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Beverly Sills (bornBelle Miriam Silverman; May 25, 1929 – July 2, 2007) was an Americanoperaticsoprano whose career peak was between the 1950s and 1970s.
Although she sang a repertoire fromHandel andMozart toPuccini,Massenet andVerdi, she was especially renowned for her performances incoloratura soprano roles in live opera and recordings. Sills was largely associated with the operas ofDonizetti, of which she performed and recorded many roles. Her signature roles include the title role in Donizetti'sLucia di Lammermoor, the title role in Massenet'sManon, Marie in Donizetti'sLa fille du régiment, the three heroines inOffenbach'sLes contes d'Hoffmann, Rosina inRossini'sThe Barber of Seville, Violetta in Verdi'sLa traviata, and most notably Elisabetta in Donizetti'sRoberto Devereux.
The New York Times noted,
In her prime her technique was exemplary. She could dispatch coloratura roulades and embellishments, capped by radiant high Ds and E-flats, with seemingly effortless agility. She sang with scrupulous musicianship, rhythmic incisiveness and a vivid sense of text.[1]
NPR said her voice was "Capable of spinning a seemingly endlesslegato line, or bursting with crystalline perfection into waves of dazzlingfioriture and thrilling high notes."[2]
After retiring from singing in 1980, she became the general manager of theNew York City Opera. In 1994, she became the chairwoman ofLincoln Center and then, in 2002, of theMetropolitan Opera, stepping down in 2005. Sills lent her celebrity to further her charity work for the prevention and treatment ofbirth defects.
Sills was a member of the executive committee of the Writers and Artists for Peace in the Middle East, a pro-Israel group.[3]
Sills was born Belle Miriam Silverman inCrown Heights, Brooklyn, New York City, to Shirley Bahn (née Sonia Markovna), a musician, and Morris Silverman, an insurance broker.[1][4] Her parents wereJewish immigrants fromOdessa in theRussian Empire (present-day Ukraine), andBucharest in Romania. She was raised in Brooklyn, where she was known, among friends, as "Bubbles" Silverman. As a child, she spokeYiddish, Russian, Romanian, French, and English.[1] She attendedErasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn, as well asManhattan'sProfessional Children's School.[1]
At the age of three, Sills won a "Miss Beautiful Baby" contest, in which she sang "The Wedding of Jack and Jill". Beginning at age four, she performed professionally on the Saturday morning radio program, "Rainbow House", as "Bubbles" Silverman. Sills began taking singing lessons withEstelle Liebling at the age of seven and a year later sang in the short filmUncle Sol Solves It (filmed August 1937, released June 1938 byEducational Pictures), by which time she had adopted her stage name, Beverly Sills. Liebling encouraged her to audition forCBS Radio'sMajor Bowes' Amateur Hour, and on October 26, 1939, at the age of 10, Sills was the winner of that week's program. Bowes then asked her to appear on hisCapitol Family Hour, a weekly variety show. Her first appearance was on November 19, 1939, the 17th anniversary of the show, and she appeared frequently on the program thereafter.[5]
In 1945, Sills made her professional stage debut with aGilbert and Sullivan touring company produced byJacob J. Shubert, playing twelve cities in the US and Canada, in seven different Gilbert and Sullivan operas. In her 1987 autobiography, she credits that tour with helping to develop the comic timing she soon became famous for: "I played the title role inPatience... a very funny, flaky girl. ... I played her as a dumb Dora all the way through.... I found that I had a gift for slapstick humor, and it was fun to exercise it onstage."[6] Sills sang inoperettas for several more years.
On July 9, 1946, Sills appeared as a contestant on the radio showArthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts. She sang under the pseudonym of "Vicki Lynn", as she was under contract to Shubert. Shubert did not want Godfrey to be able to say he had discovered "Beverly Sills" if she won the contest (although she did not ultimately win). Sills sang "Romany Life" fromVictor Herbert'sThe Fortune Teller.
In 1948-49 Sills toured with Estelle Liebling's "Liebling Singers" ("five girls and a baritone"), performing operatic excerpts in recital with piano.[7][8]
Sills made her operatic stage debut as Frasquita inBizet'sCarmen with thePhiladelphia Civic Grand Opera Company on February 14, 1951 (erroneously listed in most references as 1947).[9] She toured North America with the Charles Wagner Opera Company, in the fall of 1951, singing Violetta inLa traviata and, in the fall of 1952, singing Micaëla inCarmen. On September 15, 1953, she made her debut with theSan Francisco Opera as Helen of Troy inBoito'sMefistofele and also sang Donna Elvira inDon Giovanni the same season. In a step outside of the repertoire she is commonly associated with, Sills gave four performances of the title role ofAida in July 1954 in Salt Lake City. On October 29, 1955, she first appeared with theNew York City Opera as Rosalinde inJohann Strauss II'sDie Fledermaus, which received critical praise. As early as 1956 she performed before an audience of over 13,000 at theLewisohn Stadium with the noted operatic conductorAlfredo Antonini in an aria fromBellini'sI puritani.[10] Her reputation expanded with her performance of the title role in the New York premiere ofDouglas Moore'sThe Ballad of Baby Doe in 1958.
On November 17, 1956, Sills married journalistPeter Greenough, of the Cleveland, Ohio, newspaperThe Plain Dealer and moved to Cleveland. She had two children with Greenough, Meredith ("Muffy") in 1959 and Peter, Jr. ("Bucky"), in 1961. Muffy had profound loss of hearing and developed multiple sclerosis in later years; Peter, Jr. was severely mentally disabled and was epilectic. Sills restricted her performing schedule for six months after each child was born to help care for them.
In 1960, Sills and her family moved toMilton, Massachusetts, near Boston. In 1962, Sills sang the title role inMassenet'sManon with theOpera Company of Boston, the first of many roles for opera directorSarah Caldwell. Manon continued to be one of Sills' signature roles throughout most of her career. In January 1964, she sang her first Queen of the Night inMozart'sThe Magic Flute for Caldwell. Although Sills drew critical praise for her coloratura technique and for her performance, she was not fond of the latter role; she observed that she often passed the time between the two arias and the finale addressing holiday cards.[11]
In 1966, theNew York City Opera revivedHandel's then virtually unknownopera seriaGiulio Cesare (withNorman Treigle as Caesar), and Sills' performance as Cleopatra made her an international opera star. Sills also made her "unofficial" Met debut at a Lewisohn Stadium summer concert performance as Donna Anna inDon Giovanni, though nothing further came of this other than offers fromRudolf Bing for roles such as Flotow'sMartha. In subsequent seasons at the NYCO, Sills had great successes in the roles of the Queen of Shemakha inRimsky-Korsakov'sThe Golden Cockerel, the title role inManon,Donizetti'sLucia di Lammermoor, and the three female leads Suor Angelica, Giorgetta, and Lauretta inPuccini's trilogyIl trittico.
In 1969, Sills sang Zerbinetta in the American premiere (in a concert version) of the 1912 version ofRichard Strauss'sAriadne auf Naxos with the Boston Symphony. Her performance of the role, especially Zerbinetta's aria, "Großmächtige Prinzessin", which she sang in the original higher key, won her acclaim. Home video-taped copies circulated among collectors for years afterwards, often commanding large sums on Internet auction sites (the performance was released commercially in 2006, garnering high praise). The second major event of the year was her debut as Pamira inRossini'sThe Siege of Corinth atLa Scala, a success that put her on the cover ofNewsweek.
Sills's now high-profile career landed her on the cover ofTime in 1971, where she was described as "America's Queen of Opera".[12] The title was appropriate because Sills had purposely limited her overseas engagements because of her family. Her major overseas appearances include London'sCovent Garden, Milan'sLa Scala,La Fenice in Venice, theVienna State Opera, the Théâtre de Beaulieu inLausanne, Switzerland, and concerts in Paris. In South America, she sang in the opera houses ofBuenos Aires andSantiago, a concert inLima, Peru, and appeared in several productions in Mexico City, includingLucia di Lammermoor withLuciano Pavarotti. On November 9, 1971, her performance in the New York City Opera's production ofThe Golden Cockerel was telecast live to cable TV subscribers.
During this period, she made her first television appearance as a talk-show personality in May 1968 onVirginia Graham's Girl Talk, a weekday series syndicated by ABC Films. An opera fan who was Talent Coordinator for the series persuaded the producer to put her on the air and she was a huge hit. Throughout the rest of her career she shone as a talk show guest, sometimes also functioning as a guest host. Sills underwent successful surgery forovarian cancer in late October 1974 (sometimes misreported as breast cancer). Her recovery was so rapid and complete that she opened inThe Daughter of the Regiment at the San Francisco Opera a month later.[13]
Following SirRudolf Bing's departure as director, Sills finally made her debut at theMetropolitan Opera on April 7, 1975 inThe Siege of Corinth, receiving an eighteen-minute ovation at her curtain call. Other operas she sang at the Met includeLa Traviata,[14]Lucia di Lammermoor,Thaïs, andDon Pasquale (directed byJohn Dexter). In an interview after his retirement, Bing stated that his refusal to use Sills – as well as his preference for engaging, almost exclusively, Italian stars such asRenata Tebaldi due to his notion that American audiences expected to see Italian stars – was the single biggest mistake of his career.[citation needed] Sills attempted to downplay her animosity towards Bing while she was still singing, and even in her two autobiographies. But in a 1997 interview, Sills spoke her mind plainly, "Oh, Mr. Bing is an ass. [W]hile everybody said what a great administrator he was and a great this, Mr. Bing was just an improbable, impossible General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera.... The arrogance of that man."[15]
Sills was a recitalist, especially in the final decade of her career. She sang in mid-size cities and on college concert series, bringing her art to many who might never see her on stage in a fully staged opera. She also sang concerts with a number of symphony orchestras. Sills continued to perform for New York City Opera, her home opera house, essaying new roles right up to her retirement, including the leading roles in Rossini'sIl Turco in Italia,Franz Lehár'sThe Merry Widow andGian Carlo Menotti'sLa Loca, an opera commissioned in honor of her 50th birthday.La Loca was the first work written expressly as a vehicle for Sills and was her last new role, as she retired the following year.[16] Her farewell performance was atSan Diego Opera in 1980, where she shared the stage withJoan Sutherland in a production ofDie Fledermaus.[17]
Although Sills' voice type was characterized as a "lyric coloratura", she took a number of heavierspinto and dramatic coloratura roles more associated with heavier voices as she grew older, includingBellini'sNorma, Donizetti'sLucrezia Borgia (withSusanne Marsee as Orsini) and the latter composer's "Three Queens",Anna Bolena,Maria Stuarda and Elisabetta inRoberto Devereux (oppositePlácido Domingo in the title part). She was admired in those roles for transcending the lightness of her voice with dramatic interpretation, although it may have come at a cost: Sills later commented thatRoberto Devereux shortened her career by at least four years.[citation needed]
Sills popularized opera through her talk show appearances, includingJohnny Carson,Dick Cavett,David Frost,Mike Douglas,Merv Griffin, andDinah Shore. Sills hosted her own talk show,Lifestyles with Beverly Sills, which ran on Sunday mornings onNBC for two years in the late 1970s; it won anEmmy Award.[18] In 1979 she appeared onThe Muppet Show, where she famously went into a "high-note contest" withMiss Piggy. Down-to-earth and approachable, Sills helped dispel the traditional image of the temperamental opera diva.
In 1978, Sills announced she would retire on October 27, 1980, in a farewell gala at theNew York City Opera (NYCO). In the spring of 1979, she began acting as co-director of NYCO, and became its sole general director as of the fall season of that year, a post she held until 1989, although she remained on the NYCO board until 1991. During her time as general director, Sills helped turn what was then a financially struggling opera company into a viable enterprise. She also devoted herself to various arts causes and such charities asMarch of Dimes and was sought after for speaking engagements on college campuses and for fund raisers.
From 1994 to 2002, Sills was chairwoman ofLincoln Center. In October 2002, she agreed to serve as chairwoman of theMetropolitan Opera, for which she had been a board member since 1991. She resigned as Met chairwoman in January 2005, citing family as the main reason (she had to place her husband, whom she had cared for over eight years, in anursing home). She stayed long enough to supervise the appointment ofPeter Gelb, formerly head ofSony Classical Records, as the Met's general manager, to succeedJoseph Volpe in August 2006.
Peter Greenough, Sills's husband, died on September 6, 2006, at the age of 89,[19] shortly before what would have been their 50th wedding anniversary on November 17, 2006.
She co-hostedThe View for Best Friends Week on November 9, 2006, asBarbara Walters' best friend. She said she did not sing anymore, even in the shower, to preserve the memory of her voice.
She appeared on screen in movie theaters during HD transmissions live from the Met, interviewed during intermissions by the hostMargaret Juntwait on January 6, 2007 (I puritani simulcast), as a backstage interviewer on February 24, 2007 (Eugene Onegin simulcast), and then, briefly, on April 28, 2007 (Il trittico simulcast).
On June 28, 2007, theAssociated Press andCNN reported that Sills was hospitalized as "gravely ill", fromlung cancer. With her daughter at her bedside, Beverly Sills succumbed to cancer on July 2, 2007, at the age of 78.[20] She is buried in Sharon Gardens, the Jewish division ofKensico Cemetery inValhalla, New York. She was survived by her two children and three step-children from Peter Greenough's first marriage. Her daughter Meredith ("Muffy") Greenough died on July 3, 2016, in New York City. Her son Peter ("Bucky") Greenough died on December 28, 2021, in Robbinsville, New Jersey.
Sills's voice has been variously described as "rich, supple", "silvery", "precise, a little light", "multicolored", "robust and enveloping", with "a cutting edge that can slice through the largest orchestra and chorus", soaring easily above high C.[1][21][22] Her technique and musicianship have been much praised. ConductorThomas Schippers said in a 1971 interview withTime that she had "the fastest voice alive".[21]The New York Times writes that "she could dispatch coloraturaroulade (music) and embellishments, capped with radiant high Ds and E-flats, with seemingly effortless agility. She sang with scrupulous musicianship, rhythmic incisiveness and a vivid sense of text."[1] SopranoLeontyne Price was "flabbergasted at how many millions of things she can do with a written scale."[21] Hervocal range, in performance, extended from F3 to F6, and she said she could sometimes hit a G6 in warm up.
These are the roles that Sills performed on stage or for television or radio.[23]
| Composer | Opera | Role | In repertoire | Performed with | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bellini | I Capuleti e i Montecchi | Giulietta | 1975 | Opera Company of Boston | Yes |
| Bellini | I puritani | Elvira | 1972–1978 | Philadelphia Lyric Opera Company,New York City Opera,San Francisco Opera,Tulsa Opera | Yes |
| Bellini | Norma | Norma | 1972–1978 | Opera Company of Boston,Opera Theatre of New Jersey,Connecticut Opera,Ravinia Festival,San Diego Opera,San Antonio Opera | Yes |
| Bizet | Carmen | Frasquita | 1951 | Philadelphia Civic Grand Opera Company | No |
| Bizet | Carmen | Micaela | 1952–1958 | Charles Wagner Opera Company,Robin Hood Dell West,Cosmopolitan Opera | No |
| Bizet | Carmen | Carmen | 1956 | Musicarnival | No |
| Bizet | Les pêcheurs de perles | Leila | 1956 | DuMont Television Network | Yes |
| Boito | Mefistofele | Helen of Troy | 1953 | San Francisco Opera | No |
| Charpentier | Louise | Louise | 1962–1977 | New York City Opera | Yes |
| Donizetti | Anna Bolena | Anna | 1973–1975 | New York City Opera | Yes |
| Donizetti | Don Pasquale | Norina | 1978–1980 | Opera Company of Boston, Metropolitan Opera, Houston Grand Opera, San Diego Opera | Yes |
| Donizetti | La fille du régiment | Marie | 1970–1977 | Opera Company of Boston, Carnegie Hall, San Antonio Opera, Philadelphia Lyric Opera, San Diego Opera, Cincinnati Opera,Edmonton Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, San Francisco Opera, New York City Opera,Opera Memphis, Palm Beach Opera | Yes |
| Donizetti | L'elisir d'amore | Adina | 1964 | Opera Company of Boston | No |
| Donizetti | Lucia di Lammermoor | Lucia | 1968–1977 | Fort Worth Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Edmonton Opera, Opera Company of Boston, New York City Opera, Palacio de Bellas Artes,La Scala, San Antonio Grand Opera, Ravinia Festival, Philadelphia Lyric Opera Company,Covent Garden, Tulsa Opera, Houston Grand Opera,Mississippi Opera Association,Zoo Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, New Orleans Opera,Pittsburgh Opera,Seattle Opera,Teatro Colón, San Francisco Opera, Opera Memphis, San Antonio Symphony,Florentine Opera,Opera Omaha, Metropolitan Opera | Yes |
| Donizetti | Lucrezia Borgia | Lucrezia Borgia | 1975–1976 | New York City Opera | Yes |
| Donizetti | Maria Stuarda | Maria Stuarda | 1972–1974 | New York City Opera | Yes |
| Donizetti | Roberto Devereux | Elizabeth I | 1970–1975 | New York City Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Wolf Trap Opera | Yes |
| Gounod | Faust | Marguerite | 1963–1970 | Boston Opera Group, New York City Opera,Cincinnati Opera,Orlando Opera,San Antonio Grand Opera Festival,Duluth Symphony Orchestra | Yes |
| Handel | Ariodante | Ginevra | 1971 | Kennedy Center | Yes |
| Handel | Giulio Cesare | Cleopatra | 1966–1971 | New York City Opera, Teatro Colón,Cincinnati May Festival | Yes |
| Handel | Semele | Semele | 1967–1969 | Cleveland Orchestra,Caramoor Festival | Yes |
| Hanson | Merry Mount | Lady Marigold Sandys | 1964 | San Antonio Symphony | No |
| Hindemith | Hin und zurück | Helene | 1965 | WGBH-TV | Yes |
| Kálmán | Countess Maritza | Countess Mariza | 1946 | Hartman Theatre inColumbus, Ohio | No |
| Lehár | The Merry Widow | Sonia | 1956–1965 | Musicarnival, New York City Opera,Casa Mañana, Robin Hood Dell | No |
| Lehár | The Merry Widow | Hanna Glawari | 1977–1979 | San Diego Opera, Houston Grand Opera, New York City Opera | Yes |
| Leoncavallo | Pagliacci | Nedda | 1965 | Fort Worth Opera | No |
| Massenet | Manon | Manon | 1953–1978 | Baltimore Opera Company, New York City Opera, Palacio de Bellas Artes, Teatro Colón, San Francisco Opera,Opera Company of Philadelphia | Yes |
| Massenet | Thaïs | Thaïs | 1954–1978 | DuMont Television Network, San Francisco Opera, Metropolitan Opera | Yes |
| Menotti | La Loca | Juana La Loca | 1979 | San Diego Opera, New York City Opera | Yes |
| Meyerbeer | Les Huguenots | Marguerite | 1969 | Carnegie Hall | Yes |
| Montemezzi | L'amore dei tre re | Fiora | 1956 | Philadelphia Grand Opera Company | No |
| Moore | The Ballad of Baby Doe | Baby Doe | 1958–1969 | New York City Opera, Musicarnival | Yes |
| Moore | The Wings of the Dove | Milly Theale | 1962 | New York City Opera | No |
| Mozart | Der Schauspieldirektor | Madame Goldentrill | 1956 | New York City Opera | No |
| Mozart | Die Entführung aus dem Serail | Konstanze | 1965–1975 | Boston Opera Group, New York City Opera,Fort Worth Opera,Grant Park,Tanglewood Music Festival,Frederic R. Mann Auditorium, Ravinia Festival | Yes |
| Mozart | Die Zauberflöte | Queen of the Night | 1964–1967 | Boston Opera Group,Théâtre de Beaulieu, Tanglewood Music Festival,Houston Grand Opera,Vienna State Opera, New York City Opera,CBC Radio | Yes |
| Mozart | Don Giovanni | Donna Elvira | 1953–1955 | San Francisco Opera,Chattanooga Opera Association | No |
| Mozart | Don Giovanni | Donna Anna | 1963–1967 | New York City Opera, Opera Company of Boston,Metropolitan Opera,Palacio de Bellas Artes, Théâtre de Beaulieu,Baltimore Opera Company | Yes |
| Mozart | Le nozze di Figaro | Countess | 1965 | Miami Opera | No |
| Nono | Intolleranza 1960 | The Companion | 1965 | Opera Company of Boston | Yes |
| Offenbach | Les contes d'Hoffmann | Three Heroines | 1964–1973 | New Orleans Opera, Grant Park, Opera Company of Boston, Cincinnati Opera, New York City Opera, Baltimore Opera Company, Palacio de Bellas Artes, San Antonio Grand Opera,San Antonio Symphony,Shreveport Opera,Municipal Theatre of Santiago, San Diego Opera, Houston Grand Opera,Florida Symphony | Yes |
| Puccini | La bohème | Musetta | 1958–1963 | Cosmopolitan Opera, New York City Opera | No |
| Puccini | La bohème | Mimi | 1965 | Seattle Opera | No |
| Puccini | Gianni Schicchi | Lauretta | 1967 | New York City Opera | Yes |
| Puccini | Suor Angelica | Suor Angelica | 1967 | New York City Opera | Yes |
| Puccini | Il tabarro | Giorgetta | 1967 | New York City Opera | Yes |
| Puccini | Tosca | Tosca | 1957–1960 | Murrah High School Auditorium for the Jackson Opera Guild, Musicarnival | No |
| Rameau | Hippolyte et Aricie | Aricie | 1966 | Opera Company of Boston | Yes |
| Rimsky-Korsakov | Le Coq d'Or | Queen Shemakha | 1967–1971 | New York City Opera | Yes |
| Romberg | The Student Prince | Kathie | 1954 | Chicago Theater of the Air | Yes |
| Rossini | The Barber of Seville | Rosina | 1974–1980 | Opera Company of Boston, San Antonio Symphony, New York City Opera, Kennedy Center, Fort Worth Opera, Palm Beach Opera,Festival Internacional Cervantino, Robin Hood Dell | Yes |
| Rossini | Il turco in Italia | Fiorilla | 1978–1979 | New York City Opera | Yes |
| Rossini | The Siege of Corinth | Pamira | 1969–1976 | La Scala, Metropolitan Opera | Yes |
| Johann Strauss II | Die Fledermaus | Rosalinda | 1955–1980 | Musicarnival, New York City Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Opera Company of Boston | Yes |
| Johann Strauss II | Die Fledermaus | Adele | 1977–1980 | New York City Opera, San Diego Opera | Yes |
| Richard Strauss | Ariadne auf Naxos (original version) | Zerbinetta | 1969 | Boston Symphony Orchestra | Yes |
| Richard Strauss | Elektra | Fifth Maidservant | 1953 | San Francisco Opera | No |
| Sullivan | H.M.S. Pinafore | Josephine | 1945 | Providence, Rhode Island at the Metropolitan Theater andHartford, Connecticut at theBushnell Memorial Auditorium | No |
| Sullivan | The Pirates of Penzance | Mabel | 1945 | Hartford, Connecticut at the Bushnell Memorial Auditorium | No |
| Suppé | Die schöne Galathée | Galatea | 1965 | Fort Worth Opera | No |
| Tchaikovsky | Cherevichki (performed under the titleThe Golden Slipper) | Oxana | 1955 | New York City Opera | No |
| Thomas | Mignon | Philine | 1956 | New York City Opera | No |
| Verdi | Aida | Aida | 1954–1960 | University of Utah football stadium,Paterson, New Jersey,Central City Opera | Yes |
| Verdi | La traviata | Violetta | 1951–1977 | Kingston High School,Charleston Municipal Auditorium,Orlando Municipal Auditorium,Saenger Theatre,Duke University,Academy of Music,Erie Philharmonic Orchestra,Portland Civic Opera Association,DuMont Television Network, New York City Opera, Fort Worth Opera, Tulsa Opera, Cincinnati Opera, San Antonio Symphony, Grant Park,Teatro di San Carlo, Connecticut Opera,Deutsche Oper Berlin,Los Angeles Philharmonic, Opera Company of Boston,La Fenice, San Antonio Grand Opera, San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Ravinia Festival,Palm Beach Opera, Metropolitan Opera,Wolf Trap Opera Company, San Diego Opera | Yes |
| Verdi | Rigoletto | Gilda | 1957–1977 | Grant Park, Opera Company of Boston | Yes |
| Wagner | Die Walküre | Gerhilde | 1953 | San Francisco Opera | No |
| Weisgall | Six Characters in Search of an Author | Coloratura | 1959–1960 | New York City Opera | Yes |
Sills received many honors and awards from the 1970s through her final years. Here is a list of her major awards, divided by category:
Sills was a member of theDelta Sigma Theta sorority.[30]
During her operatic career, Sills recorded eighteen full-length operas:[31]
| Year | Album details | Contributing artists | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | Moore:The Ballad of Baby Doe | Walter Cassel,Frances Bible,New York City Opera Orchestra and Chorus,Emerson Buckley | MGM (reissued onDeutsche Grammophon in 1999) |
| 1967 | Handel:Giulio Cesare | Norman Treigle,Maureen Forrester,Beverly Wolff,Spiro Malas,Dominic Cossa,Michael Devlin, William Beck, New York City Opera Chorus and Orchestra,Julius Rudel | RCA Victor Red Seal |
| 1969 | Donizetti:Roberto Devereux | Róbert Ilosfalvy,Peter Glossop, Beverly Wolff, Kenneth MacDonald, Don Garrard,Gwynne Howell,Richard Van Allan,Ambrosian Opera Chorus,Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, SirCharles Mackerras | ABC Records (remastered and reissued on both EMI and Deutsche Grammophon) |
| 1970 | Donizetti:Lucia di Lammermoor | Piero Cappuccilli,Carlo Bergonzi,Adolf Dallapozza,Justino Díaz,Patricia Kern, Keith Erwen, Ambrosian Opera Chorus,London Symphony Orchestra,Thomas Schippers | EMI (remastered and reissued on both Westminster and Deutsche Grammophon) |
| 1970 | Massenet:Manon | Nicolai Gedda,Gérard Souzay,Gabriel Bacquier,Nico Castel,Michel Trempont, Patricia Kern, Michèle Raynaud, Hélia T'Hézan, Ambrosian Opera Chorus,New Philharmonia Orchestra, Julius Rudel | ABC Records (remastered and reissued on both EMI and Deutsche Grammophon) |
| 1971 | Verdi:La traviata | Nicolai Gedda,Rolando Panerai, Delia Wallis, Mirella Fiorentini, Keith Erwen, Terence Sharpe, Richard Van Allan,Robert Lloyd, Mario Carlin, William Elvin,John Alldis Choir, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra,Aldo Ceccato | EMI |
| 1971 | Donizetti:Maria Stuarda | Eileen Farrell,Stuart Burrows,Louis Quilico,Christian du Plessis, Patricia Kern, John Alldis Choir,London Philharmonic Orchestra, Aldo Ceccato | ABC Records (remastered and reissued on both EMI and Deutsche Grammophon) |
| 1972 | Offenbach:Les contes d'Hoffmann | Stuart Burrows, Norman Treigle,Susanne Marsee, Nico Castel, Robert Lloyd, Patricia Kern,Raimund Herincx, Bernard Dickerson,John Noble, John Alldis Choir, London Symphony Orchestra, Julius Rudel | ABC Records (remastered and reissued on both EMI and Deutsche Grammophon) |
| 1972 | Donizetti:Anna Bolena | Shirley Verrett, Stuart Burrows,Paul Plishka, Patricia Kern, Robert Lloyd,Robert Tear, John Alldis Choir, London Symphony Orchestra, Julius Rudel | ABC Records (remastered and reissued on both EMI and Deutsche Grammophon) |
| 1973 | Bellini:I puritani | Richard Van Allan, Paul Plishka, Nicolai Gedda, Louis Quilico, Riccardo Cassinelli,Heather Begg, Ambrosian Opera Chorus, London Symphony Orchestra, Julius Rudel | ABC Records (remastered and reissued on both EMI and Deutsche Grammophon) |
| 1973 | Bellini:Norma | Shirley Verrett,Enrico di Giuseppe, Paul Plishka, Delia Wallis, Robert Tear, John Alldis Choir, New Philharmonia Orchestra,James Levine | ABC Records (remastered and reissued on both EMI and Deutsche Grammophon) |
| 1974 | Rossini:Le siège de Corinthe | Shirley Verrett, Justino Díaz,Harry Theyard, Gwynne Howell, Robert Lloyd, Delia Wallis, Gaetano Scano, Ambrosian Opera Chorus, London Symphony Orchestra, Thomas Schippers | EMI (sung in Italian) |
| 1975 | Rossini:Il barbiere di Siviglia | Nicolai Gedda,Sherrill Milnes,Renato Capecchi,Ruggero Raimondi,Fedora Barbieri, Joseph Galiano, Michael Rippon, John Alldis Choir, London Symphony Orchestra, James Levine | EMI |
| 1975 | Bellini:I Capuleti e i Montecchi | Janet Baker, Robert Lloyd, Nicolai Gedda, Raimund Herincx, John Alldis Choir, New Philharmonia Orchestra,Giuseppe Patanè | EMI |
| 1976 | Massenet:Thaïs | Sherrill Milnes, Nicolai Gedda, Richard Van Allan, Ann-Marie Connors,Ann Murray,Norma Burrowes, Patricia Kern, Brian Ethridge, John Alldis Choir, New Philharmonia Orchestra,Lorin Maazel | EMI |
| 1977 | Charpentier:Louise | Nicolai Gedda,Mignon Dunn,José van Dam,Chœrs et Orchestre du Théâtre National de l'Opéra de Paris, Julius Rudel | EMI |
| 1978 | Donizetti:Don Pasquale | Donald Gramm,Alan Titus,Alfredo Kraus, Henry Newman, Ambrosian Opera Chorus, London Symphony Orchestra,Sarah Caldwell | EMI |
| 1978 | Verdi:Rigoletto | Alfredo Kraus, Sherrill Milnes,Samuel Ramey, Mignon Dunn, Ann Murray,John Rawnsley,Dennis O'Neill, Malcolm King,Sally Burgess, Ambrosian Opera Chorus, Philharmonia Orchestra, Julius Rudel | EMI |
Sills also recorded nine solo recital albums of arias and songs, and was soprano soloist on a 1967 recording of Mahler's Symphony No. 2.
She starred in eight opera productions televised onPBS and several more on other public TV systems. She participated in such TV specials asA Look-in at the Met withDanny Kaye in 1975,Sills and Burnett at the Met, withCarol Burnett in 1976, andProfile in Music, which won anEmmy Award for its showing in the US in 1975, although it had been recorded in England in 1971.
Some of those televised performances have been commercially distributed on videotape and DVD:
Others not available commercially include:
After her retirement from singing in 1980 up through 2006, Sills was the host for many of the PBSLive from Lincoln Center telecasts.
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