Beverly Sills (1929 - 2007)

[Vecchiolarry]

Hello,

Just heard on the news that Beverly Sills died in Manhattan on Monday, July 2nd.....

Such a lose to music and musical administration. She virtually ran Lincoln Center and was a singing force for 35 years beforehand.

R.I.P. Miss Sills...

Larry

[Moraldo Rubini]

Indeed. Beverly Sills was a great emissary of high culture. She was able to dispell the fear of opera for many people. It's a shame she was "discovered" so late in her career; but how blessed we were to finally have found her. She was one of America's treasures. And she even did a little film work! Here she is in a clip from the short Uncle Sol Solves It back in the day when she was a child radio star:

[moira finnie]

Here's to Beverly "Bubbles" Sills--Thanks so much for the earthy ebullience, joy and musicality that you brought into my life and that of everyone who was charmed and educated by your voice and presence! I can't think of Donizetti's Fille du Régiment, Lucia di Lammermoor or for that matter, The Muppet Show without thinking of you! You, Pavarotti, Domingo, Carreras, and Caruso probably did more to promote the pleasures of opera to the general public than 10,000 productions ever could. Here's a well-deserved and glowing appreciation from the NYTimes. I was surprised to read that Ms. Sills was 78. There was something eternally youthful about the laughing Brooklyn girl with the lovely soprano voice.

[Vecchiolarry]

Hi,

Love that Blackglama Mink. She looks a proper diva in mink, darling!!!

I do have a pet peeve though and this death has brought it to the fro, so to speak:
Why is there no fuss made about the passing of a great talent like Beverley Sills or Kitty Carlisle and yet the world went mad over Anna Nicole Smith.
I now understand that Las Vegas is going nuts over Pamela Anderson - something about her getting sawn in half... So what!!
And, this whole Paris Hilton thing just makes one vomit.....

Is there no entertainment in the entertainment world anymore? Or do we glorify drivel.
Is this how the Greek and Roman Empires fell?

I guess I should have put this on a "Rant thread" but poor Beverley just got me to raving!!

Larry

[mongoII]

Moira, there is just one word in the New York Times article that for me exemplifys the late Beverly Sills, and that is [b]genuine.[/b]
And that's why I adored her.

Larry, Miss Sills death got proper coverage in New York and Florida via the internet, newspapers and TV coverage.
On Monday I expect Barbara Walters to discuss her dear friend on The View which was on hiatus this week.

[Moraldo Rubini]

The sad passing of Beverly Sills got great coverage in San Francisco too. There were people practically sitting in vigil here, as word got out that she was seriously ill about a week before she passed. She was the main topic of conversation at a dinner party that I attended the Thursday before her death (Paris, Pamela and whoever else Larry listed, were not mentioned). The local papers were filled with more than just obituaries, but also features and local lore. Joshua Kosman (one of the San Francisco Chronicle's music critics) wrote the following local tale:

[Beverly Sills] made her professional debut in 1947 with the Philadelphia Civic Grand Opera Company, and was hired in 1953 to appear with the San Francisco Opera in a variety of roles.

That episode in her life proved bittersweet. As Ms. Sills recounted in Bubbles: A Self-Portrait, the first of two autobiographies, she arrived in San Francisco expecting to be met and driven to the home of general director Gaetano Merola.

But Merola had died the day before, in the middle of conducting a performance of Madama Butterfly in Stern Grove. Ms. Sills with her two suitcases made her way by public transportation to the Merola house, where she'd been expecting to stay, only to learn the sad news. Strapped for cash, she wound up in a fleabag hotel on Market Street.

'It was the loneliest week I have ever spent,' she wrote. 'For a long time afterwards, whenever I heard the name San Francisco, I would feel cold shivers up and down my spine, remembering.'

Despite the adversity, she sang lead roles in Mozart's Don Giovanni and Boito's Mefistofele and was a last-minute replacement as one of the Valkyries in Wagner's Die Walküre. "

Luckily for San Franciscans, she did come back, and became a favorite in our opera house during the 1970's, singing in Manon, La Traviata, Lucia di Lammermoor, La Fille du Régiment, Thaïs, I Puritani and free concerts in Golden Gate Park.

Brava la diva!

[moira finnie]

Hi guys,
I'm so glad I'm not the only one who found Ms. Sills to be a delightful performer and guide to the arts, as your words make clear. If anyone's interested, Charlie Rose on PBS rebroadcast many funny and revelatory moments from his interviews with Beverly from years past the other night in tribute to her. Here's a link to that show, which can be viewed online, (i think!).

[Vecchiolarry]

Hi,

I'm glad Miss Sills was trumpeted, so to speak, in some areas. But, the major networks just mentioned her in their news reports. I got the feeling some of those 'idiot talking heads' didn't even know who she was.
They all knew and spewed volumes about ANS.....

Joe -
I will tune into "The View" on Monday to see if Baba speaks about her. Has she learned to speak yet? I don't watch that disgusting show, if I can help it. Hags giving the word 'harridan' a proper definition.

Marco -
An impertinent question: Don't answer if I'm impinging on your privacy -
Are you back in San Francisco again?
I may be coming to SF in late October for a conference. It would be nice to take you to lunch or dinner or both, if you are willing!!
Also, it gives you plenty of time to get out of SF and run!!!!

Larry

[moira finnie]

Larry, Joe & Moraldo and anyone else who's interested,
On my way to work I listen to a wonderful FM classical station out of Toronto. On Sunday, July 8th they are putting together a special hour of the Best of Beverly Sills from 9PM ET to 10PM ET. They are located at 96.3 on the dial and can be heard in a live streaming audio here. I'm sure that the NYT's flagship station WQXR is offering something special this weekend too, which can be accessed here.. Maybe our own Mongo Joe, Judith or other current and former NYC dwellers knows more specifics, though when I've time, I'll check out the site too!

Happy Listening and boy, I hope that Moraldo and Larry have a great al fresco lunch soon, you lucky guys!

[Moraldo Rubini]

And the tributes are still coming in. Today's San Francisco Chronicle published another feature http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c ... 01&sc=1000 on Beverly Sills.[/url]

[Moraldo Rubini]

And the tributes are still coming in. Today's San Francisco Chronicle published another feature on Beverly Sills.

Yes Larry, I am presently back in San Francisco. I'll probably be here in October; though trips to Yosemite, Florida and New York are looming. Keep me updated...

[mrsl]

I can't express proper regret about Ms. Sills' passing as I am not much of an opera fan, nor very knowledgeable about it or her. I have heard of her and know she had a lot of fans, as well as being a quality singer, tho that sounds pretty lackluster and lame even to me, but there is no sense in pretending great admiration, I would sound even more ridiculous. But I can say that whenever we lose a fine and special entertainer, the distinction between that loss and the earth shattering revelations of some of these self-serving so-called celebrities, from drug over dose to rehab, to their final demise is enough to make most intelligent folks choke.

Larry:

Your question about the Greek and Roman empires strikes a strong note of attention. Maybe that question should be cast about more widely. Seems like a good item for comparison.

I'm sure Ms. Sills appreciates the kind thoughts being directed at her.

Anne

[sandykaypax]

I was so saddened to hear the news of Beverly Sills' passing. Many years ago, I read her autobiography, Bubbles, and I loved it. And it made me love HER. She was genuine, as Mongo said, and seemed to have a wonderful sense of humor.

The only anecdote that I recall from the book is one that always makes me smile---Beverly Sills got to meet her childhood idol, soprano Lily Pons. When Ms. Sills told Lily Pons that she would be singing the same role that Pons had in The Daughter of the Regiment, Ms. Pons said to her, "My dear, you MUST make your entrance on a white horse, like I did!"

Always cracks me up.

I've always wished that I could've seen Ms. Sills in The Ballad of Baby Doe.

Sandy K

[Moraldo Rubini]

This will take you to the NPR story on Beverly Sills, including an audio piece of Carol Burnett sharing her memories about the great lady.

Sandy: Your wish is my command.