Search - Vincenzo Bellini, Gustave Charpentier, Gaetano Donizetti :: Beverly Sills: Art of Beverly Sills, Album 2

The Greatest Coloratura of All Time?!!!

E. Parry | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | 11/06/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Forget about Sutherland, Gruberova, Auger and Anderson (all, I must admit, favourites of mine)! Beverly Sills, going by this amazing recital cd, is the greatest coloratura in recorded history! Unfortunately this recording is long out of print and I was fortunate enough to get a copy from an Amazon seller. It is, in a word, superb. Looking at the conductors of the various tracks this is one of those recordings which has been culled from La Sills' back catalogue, with the selections from "Lucia", "Anna Bolena" & "The Tales of Hoffmann" coming from complete recordings of those operas. The singing in these is, of course, gorgeous (as anyone will know who has the full recordings), but it is the other selections which are of particular interest.



We start with "O luce di quest'anima" from Donizetti's "Linda di Chamounix", a lovely piece of music if ever there was one, but in the hands of Beverly Sills it is elevated to another plane, so affecting is the singing. High notes were her specialty, and she produces them in abundance! Other arias featured are "Care compagne.....Come per me sereno" from Bellini's "La Sonnambula", "Je suis Titania" from Thomas' "Mignon", "Depuis le jour" from Charpentier's "Louise" & "Non so le tetre imagini" from Verdi's "Il Corsaro", all sung beuatifully. The real gems for me are "Santo di patria" from Verdi's "Attila" and a deeply moving "Vilja" from Lehar's "The Merry Widow". This second Verdi piece is sung as I have never heard it sung before! Her ornamentation is incredibly exciting - this woman has no fear - her top notes ringing out magnificently and the coloratura perfectly in place. The flip side of this is her lovely rendition of "Vilja", beautifully poised and restrained. This aria concludes the disc, and is a gorgeous way to end a fabulous 70 minutes of amazing singing.



The current crop of coloratura singers (Bartoli, Damrau, etc.) while fine performers and musicians, do not come anywhere near Sills' sheer vocal power and bravura delivery. Is there anyone out there who can compete with her? If there is I certainly haven't heard them!



If you love beautiful music thrillingly sung get a copy of this magnificent recording if you can. You won't be disappointed!"