The Magic of Beverly Sills

269 Pages·2015·3.3 MB·English

by  Nancy Guy

NANCY GUY
Beverly Sills
THE MAGIC OF
The Magic of Beverly Sills
music in american life
A list of books in the series appears at the end of this book.
The Magic of
Beverly Sills
nancy guy
university of illinois press
Urbana, Chicago, and Springfi eld
Publication of this book was supported by a grant from the
Henry and Edna Binkele Classical Music Fund.
© 2015 by the Board of Trustees
of the University of Illinois
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
c 5 4 3 2 1
∞ Th is book is printed on acid- free paper.
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Guy, Nancy, 1960-
Th e magic of Beverly Sills / Nancy Guy.
pages cm — (Music in American life)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 978- 0- 252- 03973- 7 (hardcover : alk. paper)
isbn 978- 0- 252- 09783- 6 (e- book)
1. Sills, Beverly. 2. Sills, Beverly—Performances. 3.
Operas—Performances. 4. Opera audiences. 5. Music fans.
6. Sopranos (Singers)—United States—Biography.
I. Title.
ml420.s562g89 2015
782.1092—dc23 [B] 2015014470
Beverly Sills, the acclaimed Brooklyn- born
coloratura soprano who was more popular
with the American public than any opera
singer since Enrico Caruso, even among
people who never set foot in an opera
house, died on Monday at her home in
Manhattan.
—Anthony Tommasini, NNNeeewww YYYooorrrkkk TTTiiimmmeeesss,,
July 4, 2007

Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction: Writing about Beverly Sills 1
1 Th e Beverly Sills Phenomenon 11
2 From Early Life to Breakthrough 18
3 From Breakthrough to Stardom 43
4 From Stardom to Retirement 55
5 Loving Sills 81
6 Sills in the Lives of Her Fans 105
7 Experiencing Magic 125
8 Listening for Aft er- Vibrations 151
9 Engaging with Sills’s Artistry 182
Aft erword: Discovering Sills’s Infl uence 188
Notes 191
References 211
Index 221
Illustrations follow page 80

Acknowledgments
Th e years I spent researching and writing this book have been among the most
joyful of my career due in no small part to the shared enthusiasm of many people
for my subject, Beverly Sills. Roy C. Dicks has spent more than four decades
meticulously documenting Sills’s career, including collecting “private” recordings
and programs. Th roughout my research and writing process, Roy has shared these
materials and his thoughts with profound generosity. Charles Freeman Stamper,
who owns what surely must be the largest collection of items related to Sills on
the planet, has also been enormously generous. Whenever I had trouble locating
an obscure news article or performance program, if one of them had it in his pos-
session, he would scan and e- mail me the materials, frequently within minutes
of my sending a query. I oft en had the feeling that Roy and Freeman were just
down the hall, and that we were all in this together. Th ey were not alone in pro-
viding me with companionship on this journey. Pete Buchanan came into my life
shortly aft er Sills’s death. He has been a constant source of love, encouragement,
and unbridled enthusiasm. Many other Sills fans, whom I now consider friends,
also provided positive energy as they shared their personal experiences. Among
those with whom I have had the pleasure of spending a good deal of time (either
in person or through social media) are Pirooz Aghssa, Katrine “Cage” Ames,
Richard Anderson, Jim Barnett , Th om Billadeau, Bill Bond, Taylor Cornish, Joe
Malloy, Brian Morgan, Antonio Martinazzo, A. Robert Nelson, Dan Patt erson,
David Ponder, Ron Runyon, Kathyrn Ryder, David Tidyman, and David Wylie.