Beverly Sills - Mozart: DON GIOVANNI, Non mi dir, Boston 1966

THE SONGBIRD: Beverly Sills (1929 - 2007) was my first diva and the reason I became infatuated with coloratura sopranos and started collecting vocal music. Sills holds a special place in my musical life to this day so I'm happy to share this rare item that is not currently posted on YouTube. Sills sang Donna Anna 22 times in her career, between 1963 and 1967 in Baltimore, Boston, Mexico City, and Lausanne, as well as in New York with the NYCO and one performance at The Met in its parks concert series in 1966 (not considered her debut). She also sang Donna Elvira four times in the early 1950s. This performance from Boston was conducted by Sarah Caldwell. THE MUSIC: Mozart's "Don Giovanni" had its premiere in Prague in 1787. Donna Anna is one of three soprano roles. Her second aria "Non mi dir" has a multi-part structure beginning with a challenging accompanied recitative, followed by a gracefully melodic aria and a short florid conclusion. The role is often taken by dramatic voices as the music calls for bursts of outrage, but it was sung by high coloratura soprano Aloysia Weber in the Vienna premiere in 1788 under Mozart's direction.