American soprano Beverly Sills has died of cancer. She was 78. The Brooklyn-born singing sensation passed away in New York at 9pm local time on Monday (02Jul07), according to her manager Edgar Vincent. It was revealed just last month (Jun07) she was gravely ill with inoperable lung cancer.Sills resigned her post as chairwoman of the city's Metropolitan Opera two years ago (05), citing health and family reasons.She was one of America's best-known opera stars in the 1960s and 1970s, acclaimed for performances in Douglas Moore's The Ballad of Baby Doe, Massenet's Manon and Handel's Giulio Cesare, before going on to manage the New York City Opera and the Metropolitan Opera. Sills also hosted a string of live TV broadcasts. As recently as last season, she conducted backstage interviews for the Metropolitan Opera's high-definition movie theatre performances.After her illustrious career on the stage she retired at the age 51 in 1980 and began her role as an executive and leader of New York's performing arts community.Her first role was to become the general director of the New York City Opera and the City Opera was the first to use English suntitles that would appear on a screen abov the stage.
She went on to Lincoln Centre of Performing Arts where she became chairwoman, and she was the first woman and first former artist to hold that position.
Her daughter Meredith was born deaf and suffers with MS and husband, Peter Greenough, who suffered with Alz-heimer's disease died last year.