Legendary Opera Star Beverly Sills Dies at 78

Beverly Sills, the legendary opera soprano who became one of New York's most prominent arts supporters, has died at the age of 78.  She passed away of inoperable lung cancer on July 2nd in her Manhattan home, according to the New York Times.

Sills, who was a nonsmoker, had previously undergone successful cancer surgery in 1974, The Associated Press had reported.

The vivacious Sills - sometimes known as "Bubbles" from a childhood nickname - was born Belle Miriam Silverman in Brooklyn on May 25th, 1929.  She made her operatic debut in 1947, and rose to stardom with her performance in Die Fledermaus at the New York City Opera in  1955.  Other acclaimed performances throughout her career included roles in Douglas Moore's The Ballad of Baby Joe, Massenet's Manon, Handel's Giulio Cesare, Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, and Mozart's The Magic Flute and Don Giovanni.  In the '70s and '80s, she also became a familar face to TV audiences through her appearances on "The Tonight Show" and "The Muppet Show."  She also appeared alongside her friend Carol Burnett.

Sills made her first appearance at the Metropolitan Opera in 1975, although she retired from singing shortly thereafter, in 1980.  In 2002, the Met asked her to sit on its board; she resigned two years ago due to health and family reasons.  After her retirement from singing, she became general director of New York City Opera and then chairwoman of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in 1994.  Sills, until her death, was the Met's chairwoman emerita.

"Ms. Sills was America's idea of a prima donna. Her plain-spoken manner and telegenic vitality made her a genuine celebrity and an invaluable advocate for the fine arts. Her life embodied an archetypal American story of humble origins, years of struggle, family tragedy and artistic triumph," according to the Times.

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