Product: Donizetti - Roberto Devereux / Rudel, Sills, Alexander, New York City Opera (1975)
Rating: 5.0
Roberto Devereux or should I say Roberto Sills
Beverley Sills would have to be one of the greatest singer/actresses to come out of America in all time. The power and range of voice coupled with her commanding stage presence leaves one spell bound. Having seen her live on stage in San Francisco as Massenet's "Thas," in 1976, just one year after this present recording, however, both rolls quite different as chalk and cheese, the flirtatious character of the courtesan Thas to the powerful dramatic roll of Queen Elizabeth I, Queen of England; shows us just how great a performer Miss Sills is. Her supporting cast is equally capable of keeping up with her. Susan Marsee as Sara is both striking and in total control of her character and voice (even if the cover shows Richard Fredricks in the roll. I think he had better stick to his original roll as Nottingham, Sara's husband).Once again I must mention that John Alexander in the title roll of Roberto Devereux, has not been a voice that I admired. I felt it far too thin and his high notes rather strained, but matched against Miss Sills he manages to stand his ground and give a commanding performance. The Duet Roberto has with Sara in Act I, scene 2 "Tutto è silenzio....Dacchè tornasti, ahi misera!....Ah! quest'addio fatale" is beautifully sung and one of my favourite pieces from the opera.Richard Fredricks as Nottingham, Sara's husband has a powerful voice and stage presence he brings to his character. The rest of the cast are adequate and make this a memorable performance. My only real criticism of the production is that a couple of times the characters go off mike and there was a loss of volume and clarity of voice, but apart from that, this is an opera well worth adding to your collection apart from it's historical state but to see one of America's greatest opera stars at work.