk5lc]

I know it is said a lot but how can ANYONE tick the unlike box for this, she has the voice of someone not of this world, this is a beautiful piece also, I honestly believe she sings this better than anyone in the world, and I don't only mean that fantastic D6 that she sings almost effortlessly, although it is wonderful lol

[@merlinlevanwilkins1779]

I grew up listening to experts like Beverly Sills. This Ballard of Baby Doe is one of the love songs I remember from that time. Beverly Sills is one of the greatest opera singers of all times. If everyone only knew the great things Beverly could and did do with her voice.

[@DorothyBishop]

I miss her. She touched hearts across America. People who didn't know opera....learned about it from her. She was on Carol Burnett!! America loved her. I so miss her and her legacy. She was my idol.

[@sferrell1000]

I remember her on Carol, very funny lady. She was married to the editor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer for many years, as a native Clevelander, I am proud of that.

[@kareemabdelhakam3640]

Dorothy Bishop

[@zeeksterism]

Carol and Beverly were best friends.

[@AlyssaMarie323]

If I could go back in time to meet any singer, it would hands down be her

[@charlesrhodes1358]

So many speak of the"D". To me, the way she descends off that note to the next shows true and rare technical mastery. Not to mention how her singing has a rare pathos that goes straight to one's heart.

[@DrewWasMe]

My appreciation cannot be expressed. A gorgeous American opera, with its modern nuances and interpretation from the classic venues, sung as genuinely and femininely, truly, as it was meant to be sung. Irreplaceable and never better and definitive in the true sense. Dare one say it, perfection.

[@manolis.799]

Such a beautiful D, how tenderly and loving she hit it, amazing.

[@Homoclassicus]

So pure and unaffected (in voice per se and also in singing as a whole)! True artistry. Her high pianissimi were always unbelievably good. She's in really prime voice here.

[@babydrane]

Good job Sills. Very rare to find someone who can sing clearly in English.

[@veronicaaugust5853]

Totally my desert island piece. Oh the sheer joy!

[@donaidmiller7285]

My divine bev you were and will always be right at the top.. love you forever.

[@lisabrooks9362]

Beverly Sills--the reason I became an opera lover. She was so human, so down to earth. I think that she was opera's best ambassador--especially during the 1970s when I was growing up! She was never the grand diva, though her talent rivaled that of grand diva Maria Callas. She never took herself too seriously--after all, she appeared on "The Muppet Show" with Miss Piggy and an all-pig cast of "Pigoletto"--hilarious!!!

[@elaineduncan1929]

Always one of my very favorite singers....she had something I have never heard before, or since.

[@Shahrdad]

She is so perfect here. She considered Roberto Devereaux her greatest achievement, but I think Baby Doe was the greatest thing she did. It fit her voice so perfectly, whereas much of the other roles (such as Three Queens) were several sizes too big for her delicate, silvery instrument. Her Baby Doe is simply breathtaking.

[@Gleem1313]

Wasn’t this part written just for her?

[@Shahrdad]

@@Gleem1313 no. Dolores Wilson and Lenya Gabriele alternated the role in the original production.

[@LockportDan]

Agreed!!

[@GuinnevereB]

Wow. Just wow. The world will miss her and remember her a long time, especially because we have recordings to prove that, yes, she WAS that good.

[@christopherrobinwattsthoma6318]

How have we lost all that style and talent! Absolute perfection!

[@liedersanger1]

Perfect. A perfect marriage of timbre, style, and music. With that special presence that was hers alone.

[@ginnylorenz5265]

Dear Mr. Perkins, Thank you for your words. They help me understand a bit more why I get goosebumps when I listen to the magic flowing from that lovely being.

[@davidnewton9496]

At college, one day many, many years ago, a friend was listening to a record in one of the music rooms. He saw me and motioned me to come and listen to what he was listening to. It was this aria and that moment is etched in my memory forever.

[@ethanhill9460]

MOORE did more here for American musical arts than could ever be acknowledged appropriately. He was a supremely accomplished businessperson and musician. He'll always be noted by the pundit.

[@operaloversabater3690]

Bubbles!! The full recording of this is amazing! Brava!

[@wbondar]

Just beautiful, don't know anyone else who can sing this as well, Brava Beverly, you are truly missed!

[@tommunyon2874]

Hers was a full-spectrum voice, so many overtones filling in the sound.

[@jordanschaps661]

not find this Heaven sent - is to miss the whole point of music, and beauty. This is pure Heaven...... Bless Sills' soul..........

[@manolis.799]

The most beautiful D ever

[@beachman831]

YES!!

[@pasqualeperrone1560]

Everyone who comments on her Baby doe recordings mention the High D. Voice of an angel!

[@vickiw3335]

YES!!!!!!

[@vincentromeo9199]

I had the great honor and joy to be on the stage with Miss Sills at the City Center Opera during performances of SIX CHARACTERS IN SEARCH OF AN AUTHOR. She had two arias and in both she held a toy poodle in her arms...she was the leading soprano of the story...and when she went up to hit the high notes, the dog went right up with her. She was wonderful. Paul Vincent

[@oldgoody1]

and when she went up to hit the high notes, the dog went right up with her. Not sure if that was intended as funny but it cracked me up. Would love to have seen and heard it. Beautiful performance here.

[@GloriaJanvier]

Speechless am I. And weeping..........divine Beverly!!!!

[@derekheskellderek6037]

Sills is incredible here. Just the best!

[@jimbuxton2187]

Listen to how steady the voice is without motion or jaw wiggling or turning her head to the side to reach the high notes like she did later on...this is total perfect singing! The rock hard steadiness of her sound here is a totally different voice than she had 10 years later

[@hiromiomura8388]

Thank you from bottom of my heart for posting it! I have already watched ( listened) it more than hundred times and every time I have tears in my eyes... Her voice and singing touch my heart!

[@austinlichtman3902]

Beverly Sills had the most beautiful ever.

[@ransomcoates546]

It is so strange that she sang like this for so long without great notice, and when her fame came in 'Giulio Cesare' she was close to the end of her prime. I sometimes think I am just getting old and mean when I trash today’s singers, but no, when I listen to this I still get goosebumps and have to suppress a tear. This kind of great singing is just dead today, and, I fear, unlikely to be revived.

[@hrh4961]

Don't be so pessimistic; people have been saying this for ages. When Sutherland made her Met debut, some people compared her to sopranos from previous generations and said she was so poor compared to them. As Emily Litella used to say, "It's always something."

[@ransomcoates546]

@@hrh4961 Unfortunately the problem is irremediable, I think, as we get further away from the source of the tradition. Sills’ teacher Estelle Liebling was taught by someone who was taught by Mathilde Marchesi. Tebaldi worked with Toscanini, who played viola at the premiere of ‘Otello’. Today we pedagogues like Bill Schumann at AVA with his string of crash and burn tenors, and productions that are the work of diseased minds. Add secret amplification, which exists everywhere. No, opera as an art form is in my opinion quite dead.

[@hrh4961]

@@ransomcoates546 So sorry for your loss.

[@petelovesbevsills]

It defies belief that Beverly Sills remained on the back burner for another 4 years before she was catapulted into superstardom! Pristine, priime and sublime Beverly at her pinnacle! Brava la Sills, and thank you StuartLou!!

[@Alandix]

Never having heard this song before, could it have premiered in my heart with any more skill and lilting love of musical greatness? I don't think so!

[@Pusteblume007]

Wunderful Beverly ! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟👏👏👏👏👏👏🌠🌠🌠

[@davidsimmons654]

I heard this aria for the first time in Performance Seminar at the University, and I just had to hear it again. It was this very video that introduced me to the artistry of Beverly Sills....I’ve been smitten ever since. Thank you!

[@Shahrdad]

No role Sills ever sang was as suited to her voice and personality as Baby Doe. She had everything the role demanded. As Douglas Moore told her after he first hears her sing the Willow Song for him during her audition, "Miss Sills, you ARE Baby Doe".

[@merlinlevanwilkins1779]

You must hear Beverly's version of Queen Cleopatra inclusive of everything the role demanded too. It is one of my all-time arias too. I love it and Willow greatly.

[@glgree1]

Just stunning.... every time I listen to this. I fear I will never hear such intelligent, emotional, technically secure vocal expression in my life...

[@georgedrummond134]

She lives the music.

[@MaggieKrenek]

This is adorable.

[@BarbaraMack]

Beautiful

[@glenjones751]

pure gold

[@pattipage12]

My favorite clip on KZbin.

[@brucewinther6926]

Perfection---Absolutely beautiful

[@windstorm1000]

yes, its the whole package--she's so 'present'--one with the song--it makes me cry to hear this, too.

[@abracadabranque]

Emission naturelle,visage resplendissant d'aisance et d'intelligence,charme... Délicieux..!

[@MrAndredekock]

What sublime perfection in everything! We MISS you Ms Sills. Bravissima!

[@beckylink]

I saw her on her final tour.. I’m not quite old enough to have seen some of these greats in their prime but I saw her and also La Stupenda (Sutherland) while a music student! Brilliant! And Beverly did bring opera to the masses before the tenors did! ;)

[@erichill612]

Oh wow, I got a little emotional.

[@miltonminor9937]

A perfection of singing.

[@DavidAsset78]

How wonderful! I never saw this clip before. I've enjoyed the commercial recording for years owning it first on records and then re-purchasing it when it was finally released on CD. Sills' voice is even fresher here. Just gorgeous. Thank you so much for uploading this.

[@stedmantx]

How could there possibly be three "dislikes" for this?

[@rogerpropes7129]

Because the music is ugly.

[@stedmantx]

Wow. Wrong side of the bed, huh. 98.9% thumbs up and your one subscriber should tell us all we need to know.

[@RonWylie-gk5lc]

Roger Propes, Dear sir If you did not find this wonderfully beautiful in every respect go and watch one of those "talent shows", you dont know beauty when you hear it and I feel sorry for you

[@michaelmiller1215]

Richard Anderson exactly!

[@johnpickford4222]

@@rogerpropes7129 Are you s deaf a**hole or just an a**hole? The music is beautiful and haunting. Whereas in other operas her was sometimes too thin, it was just perfect here. Her silvery tones accentuate the plot regarding the comparative of gold and silver. Singers may be from the golden age but they don’t have gold in their throats but at this time Sills was a silver mine!! Later her voice turned shrill but here, it is just gorgeous. Get the reissued recording on DG. I adore Dame Joan Sutherland but no, she could sing this aria like Sills did. Even Marilyn Horne would have to agree!!!

[@gilw.9367]

Breathtakingly beautiful. Thank you for making this available.

[@hashatz]

Indeed. This is Beverly at her best!

[@CarinaCovers96]

Absolutely love her voice!

[@MaggieKrenek]

I love Beverley and I love this song. Utterly beautiful x

[@LaDivinaLover]

For non-English speakers who would like the lyrics. “Willow, where we met together...Willow, when our love was new...Willow, if he once should be returning pray tell him I am weeping too. So far from each other as the days pass in their emptiness away...O my love, must it be forever...never once again to meet as on that day...and never rediscover a way of telling the way of knowing all our hearts could say. Gone are the days of pleasure....gone are the friends I had of yore...only the recollection fatal of a word that was spoken Nevermore... Willow, where we met together...Willow, when our love was new...Willow, if he once should be returning pray tell him I am weeping too...”

[@notruthtotherumor4182]

I grew up in Los Angeles and frequently went to KTLA 5, in Hollywood, to see the taping of the Dinah Shore Show. Beverly Sills was friends with Dinah and was a regular guest. I saw her perform many times. She was always magnificent!

[@merlinlevanwilkins1779]

Thank you lovers of Beverly Sills. It is a joy to remember her through all of your loving comments regarding our gem and jewel, Beverly. Most beloved on earth and loved in heaven too.

[@shicoff1398]

#310-315 Sensational and live.

[@elenavillalon1]

LOL. Douglas Moore looks at the man next to him right after Bubbles finishes like: "Das right." Also Bubbles has the voice of an angel. Elena out

[@treesny]

I believe "the man next to him" is librettist John Latouche. He was the lyricist for the Vernon Duke musical Cabin in the Sky, and collaborated with composer Jerome Moross on the Ballet Ballads and The Golden Apple.

[@tammymolenaar5357]

I wait for that moment

[@paragod333]

It's taken me 7 years oi remember, but the man next to Moore is singer Earl Wrightson, who was the Host of "American Musical theatre."

[@Dathan]

You're most kind for sharing this amazing talent with us. Thank you.

[@Anduril919]

I absolutely love how chesty she still sounds this high - it lends an urgency and sadness to her singing. Breathtaking.

[@danarzechula3769]

Seriously that piercing high note no effort just thrown in there like nothing😮

[@ajeansmith5478]

She is so connected to the character. It is very beautiful. Even her singing is more accurate, free of some of the mannerisms which ca my e up later. Beverly at her very best!

[@SharonsPix]

Incredible!!! ❤️

[@lylecosmopolite]

She was a perfectly real middle class American woman, and no prima donna. She loved her art and wanted to share her love. She was stably married for years, and had a daughter with Downs. She dressed sensibly. She was a good actress as well as singer. She had Jewish brains, and was a good administrator of opera in her later years. I remember her, and miss her.

[@MaggieKrenek]

I love both her voice and her presentation. Wonderful.

[@mwalimujim]

She had "Jewish Brains"?!? WTF???

[@sgnmath1234]

@@mwalimujim I think alnot 01 means she was a good business person. It's an old school thought that Jews have a good sense of business. Take the statement as a compliment to Ms. Sills and not a stereotype, even if it may be.

[@hrh4961]

Her daughter, Muffy, is deaf, not with Downs Syndrome.

[@lylecosmopolite]

@@hrh4961 You are correct. Wikipedia: " She had two children with Greenough, Meredith ("Muffy") in 1959 and Peter, Jr. ("Bucky") in 1961. Muffy (died July 3, 2016) was profoundly deaf and had multiple sclerosis; Peter, Jr. is severely mentally disabled."

[@petelovesbevsills]

I'm with you an that count too! Perfectly said!!

[@annebalderston2520]

She sings this so effortlessly.

[@sevoflurane]

Thank you!!!!!

[@tenore8]

Tears of joy...

[@davidtidyman6412]

Glorious Sills, ravishing singing, o what a national diamond she is!

[@irinaarmanova4575]

Гениальная певица,изумительный голос

[@fabriziomariagarzi5534]

Che brava Beverly...

[@wotan10950]

I saw Beverly so many times at the NYC Opera and the Met, in many of her famous roles. By the time she had become a genuine superstar, her voice had deteriorated, so it’s great to see a recording of her when the voice was at its most fresh and beautiful. This song is almost unearthly in its beauty.

[@sozanmarshall2832]

Absolutely stunning

[@elsainnamorato2231]

Definitely anybody going to fall in love with her the same day very good voice

[@veriteri32]

OMG. This is stunning, I never heard her before. I just read her book.

[@SteelMagnolia8]

Omg i SO WISH I COULD HAVE SEEN HER PERFORM BABY DOE

[@aalonsoification]

Extraordinaria e irrepetible voz.

[@georgefelty6357]

This has to be one of the best gems! What at a talent!

[@stevehinnenkamp5625]

Was it opera or American musical theatre? Only snobs pose the question. A beautiful aria or song is rose that enchants us. It needs no categorization to validate it.

[@onigbajamo]

Sounds like a you problem tbh

[@editoracoloratura3936]

Thank you very much for posting this video.

[@arniekevinvalera8166]

I am so glad that the audio is not affected by problems in the video. Such a magnificent rendition.

[@emagneticfield]

Beverly Sills. Such a voice. Strong clear and commanding.

[@shannonlewis8906]

That ladies and gentlemen is a perfect example of a crowd so wowed that can’t even clap. Extraordinary.. and I’m not even a huge Sills fan.

[@sirdicaudore]

Wonderful!