Before I start, I have to say one thing. I really hate opera!!! When I was a kid, if my mom wasn't working, she would spend every Saturday afternoon listening to the Texaco Star Metropolitan Opera program. I didn't get opera then, I don't get it now. Maybe it was because even if they sang in English (which wasn't often) I couldn't understand either the words or the plot. Every once in a while an opera singer would appear in something which appealed to me. In the movie Going My Way, opera star Rise Stevens sings Ave Maria and that really touched my heart but all in all, most opera stars of the 60's and 70's stayed away from T.V and popular music.
Then along came Beverly Sills. She was one of us except she had the voice of an angel. When she and Carol Burnett did their T.V special, somehow she made Carol sing opera. She even help Miss Piggy sing opera and everyone loved it because it brought opera down to our level. I enjoyed watching her perform every chance I got. Her nickname "Bubbles" was most appropriate because it described her personality completely.
Beverly Sills passed away last night and I want to send my personal salute to this great person who gave us many hours of pure enjoyment and somehow gave us all more than a little bit of class!!!
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3 comments:
I enjoy theater, the symphony, ballet, but I could never get into opera.
I do remember Beverly Sills being a lovely person.
Your mom loved opera??? Why didn't I know that?
Lynn all this stuff you and Joan don't know was because of growing up in two different countries, and being so far apart in ages. Yes, Auntie E would listen to the opera every Saturday afternoon while Frank and I complained. She also loved the scary radio soap operas like "the Shadow" which would scare me to death. Don't forget we didn't get TV until 1956 because Uncle B didn't make a whole lot of money on the fire Dept in the 50's.
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