Author: Deborah B

This listing contains all the officially released recordings Sills made of operas and recital albums. They were mostly recorded in the studio, but a few recorded live. Sills’ recordings were first issued on LPs, and most were later released on 8-track, cassette tapes and CDs. Although all the 18 complete operas have been released on CD, the recital albums have often been issued piecemeal on “Best Of” albums and other themed CDs. The information below attempts to identify the various ways in which the selections on those recital albums have been issued.

Note: Most of Sills’ CD issues are no longer in print. However, copies, both new and used, can be regularly found on Amazon, eBay, Discogs, and other sites that sell CDs. It’s best to compare prices across these sales sites, as the prices can vary widely. It’s also worth checking back on prices and availability from time to time, because additional copies often crop up in the meantime.

Operas

Bellini, Vincenzo (1801 – 1835)

I Capuleti e i Montecchi
Artists – Janet Baker, Nicolai Gedda, Robert Lloyd, Raimund Herincx, John Alldis Choir, New Philharmonia.
Conductor – Giuseppe Patane
Date & Location – June 16-26, 1975; Abbey Road Studios, London
Label & Catalog numbers
CD 5-86055-2 – EMI Classics Gemini
LP SCLX-3824 – Angel Records

I Capuleti e i Montecchi
Artists – Tatiana Troyanos, Joseph Evans, Herbert Beattie, Robert Trehy, Chorus & Orchestra of the Opera Company of Boston
Conductors – Sarah Caldwell, William Fred Scott
Date & Location – June 5 & 7, 1975; Boston, MA
Label & Catalog numbers
CD VAIA 1221-2 – Video Artists International

Note –
This live recording combines the best of the June 5 & 7 performances

Norma
Artists – Shirley Verrett, Enrico Di Giuseppe, Paul Plishka, Delia Wallis, Robert Tear, John Alldis Chorus, New Philharmonia.
Conductor – James Levine
Date & Location – August 1973; All Saints Church, Tooting, London
Label & Catalog numbers:

CD 477 8186 Deutsche Grammophon
CD OPE-CD 1049/1050 EMI France (slightly abridged – missing 15 minutes in Act I)
LP AVC_34030 – Angel Records
LP ATS 20017 – ABC Audio Treasury

I Puritani
Artists – Heather Begg, Nicolai Gedda, Riccardo Cassinelli, Louis Quilico, Richard Van Allan, Paul Plishka, London Philharmonic Orchestra.
Conductor – Julius Rudel
Date & Location – August 1973; EMI Studios, London
Label & Catalog numbers
CD 289 471 207-2 – Westminster : the Legacy
CD 3-80356 – Millennium Classics
LP AVC-34013 – Angel Records
LP ATS 20016 – ABC/Dunhill Records

Charpentier, Gustave (1860 – 1956)

Louise
Artists – Nicolai Gedda, Jose van Dam, Mignon Dunn, Martyn Hill, Chorus and Orchestra of Theatre de l’Opera de Paris.
Conductor – Julius Rudel
Date & Location – June 1977, Salle Wagram, Paris
Label & Catalog numbers
CD 5 65299-2 – EMI Angel
LP SCLX-3846 – Angel Records

Donizetti, Gaetano (1797 – 1848)

Anna Bolena
Artists – Shirley Verrett, Stuart Burrows, Paul Plishka, Patricia Kern, Robert Lloyd, Robert Tear, John Alldis Choir, London Symphony.
Conductor – Julius Rudel
Date & Location – August 1972; EMI Studios, London
Label & Catalog numbers
CD 289 465 957-2 – Deutsche Grammophon
CD 289 465 967-2 – Deutsche Grammophon (Three Queens box set)
CD 3-80355 – Millennium
LP ATS 20015 – ABC Records
LP AVC-34031 – Angel Records

Don Pasquale
Artists – Alfredo Kraus, Donald Gramm, Alan Titus, Ambrosian Opera Chorus, London Symphony.
Conductor – Sarah Caldwell
Date & Location – August 1,4,7, & 9, 1978; EMI Studios, London
Label & Catalog numbers
CD 5 66030 2 – EMI classics
LP SBLX 3871 – Angel Records

Lucia Di Lammermoor
Artists – Carlo Bergonzi, Piero Cappuccilli, Justino Diaz, Adolf Dallapozza, Patricia Kern, Keith Erwen, Ambrosian Opera Chorus, London Symphony
Conductor – Thomas Schippers
Date & Location – August 1970; EMI Studios, London
Label & Catalog numbers
CD 289 471 250-2 – Westminster
LP ATS 20006 – ABC
LP AVC-34012 – Angel Records

Maria Stuarda
Artists – Eileen Farrell, Stuart Burrows, Louis Qylico, Patricia Kern, Christian du Plessis, John Alldis Choir, London Philharmonic.
Conductor – Aldo Ceccato
Date & Location – June 1971; Concert Auditorium, Fairfield Hall, London
Label & Catalog numbers
CD 289 465961-2 – Deutsche Grammophon
CD 289 465 967-2 – Deutche Grammophon (Three Queens box set)
LP ATS 20010 – ABC
LP AVC-34032 – Angel Records

Roberto Devereux
Artists – Robert Ilosfavly, Peter Glossop, Beverly Wolff, Kenneth MacDonald, Don Garrard, Gwynne Howell, Richard Van Allan, Amrosian Opera Chorous, Royal Philharmonic
Conductor – Sir Charles Mackerras
Date & Location – June, 1969; EMI Studios, London
Label & Catalog numbers
CD 289 465 964-2 – Deutsche Grammophon
CD 289 465 967-2 – Deutche Grammophon (Three Queens box set)
LP AVC-34033 – Angel Records
LP 323 – Westminster

Handel, George Frederic (1685 – 1759)

Giulio Cesare
Artists – Norman Treigle, Maureen Forrester, Beverly Wolff, Spiro Malas, Dominic Cossa, Michael Devlin, William Beck, Opera and Chorus of New York City Opera.
Conductor – Julius Rudel
Date & Location – April 28-May 2, 1967; Webster Hall, New York City
Label & Catalog numbers
CD 6182-2 – RG – BMG/RCA
LP LM/LSC 6182 – RCA Victor

Giulio Cesare
Artists – Norman Treigle, Peter Schreier, Maureen Forrester, Gui Gallardo, Franz Crass, Ricardo Yost, Orchestra & Chorus of the Teatro Colòn, Buenos Aries
Conductor – Karl Richter
Date & Location – September 21, 1968; Buenos Aires, Argentina
Label & Catalog numbers
CD VAIA 1184 – VAI

Semele
Artists – Helen Vanni, Elaine Bonazzi, Seth McCoy, Ara Berberian, Cleveland Orchestra
Conductor – Robert Shaw
Date & Location – December 28, 1967; Severance Hall, Cleveland OH (live radio broadcast)
Label & Catalog numbers
CD MAA-40602; Musical Arts Association (part of a 7-disc set “The Robert Shaw Legacy”)

Lehar, Franz (1870 – 1948)

The Merry Widow
Artists – Alan Titus, Glenys Fowles, Henry Price, James Billings, David Rae Smith, New York City Opera Chorus and Orchestra.
Conductor – Julius Rudel
Date & Location – Feb. 1-3, 1978; New York City
Label & Catalog numbers
CD CDC-7 47585 2 – EMI Angel
LP AV-34081 – Angel Records

Massenet, Jules (1842 – 1912)

Manon
Artists – Nicolai Gedda, Gerard Souzay, Gabriel Bacquier, Nico Castel, Michel Trempont, Patricia Kern, Michele Raynaud, Helia T’Hevan, Ambrosian Opera Chorus, New Philharmonia.
Conductor – Julius Rudel
Date & Location – July 15-29, 1970; All Saints Church, Tooting, London
Label & Catalog numbers
CD CMS 769831 2 – EMI
CD 289 474 950-2 – Deutsche Grammophon
LP ATS 20007 – ABC
LP AVC-34010 – Angel Records

Thaïs
Artists – Sherrill Milnes, Nicolai Gedda, Richard Van Allan, Ann-Marie Connors, Ann Murray, Norma Burrowes, Patricia Kern, Brian Ethridge, John Alldis Choir, New Philharmonia.
Conductor – Lorin Maazel
Date & Location – June 18-30, 1976; EMI Studios, London
Label & Catalog numbers
CD 5654792 – EMI
LP SCLX 3832 – Angel Records

Moore, Douglas (1893 – 1969)

The Ballad of Baby Doe
Artists – Walter Cassel, Frances Bible, Grant Williams, Chorus and Orchestra of New York City Opera.
Conductor – Emerson Buckley
Date & Location – June, 1959; Manhattan Center, New York City
Label & Catalog numbers
CD 289 465 148-2 – Deutsche Grammophon
LP 2709 061 – Deutsche Grammophon
LP S3-GC-1 – MGM
LP HS 25035-5 – Helidor

Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus (1756 – 1791)

Die Zauberflöte
Artists – George Shirley, John Reardon, Judith Raskin, Anne Elgar, Ezio Flagello, Boston Symphony Orchestra
Conductor – Erich Leinsdorf
Date & Location –
August 6, 1966; Tanglewood Festival, Lenox, Massachusetts (live radio broadcast)
Label & Catalog numbers
Digital Media BSO Classics (no catalog # – was downloadable from the BSO website shop for a short time)

Offenbach, Jacques (1819 – 1880)

Les Contes d’Hoffmann
Artists – Stuart Burrows, Norman Treigle, Susanne Marsee, Nico Castel, Robert Lloyd, Patricia Kern, Raimund Herincx, Bernard Dickerson, John Noble, John Alldis Choir, London Symphony.
Conductor – Julius Rudel
Date & Location –
July-August, 1972; EMI Studios, London
Label & Catalog numbers
CD 289 471 247-2 – Westminster
LP ATS 20014 – ABC records
LP AVC-34011 – Angel Records

Les Contes d’Hoffmann
Artists – Andre Turp, Norman Treigle, Edith Evans, Michael Devlin, John West, Luigi Velluccci, New Orleans Opera Orchestra & Chorus
Conductor – Knud Andersson
Date & Location –
Februrary 27, 1964, New Orleans, LA
Label & Catalog numbers
CD VAIA 1121- Video Artists International (VAI)

Rossini, Gioacchino (1792 – 1868)

Il Barbiere di Siviglia
Artists – Sherrill Milnes, Nicolai Gedda, Renato Capecchi, Ruggero Raimondi, Fedora Barbieri, Joseph Galiano, John Alldis Choir, London Symphony.
Conductor – James Levine
Date & Location – August 1974 & May 1975; All Saints Church, Tooting, London
Label & Catalog numbers
CD 7243 5 85523 2 4 – EMI Classics Gemini
(issued Feb. 2004)
CD 7243 5 66040 2 5 – EMI Classics (issued in 1996)
LP SCLX-3671 – Angel Records

Note –
When EMI transferred the original LP recording to CD, they didn’t want to go to 3 discs, so they cut “A se e ver,” an aria from Rosini’s “Sigismondo” that Sills had interpolated at the end of the Bartlolo/Rosina scene before the Storm in Act II. The aria has not been re-issued on CD in any form, thus it is only available on the original LP recording. The CD issue also cuts Gedda’s aria and cabaletta, “Cessa di più…Ah, il più lieto,” as well as 4 minutes of recitative in other places.

L’Assedio di Corinto
Artists – Shirley Verrett, Justino Diaz, Harry Theyard, Gwynne Howell, Robert Lloyd, Delia Wallis, Gaetano Scano, Ambrosian Opera Chorus, London Symphony Orchestra.
Conductor – Thomas Schippers
Date & Location – July & August, 1974; All Saints Church, Tooting, London
Label & Catalog numbers
CD 7 64335 2 – EMI Classics
LP SCLX-3819 – Angel Records

Verdi, Giuseppe (1813 – 1901)

La Traviata
Artists – Nicolai Gedda, Rolando Panerai, Delia Wallis, Mirella Fiorentini, Keith Erwen, Terence Sharpe, Richard Van Allan, Robert Lloyd, Mario Carlin, William Elvin, John Alldis Choir, Royal Philharmonic.
Conductor – Aldo Ceccato
Date & Location –
July 6-9 & 15-16, 1971; All Saints Church, Tooting, London
Label & Catalog numbers
CD 7 69827-2 – EMI
LP SCLX 3780 – Angel Records

Rigoletto
Artists – Sherill Milnes, Alfredo Kraus, Samuel Ramey, Mignon Dunn, Ann Murrary, John Rawnsley, Dennis O’Neilll, Malcolm King, Sally Burgess, Alan Watt, Jennifer Smith, Ambrosian Opera Chorus, Philharmonia.
Conductor – Julius Rudel
Date & Location –
August 12-15, 1978, EMI Studios, London
Label & Catalog numbers
CD 5 66037 2 – EMI Classics
LP SCZX-3872 – Angel

Arias & Songs Albums

EMI / ABC / Westminster

Beverly Sills – Bellini & Donizetti Heroines
Conductor – Jussi Jalas
Orchestra – Orchestra of the Vienna Volksoper
Date & Location – June 1968; Mozartsaal, Vienna, Austria
Label & Catalog numbers:
CD UMD 80468 – Millinneum Classics
LP AV-34034 – Angel Records
LP WST-17143 – ABC/Westminster Records

Beverly Sills – In Concert
Accompanists -Paula Robinson, flute; Charles Wadsworth, piano & harpsichord; Gervase de Peyer, clarinet; Charles Treger, violin; Leslie Parnas, cello
Orchestra – Members of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center
Date & Location –
March 1972; Rutgers Presbyterian Church, New York City
Label & Catalog numbers
CD 477-630-4 – Deutsche Grammophon (This complete album has been re-issued on the DG CD “Beverly Sills and Friends. In addition, “Ah! vous direrai-je maman” and “Lo! here the gentle lark” have been re-issued on the Decca CD “The Singers.”
LP AV-34036 – Angel Records
LP ATS-20011 – ABC Audio Treasury
LP WGS-8268 – ABC Westminster Gold

Beverly Sills – sings Mozart and Strauss
Conductor – Aldo Ceccato
Orchestra – London Philharmonic Orchestra
Date & Location – January & August, 1970, EMI Studios, London
Label & Catalog numbers
CD CDC-7 47523 2
LP AV-34014 – Angel Records
LP AT-20004 – ABC Records

Beverly Sills – Sings Verdi
Conductor – Aldo Ceccato
Orchestra – Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Date & Location –
Tracks 1-4: January 1970, EMI Studios
(Tracks 5-7 added from the complete EMI recordings of Rigoletto [1978] and La Traviata [1971] )
Label & Catalog numbers
CD CDC-7 47383 2
LP AV-34017 – Angel Records
Note –
The first four arias on this disc were part of a planned full Verdi recital disc. Sills became ill during the recording sessions, completing only four arias. She ended up with a temperature of 105 and was told to go home. Sills didn’t remember recording them after her illness and the recordings stayed shelved in the ABC Records vault. They were discovered in the mid-1980’s when MCA bought the ABC catalog and did an inventory. EMI/Angel put out the LP and the CD in 1985.

Beverly Sills – Music of Victor Herbert
Conductor – Andre Kostelanetz
Orchestra – London Symphony Orchestra
Date & Location –
1975; EMI Studios, London
Label & Catalog numbers
CD CDC-7 47197 2 – EMI Angel
LP SFO-37160 – Angel Records

Scenes and Arias from French Opera
Conductor – Sir Charles Mackerras
Orchestra – Royal Philharmonic Orchestra & Ambrosian Opera Chorus
Date & Location –
May 1969; EMI Studios, London
Label & Catalog numbers
LP AV-34035 – Angel Records
LP WST-17163 –
ABC/Westminster Records
Note –
This album has not been issued complete on CD. The Huguenots “O beau pays” has only been issued as the aria, but not including the choral middle section or the cabaletta . The Manon “Je marche” found on all compilation sets is taken from the complete 1970 EMI recording. This 1969 version has only been issued on CD in a 40-CD box set from Deutsche Grammophon, “Westminster Legacy” (UPC 0028947923435)

Up in Central Park: Duets from Operetta & Musical Comedy
Artists – Beverly Sills & Sherrill Milnes
Conductor – Julius Rudel
Orchestra – New York City Opera Orchestra
Date & Location –
1978; New York City
Label & Catalog numbers
CD CDC-7 47203 2 – EMI Angel
LP S-37323 – Angel Records

Welcome to Vienna
Conductor – Julius Rudel
Orchestra – London Philharmonic
Date & Location –
May 1971, Fairfield Halls, Croyden, England
Label & Catalog numbers
CD CDM 0777 7 64424 2 6 – EMI Angel
LP AV-34037 – Angel Records
LP WST-20009 – ABC Records

Sony

Plaisir D’Amour
Conductor – Andre Koselanetz
Orchestra – Columbia Symphony
Date & Location –
Tracks 1-9: October 1-2 & 21, 1975; Columbia 30th St. Studio, New York City
Tracks 10-13: February 8, 1961; Manhattan Center, New York City
Label & Catalog numbers
CD SMK 60576 – Sony Classical
LP M 33933 – Columbia
(did not include the four 1961 items)
LP P2S 5720 –
Columbia Musical Treasury
LP DMS 6223 –
Columbia Musical Treasury

Note –
In the Sony CD liner notes, Sills says she didn’t remember recording the three Spanish numbers or for what purpose. Columbia issued only the Granados and the Ponce items in the early 1970s twice – on a 2-LP set “Romantic Music of Spain” (P2S 5720), a compilations of various orchestras and conductors; and, more strangely, on the LP “Puccini for Orchestra” (DMS 622), which had “guest artist Beverly Sills” on side one with the two Spanish numbers, and six Puccini arias for orchestra only conducted by Kostelanetz on side two.

Miscellaneous

Mozart Concert and Opera Arias
Artists – Boston Symphony Orchestra
Conductor – Erich Leinsdorf
Orchestra – New York City Opera Orchestra
Date & Location –
July 6, 1968; Tanglewood Festival, Lenox, Massachusetts(live radio broadcast)
Label & Catalog numbers
Digital Media BSO Classics (no catalog # – was downloadable from the BSO website shop for a short time)

Note –
This all-Mozart program included four vocal works:
Exsultate, jubilate “Ruhe sanft, mein holdes Leben” from Zaide
“Ah se in ciel, benigne stelle,” Concert aria
“Martern aller Arten” from Die Entführung aus dem Serail
(The BSO download was just these four and did not include the orchestra-only selections on the program)

Mozart’s “Exsultate, jubilate”
Artists – Phildadelphia Orchestra
Conductor – Eugene Ormandy
Orchestra – New York City Opera Orchestra
Date & Location –
April 25, 1974; Academy of Music, Philadelphia, PA (live radio broadcast)
Label & Catalog numbers
CD Philadelphia Orchestra Association (no catalog # – this selection was the only one issued from the full April 25 concert. It was included on Disc 9 of a 12-CD set issued by the orchestra called “The Centennial Collection,’ available for a while directly from the orchestra).

Beverly Sills sings Songs for Christmas
Organ Accompanist – Howard Kubik
Date & Location –
1955; location unknown
Label & Catalog number
LP WOR 94919 – Fordyce & Hamby
Note –
This is a 10 inch LP pressed on one side only. The architectural firm Fordyce & Hamby had this album made as a Christmas gift for clients.

Mahler – Symphony No. 2 “Resurrection”
Artists – Beverly Sills, soprano soloist, Florence Kopleff, contralto soloist
Conductor – Maurice Abravenel
Orchestra – Utah Symphony Orchestra
Date & Location –
1967; Mormon Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Utah
Label & Catalog numbers
CD ATM 1212 – Artemis Classics
(issued 2003 – coupled with Sym. No. 4)
CD OVC 2030 – Vanguard Classics
(complete Mahler symphonies, 9 cds)
CD OVC 4004 – Vanguard Classics
(issued 1994)
LP VCS 10003-10004 –
Vanguard Cardinal Series
LP SRV 330-343 – Vanguard
(complete Mahler symphonies, 14-Lps)

The Sullivan Years
Artists – Beverly Sills (and Robert Merrill, Richard Tucker, Joan Sutherland, Franco Corelli, Dorothy Kirsten, Roberta Peters, Jan Peerce, Maria Callas, Marilyn Horne, Eleanor Steber), CBS Orchestra
Conductor – Ray Block
Date & Location –
May 4, 1969; Ed Sullivan Theater, New York City
Label & Catalog number
TVT 9449-2 – 1001 Sundays/TVT Records
Note –
This is a compilation of opera arias and duets from the Ed Sullivan Show on CBS-TV. Sills is represented by “O luce di quest’anima” sung without the recitative at the beginning (cut because Sullivan demanded that the opera segments be no more than 4 minutes long). This recording is the audio from the same performances on the Kultur DVD “Great Moments in Opera from the Ed Sullivan Show” (see this listing in this Discography’s Video section)

Compilations from Previous Albums

EMI Group

The Art of Beverly Sills
Release Date – original release 1985,
re-released 1992
Label & Catalog numbers
CD CDM 0777 7 64425 2 5 – EMI Classics (1992)
CD SDB 028545 – EMI Angel (1985)

The Art of Beverly Sills, Album 2
Release Date – 1985
Label & Catalog numbers
CD CDC-7 47332 2 – EMI Angel
LP AV-34081 – Angel Records

Note –
The LP did not have the two Verdi selections

The Very Best of Beverly Sills
Release Date – May 2005
Label & Catalog numbers
CD 5 86317 2 – EMI Classics

Decca

The Singers: Beverly Sills
Release Date – 2001
Label & Catalog numbers
CD 289 467 906-2 – Decca

Note –
The booklet with this album unbelievably gets most of the recording dates wrong, incorrectly listing the tracks 1 and 2 as 1974, tracks 8 and 9 as 1969, and tracks 10 and 11 as 1964.)

Deutsche Grammophon

The Art of Beverly Sills
Release Date – November 2002
Label & Catalog numbers
CD 289 471 766-2 – Deutsche Grammophon
Note –
The DG booklet and back cover incorrectly list the second part of #3 track on CD 1 as “Obéssons quand leur voix” which is the traditional “Gavotte” of the Cours-la-Reine scene. What is actually on the CD is the alternate Fabliau “Oui dans les bois” which Sills recorded as an appendix to the complete recording. DG has corrected the error on its website.

Beverly Sills – The Great Recordings
Release Date – May 2004
Label & Catalog numbers
CD B0002469-2 – Deutsche Grammophon (initial release)
CD 0 289 474 947-2 – Deutsche Grammophon (later numbering)

Beverly Sills and Friends
Release Date – October 10 2006
Label & Catalog number
CD 477-630-4 Deutsche Grammophon