Beverly: An Autobiography

Customer Reviews:

It's as if she lived in a glass house.......2007-07-06

True story: I was in the middle of reading __Beverly__ when it was announced she was gravely ill and hospitalized.

Anyway, when __Bubbles__ first came out, I was ten years old. I devoured it and believed, totally, every word. When __Beverly__ was first published, I didn't even look at it, because what more would she have to say?

I re read __Bubbles__ recently, and was able to read between the lines: there was the idea implicit in __Bubbles__ that her life was one of unbridled joy: ok her children had challenges, but she was up to them! La, la, la... I believed that as a child, but as an adult, it seemed obvious that there's no way two such different families blended easily, no way it didn't hurt to be repeatedly rejected by Dr. Rosenstock, etc. etc.

So I finally read __Beverly__. __Bubbles__ was enjoyable, but __Beverly__ is magnificent! It's the difference between a pop tart and a homemade berry pie. It's more intense, more flavorful, and if a pit sneaks in there it just reminds you that that's what authenticity feels like. __Bubbles__ was when she was younger and still eager to please; __Beverly__ was what you see is what you get.

On to the details of her life: raised in a musical, multilingual family, with a seamstress mother (in a time when opera companies liked you to bring your own costume) and happening on one of the world's best voice teachers, growing up so that the only way she ever earned money was by entertaining--she darn well __better__ have become one of the world's great performers! She never had to sweat her way through French 1, or clean houses to pay for her lessons. On the other hand, she so changed the musical scene that you can lose sight of the fact that in her time opera stars were NOT Americans.

The tragedies of being rejected by her extended family for her marriage, and of bearing two children with handicaps, of naively becoming the head of a bankrupt arts organization are, in __Beverly__, not glossed over. They are used to illustrate Sills's resilient and complex personality.

I sincerely hope that __Beverly__ will come back into print, or that it will be used as the basis for the ultimate Sills biography now that her amazing life has ended.

Everything's Coming Up Beverly!.......2006-11-12

Beverly Sills retired from singing when I was a child. I picked up this book at a public library on sale for fifty cents. Once I starting reading it, I couldn't put it down. Beverly never led the kind of life that was scandalous. On the contrary, she led a very dignified life with class, elegance, and grace that so few true celebrities possess today. I understood where she came from and was surprised to discover hardships like anti-Semitism in Cleveland, Ohio where she lived for 5 years when she married Peter. She became a young stepmother to three girls whose mother had suffered from mental illness. She also became a mother to a deaf daughter Muffy and autistic Petey Jr. But yet, she went on and became an inspiration for so many mothers out there. I was puzzled that she didn't dedicate something to her son but I'm sure it was an oversight. I was touched by her married life. I couldn't believe that she had such a wonderful, supporting husband like Peter alongside her. She is the heart and soul of Lincoln Center now and forever. But I have one complaint is that she doesn't write about Kennedy Center Honors Tribute. Maybe in the next biography since this book is about 20 years old.

In Her Own Words: The Life Of An American Opera Singer.......2003-10-14

Beverly Sills was born in New York in 1929. She is now in her seventies and Chairman at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. She epitomized the iconic American opera singer, bringing the pleasures of opera, which has always been the stereotypical European pasttime to America. And what's more, Beverly Sills made opera fun, accessible and highly entertaining. Her career was obscure before she hit it big in the 60's and 70's. She had sung on the radio and on television in much the same manner as Shirley Temple did (though we know that Shirley outshone Beverly on this) and she began to tour with American operetta companies, like the Schubert Opera Company, singing Viennese operettas such as The Merry Widow and the more famous Johann Strauss operettas, Die Fledermaus, etc. Eventually, as all true sopranos do, she moved up into other roles, her first non-operetta roles were Micaela in Bizet's Carmen. In her candid biography, Beverly admits that she was turned down for The New York City Opera several times before she was finally acknowledged. This is a good lesson to sopranos everywhere who are trying to make it. Don't give up. Persistance and a confident attitude is highly important. Beverly continues to tell us about her life and opera career in this engaging biography, well-written, smart, funny and conversational.

BEVERLY'S LIFE was blessed with a successful opera career, a loving husband- journalist Peter Greenough and children. When Beverly's children were diagnosed with impediments- such as deafness, Beverly had to put her career on hold to raise her children. She is not only an excellent opera singer but a first class human being, selfless and hard-working. Beverly has advocated human rights and has participated in The March Of Dimes as well as other causes and charities, has won a Grammy award for her performance in the opera Manon, and has won two of the highest awards in the world- the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the French Legion Award. In addition to her opera career, her biographies (other than this one there is also her other biographies including "Bubbles"), Beverly has done a lot of "tv" time- she appeared in the Ed Sullivan Show singing Donizetti, substituted for Johnny Carson one time when he fell ill, and hosted her own tv talk show in the late 70's "Lifestyles With Beverly Sills" in which she was often paired with actor Danny Kaye, singer Julie Andrews and comedian Carrol Burnett. She was in "The Muppet Show" singing duets with Miss Piggy and one time even appeared in the San Diego phone book. What a life it's been.

BEVERLY'S CAREER: All the nuances and backstage stories of her opera performances are to be found here. Beverly talks of her dislike for the role of The Queen of the Night in Mozart's The Magic Flute. The character has only two high-calibre arias and a finale ensemble but for the most part the Queen is backstage waiting her cue. Beverly amazed audiences at the Vienna State Opera singing the Queen's high F's in late 1960's. Her performance in Handel's Julius Caesar launched her career. It was her Cleopatra, with the taxing coloratura and lyricism that got her officially recognized. She had sung in English before in Douglas Moore's original opera of the late 50's "The Ballad Of Baby Doe". She would continue singing lyric coloratura roles such as Lakme, Zerbinetta (Ariadne of Naxos) Lucia Di Lammermoor, Manon, Thais, Marie from "La Fille Du Regiment", Violetta from La Traviata and Queen Marguerite from Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots as well as Queen Shemakha from "Coq D'Or." But this was only the beginning. From 1970 to 1973, Beverly performed a revival of Donizetti's Tudor Queen Trilogy- Anna Bolena, Maria Stuarda and Roberto Devereux for the New York City Opera, her beloved home company. These roles are demanding and risky for a light-voiced soprano, but although Beverly admits to having shortened her opera career because of these heavy roles, she reaped its benefits because they were sold-out, sensational performances that no other soprano has since surpassed. It was the role of the fiery Queen Elizabeth that landed her a cover in Time magazine and marked her best moment in her opera career. Other fiery, challenging roles Beverly tackled included Lucrezia Borgia and Norma, all to great acclaim. Beverly recorded several operas on LP's in the 70's several of which have been reissued on cd- including a lush box set of the Tudor Queen Trilogy of Donizetti, compilation albums of bel canto arias, Mozart and Strauss concert arias and her performances in brand name operas. We will never forget the glorious life of Beverly Sills.

Couldn't put it down!.......2003-07-28

I REALLY enjoyed this! I must say that this is a captivating and extremely well-written book. It's so conversational and light-hearted. She's delightfully frank and writes about every rumor and story you've heard about her. No frosting the truth here. She discusses in wonderful detail every experience, good, bad, scandelous, embarrasing happening that contributed to her fabulous career. After reading this, I found myself completely admiring this woman's strength, stamina, and courage. She had a lot to deal with in her life and got through it all admirably.

Average customer rating:

In all due respect ...

Bubbles: An Encore
Beverly Sills
Manufacturer: Grosset & Dunlap
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

The Very Best of Beverly Sills
Beverly Sills: Made in America
Sillsiana
Handel - Julius Caesar / Treigle · Sills · Forrester · Wolff · NYCO · Rudel
The Ballad of Baby Doe

ASIN: 0448120445

Customer Reviews:

In all due respect ..........2007-05-29

Who can deny that Beverly Sills was a marvelous soprano? She was a loyal, loving wife. She was always good to her mother. Altogether, she led a virtuous life. But it was hard for me to resist titling this review BEVERLY SILLY. The title "Bubbles" should give you a warning.

This book is full of cuteness. It's embarrassing. Ms. Sills talks about all the wonderful things people said about her and all the wonderful things she said.

As I said, the book is downright embarrassing

Beverly Sills: Opera Singer (Women of Achievement)

Average customer rating:

Beverly Sills: Opera Singer (Women of Achievement)
Bridget Paolucci
Manufacturer: Chelsea House Pub (L)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding
ASIN: 155546677X

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Ponselle's career in full detail

Rosa Ponselle: American Diva
Mary Jane Phillips-Matz , and Beverly Sills
Manufacturer: Northeastern University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Rosa Ponselle: A Centenary Biography (Opera Biography Series, No. 9)

ASIN: 1555533175

Book Description

Rosa Ponselle (1897--1981) was one of the greatest American opera singers of the twentieth century. This definitive biography, published on the centenary of her birth, provides a compelling, in-depth, and balanced portrait of the brilliant soprano. It is a captivating Cinderella story of the spirited diva's rise from modest beginnings in Meriden, Connecticut, to star of the Metropolitan Opera.

Drawing on interviews and extensive documentary research, Mary Jane Phillips-Matz charts the course of Ponselle's incredible career, from demonstrating sheet music in dime stores, to singing in motion picture houses and restaurants, to performing on the vaudeville stage with her beloved and talented sister Carmela, to her pivotal audition for Enrico Caruso. With Caruso's backing, the twenty-one-year-old soprano, with no previous experience in opera, made a sensational debut at the Metropolitan Opera and became an overnight celebrity.

The extraordinarily successful operatic and concert career that followed the diva's debut is chronicled in this vibrant account. Also included are Ponselle's headstrong disputes with the Metropolitan, her troubled marriage and divorce, and her productive retirement years as Artistic Director of the Baltimore Civic Opera and teacher of such future opera stars as Placido Domingo, Beverly Sills, William Warfield, James Morris, and Sherill Milnes.

Customer Reviews:

Ponselle's career in full detail.......1998-08-25

This book was very informative as to Rosa Ponselle's extraordinary musical career; but lacking was more of a story about her rise to fame,relationships with others, and a more personal look at Ponselle.

The arts in higher adult education;: A second review of programs (CSLEA reports)
Average customer rating:
The arts in higher adult education;: A second review of programs (CSLEA reports)
Freda H Goldman
Manufacturer: Center for the Study of Liberal Education for Adults at Boston University
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0006BP3I2

Mansions of the Virginia Gentry (Great American Homes)
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Mansions of the Virginia Gentry (Great American Homes)
Henry Wiencek
Manufacturer: Oxmoor House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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GREAT AMERICAN HOMES: 4 VOLUME SET (4 VOLUMES): MANSIONS OF THE VIRGINIA GENTRY; HISTORIC CHARLESTON; OLD NEW ORLEAN; PLANTATIONS OF THE OLD SOUTH
Average customer rating:
GREAT AMERICAN HOMES: 4 VOLUME SET (4 VOLUMES): MANSIONS OF THE VIRGINIA GENTRY; HISTORIC CHARLESTON; OLD NEW ORLEAN; PLANTATIONS OF THE OLD SOUTH
Wiencek; Muse; Abbott
Manufacturer: Oxmoor House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000M0NG2M

Great American Homes Old New Orleans, Plantation Houses of the Old South, Historic Charleston, Mansions of the Virginia Gentry
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Great American Homes Old New Orleans, Plantation Houses of the Old South, Historic Charleston, Mansions of the Virginia Gentry
Muse Vance et al
Manufacturer: Oxmoor House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000UEHXO2

Great American Homes: Historic Charleston, Mansions Of The Virginia Gentry, Platations Of The Old South, Old New Orleans
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Great American Homes: Historic Charleston, Mansions Of The Virginia Gentry, Platations Of The Old South, Old New Orleans
Shirley, Henry Wiencek, Vance Muse Abbott
Manufacturer: Oxmoor House, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000W5BXXQ

Product Description

Radio Again is pleased to present 4 classic radio performances by raconteur Jean Shepherd from the archives of Hartwest Productions.

In Dont Be A Leaf, Jean Shepherd muses on the impact of dirty glasses, shopping for cars with the old man, flyswatters, growing up with the White Sox and the great divide between Southside and Northside baseball fans. Shepherd asks the questions; are you the rider or the ridden? A leaf or a tree? What is the Master Plan Illusion and what is your Master Plan? So friends, sit back and enjoy this collection. Keep smiling, keep your knees loose, and dont give them a sitting target!

The radio programs in this collection, long lost and forgotten, were created in the mid 1960s by Shepherd for radio and television syndicator Hartwest Productions in the format heard on Shepherds WOR shows of the day, right down to his familiar Bahn Frei theme music.

Includes liner notes with excerpts from EXCELSIOR, YOU FATHEAD! The Art and Enigma of JEAN SHEPHERD by Eugene B. Bergmann.

4 Audio CDs - Digitally remastered and restored. Each program is approximately 44 minutes. Total running time approximately 3 hours.

Includes:

Customer Reviews:

flick lives.......2007-02-22

as the master of the radio once put it, the transmision will go on for infinity traveling out into space and you only need the electronics to listen in again and again. we dont have to leave the comfort of the planet to catch his radio shows, a wonderful slice of the good life spitting out of those little coaxial drivers. recommended but from a person who cannot get enough jean shepherd.

Eyeball Compendium: Sex & Horror. Art & Exploitation
Average customer rating:
Eyeball Compendium: Sex & Horror. Art & Exploitation

Manufacturer: FAB Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Movies | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
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The Complete Music Business Office
Average customer rating:

an execelent weapon for the musicic business

Very Good

Great legal resource

Useful and Informative

The Complete Music Business Office
Greg Forest
Manufacturer: MixBooks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Start and Run Your Own Record Label, Revised and Expanded Edition

This Business of Music: The Definitive Guide to the Music Industry, Ninth Edition (Book only)

This Business of Artist Management

All You Need To Know About the Music Business: 6th Edition

ASIN: 0872887111

Book Description

This is the most expansive book and CD set on the market today, with over 125 essential contracts and forms for conducting music and entertainment industry business with fun and educational commentary by the author on each document. In addition to just about every contract you'll ever need to run your business, Forest has included all relevant US government documents for filing copyrights such as Form PA, Form SRP, Form SRU and many more. In addition, this exhaustive compendium features interviews with industry professionals, and a library of interesting software tools for Windows 95/98 rounds out the package. The book is accompanied by a CD-ROM containing the contract library in a number of formats for use with Windows 95/98 and Macintosh-based computers. This new expanded edition also contains spreadsheet workbooks and databases, also in a variety of computer formats, to help the struggling artist discern such things as their net worth, cash flow and business projections with all US government forms included as PDF-format Adobe Acrobat files for use on both platforms. This is the one book you simply must have to make your professional music office complete!

Customer Reviews:

an execelent weapon for the musicic business.......2007-02-13

this is a well equip book to get any one set up right for the music business, one of the best road map that will lead you to where you need to go in the music world.....

Very Good.......2006-05-20

The office of a record producer or promoter, musician or any other individual working in the music industry is by definition filled with contracts and documents that need to be filled out. But what happens when that person isn't aware of the documents he needs to have in his office, or doesn't know how to fill them out? this where this book and cd set steps in, with a complete guide and lots of templates for all kinds of music contracts that businessmen might stumble upon. A far better book is "101 Music Business Contracts - Updated Edition - Preprinted Binder / CD-ROM set containing over 100 contracts and agreements for recording artist, musicians, ... industry. Entertainment law at it's best!" by Ty Cohen, a book and cd set that covers even more areas of interest with far better examples.

Great legal resource.......2006-05-16

This book is a must-have for any music business office. It's very resourceful and informative, with lots of contract examples. You might also want to check out "101 Music Business Contracts" from Platinum Millennium if you want more example contracts.

Useful and Informative.......2000-08-07

This book is full of good information for musicians - especially independent. There are examples of necessary documents and forms need in everyday operations. Makes being in the business at least a little easier

The Complete Music Business Office, Second Edition

Average customer rating:

The Complete Music Business Office, Second Edition
Wheat Williams
Manufacturer: Artistpro
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1598634666

Book Description

Independent artists and musicians have their original music. They have their live act together. But they need to know how to manage their business and create revenue in the new marketplace. The traditional record business and the music industry's structure is crumbling in the wake of music and file sharing on the Internet. Entirely new systems and structures for marketing and revenue generation are emerging from the rubble. Enterprising artists can now achieve success on their own terms without contractual arrangements with traditional record labels. The Complete Music Business Office, Second Edition shows you them how to do it, and provides tools to manage each aspect of their careers. It teaches independent musicians how to use computer-based tools to manage their own careers, revenue generation, and collection. The book also assists readers in identifying and making use of recent and emerging Web site businesses for marketing music, including MySpace, SonicBids, iTunes, CDBaby, CafePress, fan discussion forums, and internet radio.

The 1920s Investigator's Companion: A Core Game Book for Players (Call of Cthulhu)
Average customer rating:

Stay Away!

A Good Utility

Very good book, with one or two "hmm"s...

The essential supplement

Good resource for more than just gaming

The 1920s Investigator's Companion: A Core Game Book for Players (Call of Cthulhu)
Keith Herber , John Crowe , and Kenneth, Jr. Faig
Manufacturer: Chaosium
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1568821069

Customer Reviews:

Stay Away!.......2006-03-16

I would like to give this publication a Zero but it won't allow me to. This is one of those books that really did not need to be written. It is utterly featureless. It is comprised of bland writing, recycled source material, and lackluster illustrations. I didn't learn anything from reading this page-turner.lol Anyone with half of an imagination and slightly familiar with America in the 1920's should not buy this book. It offers nothing new to the Cthulhu Mythos.

A Good Utility.......2002-07-03

The Call of Cthulhu RPG core rule book is amazingly good (I am want to think of a single core rule book which is fuller or better); and being such, I am not sure whether I should find it odd that the source books tend to be more "sturdy tools" than full fleshed additions. Take the 1920's Companion, it is largely dry reading, strong on the fleshing out of a 1920's campaign but not something that you will read and reread unless you need to look up the data. But, at the same time, the amount of stuff that this book gives you (and makes you realize that you might have forgot to account for in your 1920's game) is pretty astounding. You characters are aided in the assembly of their personality and personal belongings. Timelines are good even in "alternate history" campaigns, and can help you to rewrite history if you wish. Essays and charts flesh out more hard data on procedure and product of the 1920's. On the more technical side, there is one piece of errata that I know of and typos are minimal (besides that one mistake, none come to my mind). The specific page layout is not always attractive...but still, this is one sturdy tool to use. Highly recommended as an extension to the already wonderfully complete world of the CoC RPG.

Very good book, with one or two "hmm"s..........2002-06-13

The book quickly skims 1920's songs, fashion and general lifestyle and has many hundreds of cool little gems of information -- What was the main newspaper of Amsterdam in the 1920s? What hours was the Library of Congress open to the public? What songs were popular in 1924?

It also has a small but reasonable set of purchasable items like clothes, vehicles and weaponry which the main sourcebook sorely lacks and wonderful information on 1920's forensics and criminal investigation.

Unfortunately, there's a section of occupations in the middle which takes up half the book. There are little nuggets of information like famous members of that occupation in the 1920's -- Woodie Guthrie the Hobo, Howard Carter the Archaeologist and so on -- but overall, it's just a set of additional sets of skills the player can take and extra benefits and powers. None of it is as unbalancing as Unearthed Arcana was to first-edition AD&D, but it's still a step in the wrong direction, and having it take up half the book is pretty silly.

Still, the good far outweighs the bad and unless you're already an expert on the 1920's, you'll find a very large amount here to like and to learn from. If you're only buying one Call of Cthulhu sourcebook beyond the basic, I'd still recommend getting one of the Arkham Country books (Arkham Unveiled, Kingsport: City in the Mists, Return to Dunwich and Escape From Innsmouth) instead of this one since they address specific settings. The Arkham book in particular gives excellent specifics that will be more useful to you than the grand, worldwide events of the 1920's Investigator's Guide.

Of course if you're willing to spend the money, both/all are good purchases.

The essential supplement.......2002-05-22

As the saying goes, "If you must buy one supplement to Call of Cthulhu..." A great role-playing game is generally playable out of a single book. Core rules, including character generation, should be simple enough to fit easily. Expansion books then add new elements to your main book.

For "Call of Cthulhu," I find the "The 1920S Investigator's Companion" to be the only expansion I use every game. The additional Investigator occupations add an exciting element and allow for more customization for players. For the Keeper, the "Investigator's Companion" does not add any complication to game play, as many expansion and optional rule books do.

The book is packed with information about the 1920's, and can really fill out your campaign. The optional character classes, such as "Athlete," are adaptable to other eras. "The 1920S Investigator's Companion" is a very well put-together supplement, and is easy to navigate.

Good resource for more than just gaming.......2001-08-09

I bought the book on a recommendation from a gaming friend because I was having a dickens of a time find references on the 1920's. This book touches on so much more than I'm used to finding in most straight non-fiction books on the era (who basically want to just talk about flappers and gangsters--not helpful to me at all).

While this isn't a be-all-and-end-all reference on the era, I found it extremely helpful in helping me focus what I wanted to do with my own research. It also came with bibliographies which have been extremely helpful. I'm glad I got the book.

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