Beverly Sills, Opera Singer and Director, Dies

Beverly Sills, 2003 Getty / Lawrence Lucier

One of the best-known classical singers in the United States has died: "Bubbles," Brookyn-born Beverly Sills. She was 78. She was diagnosed with cancer just weeks before succumbing.

Sills, best known for her years at the New York City Opera -- as its star and later as director -- also served as board chair for the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and, from 2002 to 2005, the Metropolitan Opera. She published an autobiography in 1976, Bubbles: A Self Portrait; she followed that in 1987 with another, Beverly.

Less well known: her advocacy for funding for birth defects research. She's survived by her daughter, Muffy, who was diagnosed in 1961 with profound hearing loss. A son, Bucky, was born in 1961 with mental retardation, and was eventually institutionalized. Sills' husband, Peter Greenough, died in 2006.

Some obituaries:

• Beverly Sills, Acclaimed Soprano, Dies at 78 - Anthony Tommasini, New York Times (includes audio clips)
• A Voice That Carried Weight - Tim Page, Washington Post
• Beverly Sills: 1929 - 2007 - John von Rhein, Chicago Tribune
• Beverly Sills, Star Soprano, Administrator, Beloved Public Figure, Dead at 78 - Daniel Webster, Playbill
• Famed soprano Beverly Sills dies - Chris Pasles, Los Angeles Times (includes audio clips)