RARE! Beverly Sills sings SIEGE OF CORINTH (ACT I) - La Scala DEBUT in 1969

[@MrAndredekock]

Her commercial recording was made several years after this performance and this far exceeds that memorable recording. Oh to have been in that audience on the debut opening night! When one reads from the archives that the La Scala orchestra gave her a standing ovation at the first orchestra rehearsal and that she was ONE of less than 10 to have received that accolade from the orchestra over a hundred years or more, one then begins to understand the true greatness of this truly humble lady! Brava!

[@bettygordon4683]

Are you kidding me? She stuns!!! Who can ever replace her- jaw dropping!! Perfectlon!!

[@enfava4790]

I will never cease to amaze at the vocal talents of Beverly Sills. She was undoubtedly a great among the greatest.

[@Shurvoice]

listening to this has sent me to Opera Heaven, and Rossini Paradise. Thanks for posting this amazing recording of the incomparable singing genius of the late, great, Beverly Sills.

[@leonardogiacobbe5422]

Grandiosa! Sublime! Un Rossini ancora attualissimo. Che dire? Si resta ammaliati e stupiti da questa vocalità travolgente e mirabolante. Un'artista come pochissime altre, certo tra le più grandi di sempre.E per finire:W Rossini!!

[@carollund8251]

Una voce meravigliosa.

[@burtcollins239]

I was listening to this live performance on my radio of my 63 Chevy Corvair.. I was only 18 years old.. Fell in Love with opera due to this opera..

[@dianaventura7999]

Sills NAILED this! This, along with her Cleopatra are her greatest roles. Pamina from Siege as ornamentated by Sills is ridiculously difficult. It maybe her hardest role. I think I counted over 30 notes of high C to E natural. Lots Ds and above. Sills sings faster here than anyone in the World. And in 1969, her voice was fresh, beautiful and a larger size than her later years by far. She really gave Sutherland a run for the money. The difficult La Scala audience went nuts for her. Bravissima!

[@allenfriedman2441]

JUST A THEORY FROM A LAYMAN LIKE ME, BUT I THINK SHE BURNED HERSELF OUT EARLY BY DOING THAT. A LOT OF SINGERS HOLD THEMSELVES BACK, TO HAVE A LONGER CAREER. . I REMEMBER HER TAKING US ON A BACKSTAGE TOUR OF CITY OPERA. I STILL AM STARTLED THAT SHE'S GONE GOOD OLD "BUBBLES SILVERMAN

[@maestrojimbo]

@MrAndredekock I didn't know that! The La Scala Orchestra and and insrumentalists all over the world were ALWAYS impressed with her agility and supreme breath control, phrasing and disciplined coloratura. Thanks for that inside story.

[@eduardobrandwaiman342]

Un-be-liev-able!! This performace surpasses by far that from the commercial recording and her Met debut (both from 1975).

[@sergiosanchezsanchez8712]

Bellísimo especial timbre, de altísimas notas etéreas y coloratura perfecta en trinos y ornamentaciones ¡Maestra Belcantista!👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👌🏻❤️👍🏻

[@ludovicpaste9951]

Comme toujours mais là : ! du très grand chant avec technique en live et prise de risque devant un public si exigeant et parfois limite honnête ! Mais La Grande Beverly nous scotche encore au plafond et personne ne si trompe. Encore encore... Thank's for share

[@LornaKellyZim]

Surely there is not another voice that moves as fast as this one?? Phenomenal!

[@ahogbin2644]

Wonderful silvery singing and superb coloratura of course , as well as glorious musicianship. She was a little unlucky to be singing the same repertoire as Sutherland at almost exactly the same time. Would that we had two singers of that quality singing today!!! I don't think studio recordings really did her voice many favours. This sounds much more how I imagine she would have sounded live. Some of the greats did not record that well as the techniques were too primitive to pick up the resonances correctly. Now we have splendid recording apparatus, we don't have the singers worth recording!!!

[@christinec.6685]

Listen to the roar in that house! Oh my goodness!!!

[@DavidAsset78]

An incredible performance. Thanks again for posting these jewels.

[@henri-francoisserrescousin412]

Incroyable ! Génial et sublime

[@dianaventura7999]

Bravsissma!!! Also listen to the "Giusto Ciel from the same performance. She takes the second phrase an octave higher than written with amazing phrasing. A complete triumph for La Sills ( and Horne as Arsace ). This is a tremendously difficult scene. I think it may be the best Rossinian singing along with Horne's "Non temer" from this same opera when Horne also debuted as Arsace in 1969 in La Scala.

[@MrAndredekock]

@maestrojimbo O yes indeed! If you want to know who has TRULY made it at La Scala, then you need to know who has received that standing ovation from the orchestra. In the last century there was Bjorling, Callas, Caballe, Sills, Freni and Domingo. As far as I can find out Pavarotti never got the salute from La Scala. Then there was also Tetrazzini and Gallicurci and Caruso. Interesting to see that besides Freni, none of the big name Italian singers made it with the La Scala orchestra.

[@ahogbin2644]

I think Sutherland too at the dress rehearsal for her first Lucia

[@infoman111]

A small correction. This is the great three-part scena that opens Act II (as put together by Schippers) and used that way for La Scala, the commercial recording, and at the Met (his version had three acts in all).

[@essevikt]

Viva Brava! Viva Brava!! Viva Brava!!!

[@maestrojimbo]

@caltrask51 She did. The opera showed off her arsenal of technique which she acquired over many years of hard work. ----- Original Message -----

[@maestrojimbo]

Got it - thanks.

[@jamesmorton7988]

This aria belongs to Sills. Being in the Shadow of Sutherland is not an easy task. Beverly simply shines. I agree to have been in the audience with the waves of applause just washing over her would have been amazing.

[@burtcollins239]

Shadow of Joan Sutherland? I found equally gifted.

[@philipcondenzio5987]

She never lived in anyone’s shadow. I adore her singing.

[@MrLuis85698]

Philip Condenzio to a certain extent she was .. and that's very unfortunate.. if sills was performing today .. she would seen as a Goddess above them all nobody takes on bel canto nowadays this perfect not even in the las 20 years

[@MrLuis85698]

Burt Collins almost equally gifted .. but she should have lived now when we don't have a a good singer instead of during the golden age

[@raphaelpisano5462]

Horne was Neocle, Arsace is in Semiramide :)

[@glgree1]

And, thank God, she didn't have that "machine gun" coloratura! She knew the value of legato!

[@marshmallow3253]

Do you have the rest of the recording? I'll $

[@maestrojimbo]

@lornabegbie Yes, she certainly has no serious competition with that skill, even today. Be sure to listen to her Zerbinetta, if you haven't already. Fast, and such intervals! Thanks for listening. P.S. I see you love animals - look for the parrots singing Mozart Queen of the Night and Chopin on my channel - really cute. Also my Jack Russell Mr. Darcy is on the Michigan Fight Song vid - hilarious.

[@adamolorenzetti9433]

Why does the caption say the conductor is Carlo Franci? It was Schippers.

[@maestrojimbo]

@andreernestgretry I did correct that - go back and look at the opening credits. My copy is mis-labeled.

[@andreernestgretry]

@maestrojimbo sorry, you're right, I didn't lokk at the correction;-)

[@SilfredoSerrano]

Fastest voice in the west!

[@MrLuis85698]

Silfredo Serrano agree

[@TheRicharddeacon123]

What was the tiff with Sills and Horne over???

[@Tenor777]

In a nutshell, According to Sills, Horne accused Sills and her agent of controlling how much press she gets from the media over Horne. Horne was supposedly very angry over the fact that Sills made the cover of Newsweek magazine. Horne also told Sills to her face that she prefers Sutherland over her.