Christmas 1955 with Beverly Sills

At Christmas 1955, the 26-year-old soprano Beverly Sills had already been a performer for more than 20 years and had just made her debut at the New York City Opera.

Her bel canto singing was beginning to attract notice, and the New York architectural firm of Fordyce and Hamby thought it might be a good idea to engage her for a LP to be sent to its clients as a holiday gift. This one-sided, 10-inch album is the result.

1956 photo by Carl Van Vechten

It contains five songs, of which only the "Cantique de Noël" could be considered familiar Christmas fare. "Bless This House" is well known, too, but not usually considered a Christmas song.

Sills went on to an illustrious career, although her fame was mainly in the US, where she largely confined her career and where she often appeared on television. After retiring from the stage, she became general manager of the New York City Opera, then chairman of Lincoln Center and the Metropolitan Opera. She died in 2007.

The sound here is good. Howard Kubik accompanies Sills on an electronic organ.