New York Icon : Beverly Sills

Beverly Sills born May 25, 1929 and died July 2, 2007 was an American operatic soprano between the 1950s and 1970s. Sills operatic repertoire extened from Handel and Mozart to Puccini, Massenet, Wagner, and Verdi, but she was most known for her performances in coloratura soprano roles in live opera and recordings. Sills was largely associated with the operas of Gaetan Donizetti, of which she performed and recorded many roles. Her signature role include the title role in Lucia di Lammermoor, the title role in Manon, Marie in La Fille du Régiment, the three heroines in Les contes d’Hoffmann, Rosina in The Barber of Seville, and Violetta in La Traviata.

In 1978, Sills announced she would retire and gave her farewell gala at the New York City Opera in October 1980. In the spring of 1979, she began acting as co-director of NYCO, and became its sole general director as of the fall season of that year, a post she held until 1989, although she remained on the NYCO board until 1991.

After retiring from singing in 1980, she became the general manager of the New York City Opera. Were she excelled at promoting the arts and promoting the Metropolitan Opera House.To non Opera lovers Sills is often most associated with the “We cant Live on love alone at City Center” TV commercials which were used to enhance and encourage New Yorkers to support the Arts. In 1994, she became the Chairman of Lincoln Center and then, in 2002, of the Metropolitan Opera, stepping down in 2005.During her time as general director, Sills helped turn what was then a financially struggling opera company into a viable enterprise. She also devoted herself to various arts causes and such charities as the March of Dimes and was sought after for speaking engagements on college campuses and for fund raisers.

She resigned as Met chairman in January 2005, citing family as the main reason which she had finally had to place her husband, whom she had cared for over eight years, in a nursing home. Beverly Sills died July 2, 2007.

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