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Bubbles
Macmillan, 1976, isbn 0672522682, hardcover
Warner Books, 1977, isbn 0446815209, softcover |
Description -
Beverly 's autobiography, taking her life and career up through her debut at the Met in April 1975. Numerous photos, black and white as well as color, are placed throughout the 240 pages, which also include a useful index. There are no performance annals or discographies and Sills does not comment on many of her performances or recordings
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Beverly, An Autobiography
Bantam, 1987, isbn 0553051733, hardcover
Bantam, 1988, isbn 0553266470, softcover
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Description -
Another life story by Sills covering much of the same ground as in Bubbles but with some different and additional stories. The book goes up through the first half of Sills' tenure as head of the New York City Opera ending with the 1986 season. The book has a number of black and white photos, most of which are not in Bubbles. The 347 pages are well indexed but again no performance annals or discographies and many performances and recordings are not mentioned.
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Bubbles, An Encore
Grosset & Dunlap, 1981, isbn 0448120445, hardcover
Grosset & Dunlap, 1981, isbn 044812037, softcover |
Description -
This is a reprint of Bubbles, with an additional chapter of 40 pages appended at the end. Written by Harvey E. Phillips, the chapter covers the rest of Sills' career through her retirement from singing. There are additional photos and there is a separate index for the new chapter.
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On My Own
Bantam Audio Publishing 1987, isbn 0553457438, audiobook
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Description -
Issued to complement "Beverly, An Autobiography" published in the same year, it is not a reading from her book, but an interview done exclusively for the audiobook. There is a narrator connecting the different sections of the interview and there are two live musical numbers: "Non disperar" from Handel" "Giulio Cesare" and the "Portuguese Folk Song" that her teacher, Estelle Liebling, prepared for Sills.
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Benedict, Helen |
Portraits in Print
Columbia Univ. Pr., 1991, isbn 0231072260, hardcover
Columbia Univ. Pr., 1991, isbn 0231072279, softcover |
Description -
Experienced interviewer and journalist Helen Benedict profiles ten well-known figures in the arts (Beverly Sills, Susan Sontag, Joseph Brodsky, Paule Marshall, Bernard Malamud, Jessica Mitford, Robert Treuhaft, Leonard Michaels, Bertrand Bard, and Isaac Bashevis Singer), which were originally published in other newspapers and magazines. Benedict adds additional commentary before each profile and adds a postscript to each detailing how the interviews were arranged and any particularly interesting points about the interview itself.
The 14-page Sills profile, subtitled "Undaunted and Undefeated," was done in 1985 and emphasizes her family life, both her mother's influence while growing up and her attempts to have a "normal" family life with her husband and children, despite her career and the children's disabilities.
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Browne, Ray Broadus (editor) |
Contemporary Heroes and
Heroines,
Book III
Thomson Gale, 1998, isbn 078762215X, hardcover |
Description
This 699-page book is a library reference book geared for student use. Sills has an 8-page biographical sketch written in straightforward style. The information comes from previously published magazine and newspaper articles.
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Chapin, Schuyler |
Sopranos, Mezzos, Tenors, Bassos, and Other Friends
Crown, 1995, isbn 0517588641, hardcover |
Description -
Chapin, the general manager of the Metropolitan Opera House from 1972-1975, has written personal essays about 30 singers and musicians he has worked with and/or known.
The essays are short (5 to 10 pages) and are only impressions, not full career overviews. Each is accompanied by unusually dramatic photos by James-Daniel Radiches. The Sills essay covers 8 pages and has two contrasting photos of her.
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Davis, Peter G. |
The American Opera Singer: the lives and adventures of America's
great singers in opera and concert from 1825 to the present
Doubleday, 1997, isbn 0385474954, hardcover
Anchor Books, 1999, isbn 0385421745, softcover |
Description -
Peter G. Davis, the longtime music critic for New York magazine,
fills nearly 600 pages with an overview of the American opera singer,
from opera's arrival in America in the early 1800's to the end of the
20th century. The majority of the book is Davis's opinion about the
strengths and weaknesses of a number of famous American singers, from
Richard Tucker and Lawrence Tibbett to Eileen Farrell and Dorothy
Kirsten. His strong opinions are often blunt and unflattering.
Davis's portrayal of Beverly Sills is especially harsh,
characterizing her as an overly ambitious, calculating performer, who
sang beyond her abilities and took on roles unsuited for her. Her
biggest fans probably will not agree with a lot of what Davis writes,
but it is a good springboard for discussion about her art and an
intriguing alternative viewpoint.
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Diamonstein, Barbaralee |
Open Secrets
Viking, 1972, isbn 0670527084, hardcover |
Description -
The editor collected answers to questionnaires from 94 prominent women in all fields, publishing their responses to questions about women's issues. Sills responds to 56 questions about equality of the sexes, marriage, women's lib, the meaning of success, a woman's role in her family, and a woman's influence on her children.
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Singular Voices: Conversations with Americans who made a difference
Harry N. Abrams, 1997, isbn 0810926989, softcover |
Description -
This 206-page book contains interviews with 17 leaders, pathfinders
and prominent contributors to American life, who speak with candor
about their professional and personal lives. Besides Beverly Sills,
the list includes a wide range of personalities, such as Edward
Albee, Jimmy Carter, Gloria Steinem and Elie Wiesel. |
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The Magic of Beverly Sills
University of Illinois Press, 2015, isbn 978-0-252-03973-7, hardcover |
Description -
Not a bigraphy but an overview of Sills' art and popularity. The book contains material from interviews of Sills' colleagues, family, friends and fans, all to get at what made Sills' career such a success. There are chapters on her audio and video recordings and an in-depth analysis of her "Anna Bolena" from live recordings as an example of her attention to detail and characterization.
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Great Singers on Great Singing
Doubleday,1982, isbn 0385146388, hardcover
Limelight Editions, 1982, isbn 0879100257, softcover |
Description -
Operatic basso Jerome Hines interviews 40 famous singers and two doctors about the technique of singing. Chapters are from 5 to 10 pages long and often include printed lines of music for examples of exercises. The Sills chapter is 10 pages, in which she addresses breathing, chest voice, mask, and scales.
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Jacobson, Robertson |
Reverberations
Morrow, 1974, isbn 0688028756, hardcover
Vision Press, 1974, isbn 0854784535, hardcover (UK)
Morrow, 1976, isbn 0688078753, softcover |
Description -
Robert Jacobson, former editor of Opera News, profiles 35 musicians active at the time of publication, including singers, pianists, and conductors. Profiles run 6 to 12 pages. The Sills interview (pp. 207-216) is a composite of two separate interviews, one from the winter of 1968 and one from early 1970, and goes into detail about the Giulio Cesare debut and the singing of all the Contes d'Hoffmann roles, as well as Callas's influence on her.
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Jacobson, Robertson & Steiner, Christian |
Opera People
Vendome Press, 1982, isbn 0865650276, hardcover
Weidenfeld & Nihcolson Ltd., isbn 0297781731, hardcover (UK)
Penguin USA, 1983, isbn 0865650381, softcover
Book Sales, 1986, isbn 0865650276, hardcover reprint |
Description -
Author Jacobson and photographer Steiner profile 38 well-known singers and conductors. Texts are one or two page overviews, each accompanied by several large photos, often full page. The Sills photo is a full-page color shot of the singer as Thaïs, and there is an additional double page photo of Sills and Sherrill Milnes in a Central Park carriage, the shot used for the duet record they made together.
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