Beverly Sills was a force of nature, a first class LADY, a brilliant business woman and a charming and captivating performer with a brilliant and accurate arrow of communication aimed straight for your intellect engaging your heart first. How many times growing up did I cheer for the effervescent lady with the ready smile and contagious laugh when I would see her with Carson late at night on TV, a place very hard for the Opera world to get to, or with Carol Burnett, or singing from the New York City Opera. How many countless times did she offer fabulous friendship and advice to me as I stepped forward to be a part of the professional world of opera. Brilliant advice and brave and supportive with just the right blend of courage and protection. She was an all American girl who made good. Real good. Top of the world!
I wil be forever haunted by her Tudor Queens, her absolutely beautiful, truly authentic Baby Doe; and Manon; a superb Cleopatra with lightening flexibility, to name only a few among so many wonderful creations of hers.
Dear friend, as you take your leave, thank you for all the beauty and humor and the talent and guts you gave the world, and for the loyalty and truth and solidarity you never failed to give your friends. May your first days in Paradise be filled with a joy and peace and profoundness you know it has, as it was always evident in your face while you sang. Go to that world of never ending beauty and peace with your loved ones close by, knowing you’ll ne’er be forgot.