Beverly Sills (May 25, 1929 - July 2, 2007), christened at birth as Belle Miriam Silverman, was one of the most well - known American opera singers in the 60s and70s. Sills had a successful surgery for cancer in 1974, but was taken in by an aggressive form of lung cancer on July 2, 2007. She was 78 years old.

Some of her most popular works include Giulio Cesare, Don Giovanni, then Roberto Devereux, Lucia di Lammermoor, Manon, The Tales of Hoffman among others.

Sills was famous for her performances in coloratura soprano roles in operas around the world and on recordings. She retired from her singing career in 1980, and went on to become the general manager of the New York City Opera.

She was the Chairman of Lincoln Center in 1984 and of the Metropolitan Opera in 2002. She used her celebrity to take on her charity work for prevention and treatment of birth defects.

Sills was born to first generation immigrants of Ukrainian and Romanian Jewish background. She was multilingual even as a child, and spoke Yiddish, Russian, Romanian, French and English.

Sills has left her mark not just as a great singer, but as a great philanthropist who had touched many lives!

Source - Usa Today Wikipedia
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