Beverly Sills Has Passed Away

[little_bopeep]

Bubbles (http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070703/music_nm/sills_dc) is gone. That lady had such a wonderful voice.

[bobmark226]

Word that her passing was imminent hit the opera boards late last week, and I've been in tears ever since. Perhaps my mourning was premature, but as one whose life has been enwrapped in opera, who had many favorites, there is none..and no public figure or celebrity...I ever loved more, or cried for. She was not only an operatic icon, and a classic New York personality, but more, a tireless worker for funding for the arts and for many charities. With her own deaf daughter and late husband both inflicted with MS, and an autistic son, her gift to the rest of us was a voice of great beauty, a stunning stage presence and a deep hearty laugh I can hear even now.

I either ran into her or went backstage after performances to visit many times, and there was always a wave or a big smile for me. She's the only artist I ever slept on the ground for overnight, for her Met debut. Her "Manon," in a work I never cared for before, was a benchmark, my alltime favorite operatic performance among many. But there are so many moments, so much glorious singing, and something she especially conveyed like no other singer I know...the absolute joy in singing.

One Sunday afternoon after a recital I went backstage and joined the long line of well-wishers, taking a Manon score for her to sign for me. She took it, looked at it, broke into that trademark smile and laugh of hers and said "For this, you get a book," and signed it with the last line of the opera, in French, "and now you know the story of Manon Lescaut." It is among my most cherished possessions.

But I am just one adoring "fan," one of millions, who mourn her loss today.

I hope if any of you ever get to see the PBS documentary "Beverly Sills: Made in America," you spend some time with it, because it captures the essence of the much beloved, gorgeous woman who was "Bubbles."

Bob, feeling woefully inadequate here

[little_bopeep]

Bob!! You made me feel inadequate because all I could find to say was, "Bubbles is gone." I didn't have the honor of meeting her, so I don't have the same type of memories. But I do know she was a wonderful talent and a wonderful person, and she will be missed.

[EllenL]

My local NPR station keeps noting that, although she died of lung cancer, she wasn't a smoker (which I wouldn't have thought so, both personality-wise and in terms of preserving her voice, although I know some pop/jazz singers smoke, but they don't the vocal demands of opera). This makes it even more tragic. And I'm sure she would have remained vibrant and giving of herself into her eighties if it hadn't been for this.

I've read about the new generation of opera singers who are thinner than opera singers typically are and who fit more into what society deems is attractive in females, but I question whether any will have her talent, personality, and passion. As Bob said, she did seem to get the joy in the music; it wasn't about her as a "look at me, aren't I great" star.

[MKSquared]

She was truly amazing. She possessed incredible talent and humor.

On The Muppet Show! (http://youtube.com/watch?v=u_e04GSPi3w&mode=related&search=)

Ms. Sills and Danny Kaye (http://youtube.com/watch?v=4ZEzVbGzbNg&mode=related&search=)

[foodfiend]

I saw Beverly Sills on an A&E bio about Carol Burnett. She talked about how Carol was coping with her her daughter's death. She seemed, frankly, like a tough broad. Right after her daughter died, she told Carol not to be angry about her daughter's death (she wasn't even 40) but be thankful for her daughter's life, and that this is simply another obstacle in life. While these may seem like kind words a year or two afterwards, they didn't seem right at the time.
Maybe she was a wonderful human being, but I sensed something more than a warm, bubbly person going on.

[bobmark226]

Maybe she was a wonderful human being, but I sensed something more than a warm, bubbly person going on.

With her first child born deaf (nevermind the irony), then finding out, within six weeks, that her son was hopelessly retarded and had to be institutionalized, she'd certainly develop a hard shell of sorts, but this made her both a driven artist who fought for her success, reached only after grinding years, and channeled her considerable energies into many worthy causes until two years ago when she finally retired from her last post as Director of Lincoln Center.

To quote her from a NY Times interview two years back "Man plans and God laughs. I have often said I’ve never considered myself a happy woman. How could I, with all that’s happened to me. But I’m a cheerful woman. Work kept me going.”

Bob

[TKay]

"Man plans and God laughs. I have often said I’ve never considered myself a happy woman. How could I, with all that’s happened to me. But I’m a cheerful woman. Work kept me going.”

Bob

That's a great quote. While I wouldn't consider myself a true opera FAN, I did always enjoy Beverly Sills. In addition to being talented, she was a really attractive personality.