I was a fan of Beverly's from the first time I heard her. I'm pretty sure I am the only chorister she ever personally hired while she was general director at City Opera and she was the best boss I ever worked for. She was patient, understanding, inspiring, down to earth, funny , generous, everything you could hope for in a boss. I saw her do so many kind, considerate things for others that no one will ever know about. She was one of a kind we will never see again.

Her Baby Doe got me. Wonderful. All the greats are wonderful.

I used to skip high school to hear her sing on TV ....... such a miracle her voice was

Singing saved that woman’s life, and many others, I suspect.

Sills was a brilliant woman, not just a brilliant singer.

When Capobianco came to our UIUC Workshop (with Mignon Dunn), he was stating sort of the opposite as Ms. Sills here. He was saying that opera is for ordinary, everyday people. He gave a memorable impression, almost as if he were placating something, as if people felt opera was strange and he clarified: We are just like anybody else, not for special people.

What a thrilling possibility for Lee Strasberg to be teaching an Opera Workshop by Beverly Sills. I feel this, for an ambitious talent, is prime education of the utmost for the singing actor, as Beverly Sills is confessing to be. As a student of the Liebling School and Stella Adler/Stanislavsky; a singer at NYCO, and an Otello with the great theaters of Soviet Ukraine, and opera director in performing arts high schools and colleges, I can say that this is like being at home - and at the Moscow Opera Studio, the teacher was the father of Method Acting, Stanislavsky himself. These people are lucky. WOW!!!!!!! I would show this in class one lazy day if I were active. Opera has to go on no matter what happens. 🥂🍕

In response to the folks that are saying that she is giving a self-portrait rather than a masterclass here, I offer two thoughts. First, masterclasses can sometimes be helpful, but they are often not so useful or even potentially dangerous. The guest offers a few quick fixes that either do nothing in the long-run or might cause the student to go on the wrong track. Workshops are different because they offer sustained instruction, and this segment was obviously part of a workshop. Second, here, she is offering general principles of what it takes not just to have a modern opera career, but also to make it to the top. She is using her own career as an example, and why shouldn’t she? Note too that she is American, and Americans tend to be open about their success, which I think is far preferable to false humility.

Stunningly well put together Eli! BRAVI!!!

Love this Beverley Sills!!

was that Aprile Millo in the class?

interesting. Curious which opera she decided to scream the note

Very interesting but I can't help but feel disappointed by her apparent support for the idea that opera should become more like Hollywood. This wasn't even a new concept. Opera's been battling it since the inception of silent films. It's not a fight we can win. This is why it is so important that we focus on the one thing the opera singer should excel in - singing. We see now that even with lavish sets, beautiful faces and bodies and superb acting, opera is dying because it doesn't sound very good and it has become borderline irrelevant.

Masterclass or self portrait?

Bubbles

I'll take a fat great singer stand-and-deliver at the front of the stage over a bad skinny hyperactive singer running all over the place unsupported anyday.

She was incredibly talented, but... I fail to see how listening to her engage in nearly 20 minutes of self-adulation constitutes a "master class for singers."

The one thing she never revealed to young singers was the technique she learned from Estelle Liebling. ‘I’m not a teacher’ is a little selfish, I think.