Beverly Sills |

Beverly Sills

ʻO Seals kekahi o nā mele nui loa o ke kenekulia XNUMX, "ka wahine mua o ka opera ʻAmelika". Ua kākau ka mea kākau moʻolelo no ka nūpepa ʻo The New Yorker me ka hoihoi nui loa: “Inā wau e ʻōlelo aku i nā mea mākaʻikaʻi i nā mākaʻikaʻi o New York, e hoʻokomo wau iā Beverly Seals i ka pāʻina o Manon ma kahi mua loa, ma luna o ke Statue of Liberty a me ka Mokuʻāina ʻo Emepera. hale kūkulu.” Ua ʻike ʻia ka leo o Seals ma muli o ka māmā maikaʻi loa, a i ka manawa like, ʻo ke kālena keaka a me nā hiʻohiʻona hoʻohiwahiwa i hoʻopuʻihaʻi i ka lehulehu.

Ma ka wehewehe ʻana i kona helehelena, ua ʻike ka mea hoʻohewa i kēia mau ʻōlelo: "He mau maka ʻeleʻele kona, he helehelena oval Slavic, he ihu piʻi, lehelehe piha, ka ʻili nani a me ka minoʻaka nani. Akā ʻo ka mea nui i kona helehelena he pūhaka lahilahi, he mea maikaʻi loa ia no ka mea hoʻokani opera. ʻO kēia mau mea a pau, me ka lauoho ʻulaʻula ahi, hoʻonani iā ​​Seals. I ka pōkole, he nani ʻo ia ma nā kūlana opera. "

ʻAʻohe mea kupanaha i ka "Slavic oval": ʻo ka makuahine o ka mea mele e hiki mai ana ʻo Rūsia.

Ua hānau ʻia ʻo Beverly Seals (inoa maoli ʻo Bella Silverman) i ka lā 25 o Mei, 1929 ma New York, i loko o kahi ʻohana o nā malihini. Ua hele mai ka makua kāne i ʻAmelika mai Romania mai, a ʻo ka makuahine mai Rusia mai. Ma lalo o ka mana o ka makuahine, ua hoʻokumu ʻia nā ʻono mele a Beverly. “Ko ‘ku fa‘ē,” ko e manatu‘i ‘a Seals, “‘oku ne ma‘u ha kohi lekooti ‘o Amelita Galli-Curci, ‘a e soprano kaulana ‘o e 1920s. He iwakāluakūmālua aria. I kēlā me kēia kakahiaka, hoʻomaka koʻu makuahine i ka gramophone, hoʻopaʻa i kahi moʻolelo, a laila hele e hoʻomākaukau i ka ʻaina kakahiaka. A i ka makahiki ʻehiku, ua ʻike au i nā 22 aria a pau ma ka puʻuwai, ua ulu au ma kēia mau arias e like me ka ulu ʻana o nā keiki i kēia manawa ma nā pāʻoihana televise.

ʻAʻole i kaupalena ʻia i ka hana mele home, ua komo mau ʻo Bella i nā papahana lekiō a nā keiki.

I ka makahiki 1936, lawe mai ka makuahine i ke kaikamahine i ke keena o Estelle Liebling, ka mea hookani pila o Galli-Curci. Mai ia manawa, ʻaʻole i kaʻawale ʻo Liebling a me Seals no nā makahiki he kanakolukumamālima.

I ka wā mua, ʻaʻole makemake ʻo Liebling, he kumu paʻa, e hoʻomaʻamaʻa i ka coloratura soprano i ka wā ʻōpiopio. Eia naʻe, i kona lohe ʻana i ke mele ʻana o ke kaikamahine… he hoʻolaha e pili ana i ka pauda kopa, ua ʻae ʻo ia e hoʻomaka i nā papa. Ua neʻe nā mea me ka wikiwiki. I ka makahiki ʻumikūmākolu, ua hoʻomākaukau ka haumāna i nā ʻāpana opera he 50! "Ua hoʻopili wale ʻo Estell Liebling iaʻu me lākou," i hoʻomanaʻo ai ka mea pena. Hiki i kekahi ke noʻonoʻo pehea i paʻa ai kona leo. Ua mākaukau ʻo ia e hīmeni ma nā wahi a pau a e like me kona makemake. Ua hoʻokani ʻo Beverly ma ka papahana lekiō ʻo Talent Search, ma ka hui wahine ma ka hōkele ʻo Waldorf Astoria, ma kahi hale pō ma New York, ma nā mele mele a me nā opereta o nā hui like ʻole.

Ma hope o ka haʻalele ʻana i ke kula, ua hāʻawi ʻia ʻo Seals i kahi hoʻopaʻa ʻana ma kahi hale keaka huakaʻi. I ka wā mua, hīmeni ʻo ia i nā operettas, a i ka makahiki 1947 ua hoʻomaka ʻo ia ma Philadelphia ma ka opera me ka ʻāpana o Frasquita ma Bizet's Carmen.

Me nā hui huakaʻi, neʻe ʻo ia mai ke kūlanakauhale a i ke kūlanakauhale, e hana ana i kēlā me kēia ʻāpana, e hoʻokō ana e hoʻopiha i kāna repertoire e kekahi hana mana. Ma hope e ʻōlelo ʻo ia: "Makemake au e hīmeni i nā ʻāpana āpau i kākau ʻia no ka soprano." ʻO kāna maʻamau ma kahi o 60 mau hana i ka makahiki - maikaʻi wale nō!

Ma hope o ʻumi makahiki o ka mākaʻikaʻi ʻana i nā kūlanakauhale ʻē aʻe o ʻAmelika, i ka makahiki 1955 ua hoʻoholo ka mea mele e hoʻāʻo i kona lima ma New York City Opera. Eia naʻe, ʻaʻole ʻo ia i noho koke i kahi kūlana alakaʻi. No ka manawa lōʻihi, ʻike ʻia ʻo ia mai ka opera "The Ballad of Baby Doe" e ka mea haku mele ʻAmelika ʻo Douglas More.

ʻO ka hope loa, i ka makahiki 1963, ua hāʻawi ʻia iā ia ke kuleana o Donna Anna ma Mozart's Don Giovanni - a ʻaʻole lākou i kuhihewa. Akā ʻo ka lanakila hope e kali i ʻekolu makahiki, ma mua o ke kuleana o Cleopatra ma Handel's Julius Caesar. A laila ua maopopo i ka poʻe a pau ke ʻano o ke kālena nui i hiki mai i ke kahua keaka mele. "ʻO Beverly Seals," i kākau ai ka mea hoʻohewa, "hana i nā hana paʻakikī o Handel me kēlā ʻano loea, me ke akamai maikaʻi ʻole, me kēlā mehana, ʻike ʻole ʻia i nā mea mele o kona ʻano. Eia kekahi, ua maʻalahi a hōʻike i kāna mele ʻana i loaʻa koke i ka poʻe i kekahi loli i ke ʻano o ka heroine. He kūleʻa maikaʻi loa ka hana… No Sils ka waiwai nui: ʻo ia ka pohō ʻana i loko o kahi nightingale, hoʻowalewale ʻo ia i ka dictator Roma a mālama i ka hale hoʻokipa holoʻokoʻa me ka hopohopo.

I ka makahiki hoʻokahi, ua lanakila nui ʻo ia ma ka opera Manon na J. Massenet. Ua hauʻoli ka lehulehu a me ka poʻe hoʻohewa, e kāhea ana iā ia ʻo Manon maikaʻi loa mai Geraldine Farrar.

I ka makahiki 1969, ua hoʻomaka ʻo Seals ma nā ʻāina ʻē. Ua hoʻomaka hou ka hale kiʻiʻoniʻoni kaulana ʻo Milanese "La Scala" i ka hana ʻana o Rossini opera "The Siege of Corinth" no ka mea mele ʻAmelika. Ma kēia hana, hīmeni ʻo Beverly i ka ʻāpana o Pamir. Eia kekahi, hana ʻo Sils ma nā kahua o nā hale kiʻiʻoniʻoni ma Naples, Lākana, West Berlin, Buenos Aires.

ʻO nā lanakila i nā hale kiʻiʻoniʻoni maikaʻi loa o ka honua ʻaʻole i hoʻōki i ka hana koʻikoʻi o ka mea mele, ʻo ka pahuhopu "ʻo nā ʻāpana soprano āpau". He heluna nui loa o lākou - ʻoi aku ke kanawalu. ʻO nā sila, ʻo ia hoʻi, ua hīmeni maikaʻi ʻo Lucia ma Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, Elvira ma Bellini's The Puritani, Rosina ma Rossini's The Barber of Seville, the Queen of Shemakhan in Rimsky-Korsakov's The Golden Cockerel, Violetta in Verdi's La Traviata. , Daphne i ka opera na R. Strauss.

He mea pena kiʻi me ka intuition kupaianaha, i ka manawa like he mea loiloi noʻonoʻo. "I ka wā mua, aʻo wau i ka libretto, hana ma ia mea mai nā ʻaoʻao a pau," wahi a ka mea mele. – No ka laʻana, loaʻa iaʻu kahi huaʻōlelo ʻItalia me kahi ʻano ʻokoʻa iki ma mua o ka puke wehewehe ʻōlelo, hoʻomaka wau e ʻeli i kona manaʻo maoli, a ma ka libretto e ʻike pinepine ʻoe i nā mea like ... koʻu ʻenehana leo. ʻO ka mea mua, makemake wau i ke kiʻi ponoʻī ... ʻimi au i nā mea nani wale nō ma hope o ka loaʻa ʻana o ke kiʻi piha o ka hana. ʻAʻole au e hoʻohana i nā mea hoʻonaninani ʻaʻole i kūpono i ke ʻano. ʻO kaʻu mau mea hoʻonani a pau ma Lucia, no ka laʻana, hāʻawi i ka dramatization o ke kiʻi.

A me nā mea a pau, ua manaʻo ʻo Seals iā ia iho he mele noʻonoʻo, ʻaʻole ia he mele naʻauao: "Ua hoʻāʻo wau e alakaʻi ʻia e ka makemake o ka lehulehu. Ua hoao au e hooluolu iaia. ʻO kēlā me kēia hana noʻu kekahi ʻano loiloi koʻikoʻi. Inā ʻike wau iaʻu iho i ke kiʻi, no ka mea wale nō wau i aʻo ai e hoʻomalu i koʻu mau manaʻo.

I ka makahiki 1979, kona makahiki hoʻomanaʻo, ua hoʻoholo ʻo Seals e haʻalele i ke kahua opera. I ka makahiki aʻe, ua alakaʻi ʻo ia i ka New York City Opera.