Beverly Sills dies at 78
Beverly Sills, the world-renowned soprano who became the most popular opera singer in America in modern times, died on Monday evening in New York from inoperable lung cancer, her manager said.
Sills, 78, died at her home in New York after being released from hospital on Friday where she was being treated for a broken rib, her manager Edgar Vincent told Reuters.
Sills was diagnosed with the disease in May, but it was in late June that the news of her cancer was made public.
Sills rose from the ranks of sopranos to become a great American diva in the 1960s and 1970s, and expanded her career beyond performing to run two major opera companies — the Metropolitan Opera and the New York City Opera.
The award winning singer recorded 18 full-length operas and several solo albums, appearing on television specials and hosting her own shows in the United States.