Paul Devereux

The album includes some rarities, among them "Mira, o Norma" from Norma and "Santo di patria" from Attila. It also features excerpts from Sills' complete recording of Massenet's Manon plus excerpts from La Traviata and Il barbiere di Siviglia.
Readers familiar with Yogi Berra might comment that it's déjà vu all over again, as it has been not even two years since Deutsche Grammophon devoted a two-CD compilation to Beverly Sills. That one was called The Art of Beverly Sills (DG 471766-2), and it included 134 minutes of excerpts from "Bubbles's" operatic recordings and recitals. The Great Recordings does not copy a single note of what was on the earlier compilation, which is good, but I must grumble that the result is that Sills' Mozart and Richard Strauss record – one of my favorites – now has been divided between two separate releases and three separate discs, and that excerpts from her complete recordings of Manon and Hoffmann are similarly scattered. So much for continuity! Perhaps DG will repackage the two 2-CD sets and reunite the divided material. Better yet, perhaps they will embark on a comprehensive "Sills Edition" of everything they can get their hands on, and release it at a very reasonable price!

Oboist Jared Hauser has been described as "melodious and spontaneous" by ArtsNash, and as a "sensitive, elegant soloist" with a "subtle refined style" by Gramaphone Magazine.