Beverly Sills: Les Huguenots: O beau pays de la Touraine: Carnegie Hall: 5/14/69 

This is one of my favorite selections from her studio French recital album. It's terrific to hear it sung live. 1969 was one great year for Beverly Sills.

Such superb musicianship and delicacy of phrasing. We just don't hear that much anymore...

Thank you so much donaldcollup! I've just died and gone to Sills- heaven! I couldn't agree more that '69 was a terrific year for Beverly and it's such a pity recording companies weren't clamouring to get Beverly into their recording studios. Our loss but thank goodness for these treasures!

Thanks for this, Donald. It was the studio recording of this aria that made me fall for Sills in the first place. It is fantastic to hear it live.

I feel very lucky to have heard her several times around this time. She was one of the most exciting singers in my opera-going life of 58 years. But the decline in the 70’s was rapid. I sometimes thought it was perverse revenge - You paid no attention to 15 years of historically great singing - fine, I’ll wreck it all in 5.

Interesting to hear different cadenzas from the recording we're used to.

I prefer Sills over Sutherland in this role and this aria.

To much variation. Bad taste. I love coloratura believe me, but this is overembelished.

Ô beau pays de la Touraine! Riants jardins, verte fontaine, Doux ruisseau qui murmure à peine Que sur tes bords j'aime à rêver.. À ce mot seul s'anime et renaît la nature, Les oiseaux l'ont redit sous l'épaisse verdure; Le ruisseau le répète avec un doux murmure; Les ondes, la terre et les cieux Redisent nos chants amoureux...