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Jewish-American
soprano Beverly Sills had one of the
most beautiful voices of her -- or any other -- generation, and was viewed
as "America's favorite revealed voice." She sang great
Mozart and Strauss, superb Viennese operetta, and killer coloratura.
Rudolf Bing refused to hire her at the Met due to the fact that she had
not been trained in Europe, so she went and took New York City Opera by
storm, winning audiences over with performances as Cleopatra in Handel's Giulio
Cesare and as the title role in the world premiere production of
Moore's The Ballad of Baby Doe. When a costume was not made
to her liking at La Scala, and -- despite her many requests -- was never
altered by the designer, she took it out onto the stage during a dress
rehearsal with a large pair of sheers, and cut it in two, smiling broadly
all the while. She then calmly asked that a new costume be made to
her liking. |
