Gaetano Donizetti American Opera Society Orchestra Beverly Sills - Donizetti La fille du Regiment (30 tracks) +Album Reviews

At Last!

William S. Levison | Valdosta, GA United States | 01/26/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I've owned the disc version of this performance on a pirated recording since a few months after the actual performance date (1969), and for me it's always been the epitome of what made any Sills role exciting--stunning coloratura, beautiful legato, and humor. Here her singing is much more exciting than on the VHS tape of a production in English, and her French is exquisite. Corena is a classic Sulpice, Hirst sings all of the high C's without strain, and Greenspon hams it to the hilt. A very minor drawback is the low-tech but pefectly listenable sound, without which this wonderful souvenir of Sills in her prime would not exist."

Bravissima Sills

M. Ramos | 08/01/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This CD has probably the most perfect interpretation of Marie ever. Perfection is the only word that can be used for Beverly Sills' performance of this charming Donizetti opéra-comique. The soprano is during the whole performance in perfect command of her voice. Her coloratura is simply spectacular: perfects scales, a contant display of tight trills and luminous high notes. Also her command of legato singing is admirable in slow arias like "Il faut partir" and "Par le rang et par l'opulance. Her ornamentation is daring and virtousistic, always connected with the music and style. Besides all this, there is the marvel of hearing a complete involvement with the character and a great command of the French language. All this skill is displayed over all the opera, but the great highlight of Sills' greatness is the singing lesson on Act 2. Here the soprano displays her great sense of fun united to incredible scales, trills and brilliant high notes, ending the scene with a dazzling high E. A true display of belcanto singing. But Ms. Sills is not alone in bringing delight: her supporting cast, even when not as brilliant, is very good in both vocalism and comic timing. Grayson Hirst as Tonio displays easy high C's in "Ah mes amis" and interacts charmingly with Sills. Fernando Corena and Corena Muriel Greenspon are simply irresistible as Sulpice and La Marquise. Roland Gagnon conducts with verve and skill the orchestra and the excellent chorus of the American Opera Society, apart from being the creative force behind Sill's virtousistic variations. The fact that this is a live performance makes it even more commendable. This CD is a glorious testament of what great operatic singing is about."

Fine performance at bargain price

L. E. Cantrell | Vancouver, British Columbia Canada | 03/23/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Source: 1969 live performance before an audience of hacking coughers in serious need of medication.

Sound: Overall sound is really not bad. Sills is generally well-captured. Other singers from time to time wander away from the microphones (one of which must have been directly over the piano) and suffer noticeable changes in volume. All coughs, premature applause and exasperating bravi are reproduced in tip-top fidelity.

Documentation: Opera D'Oro's documentation is as deplorable as ever. No libretto. No description of track contents except for a few initial words. No comments on the singers or the production. There is a short and not very helpful summary of the plot.

Sills sounds to me to be in very good voice. Her high notes are very much in place and her vocal agility in the more than usually ornamented passages is impressive. She displays more than enough brilliance, playfullness, drive and presence to show why she was a real star. Her French sounds as convincing to me as that of any non-native speaker and it does not clash with that of Corena, born a French-speaking Swiss. Purely as a matter of personal taste, I would prefer a slightly warmer voice and a less ornamented line, but I can certainly understand and even endorse the raves given to her by fans writing some of the previous Amazon reviews.

Fernando Corena is very good, and quite at home with the role of the rascally / fatherly Sergeant Sulpice, although I think his voice is a bit thinner than it would have been a few years earlier. Muriel Greenspoon is effective in the sometimes thankless role of the Marquise.

Grayson Hirst as Tonio is the hardest of the four principals to assess. I gather that this is his only significant, commercially-distributed recording. From this one performance in this one opera it seems to me that his voice was pleasant, clear, agile, full of nice top notes and of no great size. Taking the part of Tonio as a demonstration of singing, I have no significant criticism of Mr. Hirst. Taking Tonio as a character in a (comic) drama, I have serious reservations. It is my impression that Mr. Hirst, the singer, has placed himself at one step away from Tonio, the character. While his every note is carefully sculpted and artfully turned to produce a sweetness of tone, nowhere does Mr. Hirst just get on with it and give us the love-sick loon who joins the army to get the girl. Very likely time and experience would have wiped away this objection but, as here recorded, Mr. Hirst gives us a concert while everyone else is offering a performance.

The conducting is appropriately brisk and intelligent. The orchestra sounds fine when not being drowned out by the on-lookers.

On the whole, this is a fine performance--despite small reservations about the tenor--only partially spoiled by an obnoxious audience: four stars."

Fabulous FILLE

monstresacre | USA | 02/28/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Simply a fabulous recording. Sills is wonderful with the rest of the cast nearly at her level. The sound quality is excellent for a live performance of its age (late 60's). Much better than on a private issue I've had for some years. A great way to expose yourself to the art of Beverly Sills - and at a price that can't be beat. Bravi!"

The Best Version

monstresacre | 10/09/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In 1840, Gaetano Donizetti was commissioned to write a French opera for the Paris Opera-Comique. The rules for the Opera Comique was an opera of lyricism, spoken dialogue and highly entertaining comedy. Donizetti must have astounded audiences both in his native Italy and in Paris because he was able to write such a remarkable work of comedy. Normally, Donizetti produced tragic operas chalk-full of intense drama (Roberto Devereux, Anna Bolena, Maria Stuarda, Lucia Di Lammermoor to name a few). La Fille Du Regiment (The Daughter of The Regiment) is a musically glittering opera with scenes that will make you laught your head off. It ranks in equality with Rossini's famous comedy The Barber Of Seville. The comic 2 act opera tells the tale of Marie, an abandoned child brought up by a regiment in Napoleon's army, which at the time of this opera, is stationed in the Swiss Tyrol. Marie is in love with Tonio, a native villager, who has saved her life. But Sulpice, the grumpy sargent, disapproves of their relationship. Marie must only marry a high-ranking soldier. The Marquise (a female consort of a Marquis) discovers Marie among the regiment and declares she is her niece. Thereafter, Marie is taken into custody of the Marquise in her castle. Marie is sad to leave her regiment and her beloved Tonio. This occurs in Act I.This recoding is a live performance (complete with applause and laughter from the audience) from 1969. Baritone Franco Corena takes on the role of the grouchy Sulpice, coloratura soprano Beverly Sills is a riot as Marie, Grayson Hirst is the tenor who sings the role of Tonio and Muriel Greenspoon provides a comic La Marquise. From the moment Beverly Sills enters the stage (to a great applause) and belts out a coloratura roulade that imitates the French national anthem La Marsailles and a famous military march, the audience is taken by her hilarious performance. There are many fine moments in this opera. If you don't mind the live recording. In Act 2, Marie is in La Marquise's castle where La Marquise is teaching her to play minuets on the piano. However, Sulpice lures her to play the Rataplan march and the Song of the Regiment. This scene is the most comical, and the audience laughs nearly non-stop. Muriel Greenspoon's interpretation of La Marquise comes off as exceedingly funny, as she is a living joke of a bourgeois woman, with a snobby French accent. The highlight in this scene is when Beverly Sills spins out spiraling coloratura as she plays the pinao to the egging of the others and finally manages to sound like a scream. Tonio has been made a soldier in Marie's Regiment. He is happy for this means he is finally going to marry Marie. He demonstrates his joy in the aria "Mes Amis" which culminates in high C's from the tenor. Grayson Hirst is a fine singer and his Tonio is lyric, romantic and interesting. At the end of the opera, Marie is almost forced to marry a nobleman whom she does'nt care anything about when Tonio and Marie are reunited and La Marquise finally discloses her secret- Marie is her daughter born out of wedlock and she blesses Marie and Tonio as a happy couple. This is the definate version of the opera. It is funny, it is full of brilliant music and a light story. The Song of the Regiment was even almost the French National Anthem. It is still played in concert (in the Overture) on Bastille Day July 14. Beverly Sills is in fine singing condition, since this is 1969 and her performance stands out as the best Marie. Look also for the DVD version of a Wolf Trap live performance, only it is sung in English. This is a must have for Donizetti fans and of course followers of Beverly Sills."

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