ANCIENT& not so ancient WISDOM
offering a weekly positive perspective

April 15, 2004

You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don't try.

- Beverly Sills (1929 - )

Born in Brooklyn, New York, on May 25, 1929, Belle Silverman began a four-year stint as a regular singer on Uncle Bob's Rainbow House, a Saturday morning radio program as "Bubbles" Silverman.

She won a prize on Major Bowes' Original Amateur Hour at age six and became a regular on Major Bowes' Capitol Family Hour and on a soap opera in which she played  "nightingirl of the mountains."  She completed her education in public schools and the Professional Children's School in New York.

In 1947, she made her operatic debut with the Philadelphia Civic Opera. She spent several years traveling with touring opera companies and making guest appearances in various opera centers throughout the United States. In 1955, she became a member of the company of the New York City Opera, and in 1956 she created the role of Baby Doe in Douglas Moore's folk opera The Ballad of Baby Doe.

She married Peter Bulkeley Greenough in 1956. They had two children - one was born deaf and the other mentally retarded.

Her performance as Cleopatra in the New York City Opera company's 1966 production of George Frideric Handel's Giulio Cesare brought her to international prominence as a performer of the florid repertoire.

From 1979 to 1989 she was director of the New York City Opera. During her directorship the NYC Opera became financially and administratively stability. In 1981, as part of a program sponsored by Columbia University, Ms. Sills gave a series of master classes for young people in the People’s Republic of China. In 1994, she became the first female Chairwoman of New York's Lincoln Center. She stepped down in May 2002.

Beverly Sills is a leading spokesperson for the arts in America and is the Chairwoman of the Metropolitan Opera. She serves on the boards of the American Express Company, Metropolitan Opera Association, Lincoln Center Theater, Eden Institute for Autistic People in Princeton, NJ, and the Hospital for Special Surgery, and is Chairman of the Multiple Sclerosis Society. She is the retired National Chairman of the March of Dimes Foundation, for which she raised $80,000,000. She holds honorary degrees from 14 academic institutions, is a Presidential appointee to the President’s Task Force on the Arts, and a panelist of the National Endowment for the Arts. She is active in her efforts to get young American artists accepted as a source of national pride. “Art,” she says, “is the signature of civilization.” Her honors include the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the New York City Handel Medallion, and Kennedy Center Honors.

Wishing you great and continued success!

Sincerely,