In the spring of 1978, Beverly Sills, the superstar soprano crowned by Time Magazine as “America’s Queen of Opera,” was contracted to return to Tulsa Opera to perform the title role of Donizetti’s Anna Bolena on the TO stage. The popular diva had previously appeared as Violetta in La Traviata and the title role in Lucia di Lammermoor. Only weeks before the performance dates, Ms. Sills called Ed Purrington, who served as Tulsa Opera’s General Manager and Artistic Director from 1975-1987, and asked the opera to be changed to I Puritani, which would be more “congenial to her voice” and would “demand less of a change in vocal production” relative to the roles she would be singing just before and after her Tulsa appearance.
Eager to accommodate a diva of Sills’ lofty status, Ed quickly went into action to accomplish a task that first appeared to be impossible. New contracts had to be written for those performers already signed for Anna Bolena but who could switch to a role in I Puritani, while some roles required finding other available singers who could perform them on relatively short notice. Sets for I Puritani had to be quickly located and shipment arranged. Those major changes, plus dozens of smaller ones, had to be accomplished within a matter of days. It may even be an understatement to say that Ed Purrington earned a full year’s pay in those few days of intense activity.
Although I Puritani may not have been the most popular opera ever given in Tulsa, it was still quite well received primarily because of the appearance by Beverly Sills, who publicly expressed her sincere gratitude for the change that was made at her request. “I like Tulsa,” the diva told a Tulsa World reporter. “Why? The people. I don’t come back where I don’t feel welcome in a city, no matter how busy or metropolitan it might be.”
Speaking of opera royalty… don’t forget to snag a Tulsa Opera 2024-25 season subscription, featuring international opera superstar Reneé Fleming’s nature-inspired Anthropocene concert, coming spring of next year! Purchase online here or call our box office at (918) 582-3133 to get yours today!