Opera Star Beverly Sills Dies At 78

Beverly Sills, the Brooklyn-born opera diva who was a global icon of can-do American culture with her dazzling voice, bubbly personality and management moxie in the arts world, died Monday of cancer, her manager said. She was 78.

It had been revealed just last month that Sills was gravely ill with inoperable lung cancer.

Sills, a nonsmoker, underwent successful cancer surgery in 1974.

Beyond the music world, Sills gained fans worldwide with a style that matched her childhood nickname, Bubbles. The relaxed, red-haired diva appeared frequently on TV talk shows, on "The Tonight Show," "The Muppet Show" and in televised performances with her friend Carol Burnett.

Together, they did a show from the stage of the Metropolitan Opera called "Sills and Burnett at the Met," singing rip-roaring duets with funny one-liners thrown in.

Long after the public stopped hearing her sing in 1980, Sills' rich and infectious laughter filled the nation's living rooms as she hosted live TV broadcasts. As recently as last season, she conducted backstage interviews for the Metropolitan Opera's high definition movie theater performances.

Sills was chairwoman of the Metropolitan Opera until she resigned two years ago, citing health and family reasons. She remained the Met's chairwoman emerita until her death.

Born Belle Miriam Silverman in Brooklyn, the coloratura soprano made her opera debut in 1947 in Philadelphia in a bit role in "Carmen." She became a star with the smaller New York City Opera, where she first performed in 1955 in Johann Strauss Jr.'s "Die Fledermaus." She was acclaimed for performances in such operas as Douglas Moore's "The Ballad of Baby Doe," Massenet's "Manon" and Handel's "Giulio Cesare."

She didn't appear at the Met until 1975, shortly before her retirement from singing, which made it surprising when the Met asked her to sit on its board in 2002.