America’s Prima Donna

July 3, 2007

Acclaimed soprano Beverly Sills died at her home in Manhattan last night at age 78, and America lost the person whom many would argue was its most popular opera singer. Sills was a great advocate for the arts in this country not only popularizing opera through her celebrity but also working tirelessly as an effective arts administrator for the New York City Opera, Lincoln Center, and the Metropolitan Opera. Read more about her life and important legacy in her New York Times obituary. And see her farewell performance when she was 51 below.